Youth Justice Practitioner in Bury St Edmunds

Suffolk County Council

Address:

• Post 1: West Suffolk House, Bury St Edmunds IP33 3YU – Hybrid
• Post 2: Constantine House, Ipswich IP1 2DH - Hybrid

Salary: £34,434 - £40,777 per annum (pro rata if part time)

Hours: 37, flexible working options available

Contract: Permanent

We’re passionate about improving the future for our customers, our communities and the environment. If you are too, join us as a Youth Justice Service Practitioner, your innovation and drive will help us to continue improving and evolving.

Your role and responsibilities

We’re looking for passionate professionals to join our team and make a real difference through youth rehabilitation. In this role, you will:

• Deliver innovative rehabilitation and intervention programs
• Support young people and their families to prevent youth offending and promote positive change
• Engage with victims of youth offences
• Provide court support services, including weekends and bank holidays (once trained and as required)
• Contribute to community safety initiatives
• Work as part of a close-knit, motivated, and supportive team
• Collaborate with specialist services and multi-agency networks
• Build strong connections with challenging young people
• Demonstrate resilience, flexibility, and a belief in the power of rehabilitation
• Apply strong assessment skills
• Commit to youth justice reform.

You will need

• Excellent information-gathering and analytical skills
• A commitment to your own professional development

If you do not already hold the Youth Justice Effective Practice Certificate (YJEPC) or the Professional Certificate in Effective Practice (including YJEPC Desistance Top-Up), you will be expected to work towards the YJEPC qualification as part of your employment. This qualification will be fully funded by Suffolk County Council.

The team The Suffolk Youth Justice Service (SYJS) works with children and young people who are in, or at risk of entering, the Youth Justice System. We also support parents, carers, and victims of youth crime, operating as a multi-agency partnership hosted by Suffolk County Council.

Our core aim is to:

• Prevent offending by children and young people.
• Protect the public from harm caused by youth offending.
• Promote the safety, wellbeing, and future aspirations of the young people we work with.

SYJS operates 7 days a week, including evenings until 9pm, and conducts home visits to meet national standards and legislative requirements.

As part of the role, you will be expected to:

• Occasionally work evenings and weekends, for which you will be entitled to flexi time or Time Off in Lieu (TOIL).
• Participate in a Saturday court rota, for which you will receive additional payment or TOIL, depending on your preference.

Empowering Everyone

We’re big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We’re always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report.

For more information

For Post 1: Please contact Jennifer Lebbon (she/her) by calling or email on

For Post 2: Please contact Emma Tongue (she/her) by calling or email on

How to apply

1. Read the Job and Person Profile (Word).
2. Click 'Apply Now' to start your online application.
3. Upload a supporting statement answering the following questions below (no more than 400 words per question). You should use the Supporting Statement template.

Child First is the evidence-base for working with children involved in the justice system. How would you put this into your practice?

Describe your approach to conducting an assessment with a child and family? How do you ensure your assessments are holistic and evidence based?

How do you balance public protection and safeguarding?

What skills, knowledge and values would you bring to this role?

We value authentic applications that showcase your genuine skills and experiences. Applications suspected of being generated by AI may be rejected. We encourage you to present your own work and ideas throughout the application process.

Do you need any reasonable adjustments to help you to apply? If you are disabled and/or have additional support needs, you can request reasonable adjustments. You can do this by contacting our Recruitment Team at or

You can find examples of possible adjustments on our Reasonable Adjustment pages. If you’re invited to the next stage, you’ll have another chance to request adjustments.

Please note: Without a supporting statement, your interest will not be progressed. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the application process before the next selection stage, please contact our Recruitment Team by emailing or calling

If you are invited to the next stage of selection, you will have another opportunity to request adjustments for the next stages of the process.

Closing date: 11.30pm, 01 March 2026

SHORTLISTING OF CANDIDATES:

Applicants that are shortlisted for this post, will participate in a three-stage interview process, comprising of:

• Assessment centre – practice exercise (week commencing 09/03/26)
• Panel Interview (week commencing 16/03/26)
• Young person’s interview panel (week commencing 16/03/26)

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.

As a modern and effective council, we offer a wide variety of careers to suit people with a range of skills, abilities and ambitions. We offer working options that flex to reflect the way people work today and take the time to understand and support your individual needs. We’re driven to make a positive difference to the world around us and encourage everyone with drive and focus to join us and build an influential and impactful career.

In return, you’ll enjoy:

• up to 29 days annual leave entitlement (pro rata), plus UK bank holidays and two paid volunteering days
• membership of a competitive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• travel, lifestyle, health and wellbeing benefits
• performance-related annual pay progression, in addition to an annual cost-of-living pay increase
• training and encouragement to expand your knowledge
• a variety of career development opportunities across our organisation
• diverse and active staff networks
• flexible working options, with the right to request flexible working from your first day

Plus lots more

If you want to know more about our benefits, values and equality commitments please visit our Suffolk County Council careers website.