Adolescent Practitioner - Youth Homelessness in Epsom

The starting salary for this position is £33,552 based on working 36 hours per week. This role is open to hybrid working and as a team we split our time between working from home, visiting young people across the county, and collaborating in the office. The contractual base for this role is Focus Youth Centre in Epsom.

This is an exciting opportunity for an Adolescent Practitioner to join the Adolescent Service in Surrey, which brings together a range of services for young people including those who are experiencing homelessness, those who go missing, and those who experience extra-familial harm.

Our Offer to You

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About the Role

The Central Hub Youth Homelessness provision offers support to young people across the county who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. A key part of your role as an Adolescent Practitioner will be to support a child and family with situations which have led to, or have contributed to, increased risk of homelessness or precarious housing circumstances. You will work with and support Social Workers and Adolescent Practitioners in responding quickly, effectively and with the requisite skills and capability to best support children in these circumstances.

You will play an important role in supporting and maintaining excellent relationships with housing colleagues in the districts and boroughs in Surrey and will ensure our responses to youth homelessness are collaborative and inclusive. The Adolescent Service is built on the belief that relationships are the key vehicle for achieving change. The service is underpinned by 'Relational Practice' principles, an intentional way of working where establishing, attending to, and maintaining empathetic and honest interpersonal relationships are prioritised. This approach includes our relationships and how we work with each other. Adopting this approach supports us to create systems that can be trauma-informed and respond appropriately to individuals' different needs and experiences. It supports everyone's ability to work restoratively to resolve conflict, repair harm and support change.

As a Youth Homelessness Adolescent Practitioner in our Central Adolescent Service you will:

• Provide support to both Surrey County Council and District and Borough colleagues where 16/17 year olds present as homeless / risk of homeless or are precariously housed
• Provide support through short term interventions
• Work with internal and external partners to ensure effective support is in place for young people who present as homeless or with risks of homelessness and to understand any wider contextual concerns
• Ensure policy and procedures are adhered to, are timely and accurate and record accurate case notes describing your work and the impact it has had
• Support Youth Homelessness Lead in ensuring the county wide programme of learning and development around homelessness and housing legislation reaches all parts of the practice system affecting adolescents
• Support whole families through a strengths-based and trauma informed approach, utilising motivational interviewing skills and effective relational approaches

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your CV and personal statement will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

• An understanding of the roles and responsibilities of practitioners working with vulnerable children and young people with experience of working in a social work, youth justice, youth work, teaching, or probation environment
• Appreciation of best practice approaches when supporting children and young people
• Basic awareness of relevant legislation affecting working with children, including the Children Act (1989) and relevant housing legislation
• IT skills, including use of databases, email, Word and Excel
• Ability to prioritise and manage under pressure with minimal supervision
• Willingness to learn and undertake training relevant to the role

We are looking for skilled and passionate adolescent workers who are dedicated to working positively with young people in sometimes challenging and complex situations and who have the confidence and emotional intelligence to engage others. Some experience working in a housing / homelessness capacity would be useful. Transferable skills and experience from a youth work, youth justice, education, residential children's homes, social work background would align well to this role, where you will have the opportunity to gain further skills and experience in a dynamic and innovative environment.

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and you will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel to your contractual base and across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long-term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 18th of February 2026, with interviews to follow. An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview. Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we’re committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.