Youth Worker - Early Intervention

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8RA

Salary: £32,070 - £34,359 per annum (pro-rata for part-time) (Pay award pending)

Working Hours: 1 x 37 & 1 x 18.5

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 5th May 2026

Service Overview

Leicestershire Youth & Justice Service is an ambitious, vibrant and forward thinking service working in an environment focused on supporting children towards their brighter futures. We are committed to Child First approaches and are strong in our advocacy for children.

We are a multicultural and diverse team consisting of staff from the local authority, probation, police and health based across Leicestershire. We are proud to have a workforce which represents and reflects the children & families we work alongside, and we are committed to creating a culture which is inclusive and challenges discrimination and bias.

The Youth & Justice Service is a dedicated service for children aged 11+ who need support. We offer a wide range of non statutory and statutory interventions to children who are experiencing difficulties and challenges where support cannot be provided by universal services alone. We have strong relationships with wider services and partnerships supporting children and their families to ensure that we can jointly deliver the best possible support and care.

About the Role

As an Early Intervention Youth Worker, you'll support children and families who require additional help by building strong, trusting relationships with them and their families. You'll carry out dynamic assessments to understand each young person's strengths, needs and risks, using this insight to plan the most appropriate support. This includes completing high quality referrals to partner agencies, delivering purposeful one to one interventions, reviewing progress regularly, and bringing support to a safe and planned close. Throughout your work, you'll help young people build confidence, resilience, and positive coping strategies while maintaining clear, accurate records and working safely within safeguarding and policy frameworks.

Our youth worker will work collaboratively with a range of multi agency partners. You will advocate for young people, help families navigate challenges, and strengthen relationships where needed. As part of the Early Intervention team, you'll contribute to service development, attend meetings and supervision, and play an essential role in keeping children safe, supported, and connected to the right help at the right time.

Children Voice

In Youth & Justice, we are committed to the voice and passionate about the participation of the children who access our services and support. We have developed a culture and ethos of children being at the heart of decision making across our service. We are fortunate to have children who are involved in our recruitment process and are looking forward to meeting interview candidates. You will be interviewed by our children who will have an equal part in selecting the best people to join our amazing team.

The county of Leicestershire is uniquely placed in the heart of England with major access routes enabling easy travel. Our county has a proud manufacturing and agricultural heritage and has both urban and rural areas comprising of seven district and borough councils. In recent years, the county has welcomed new communities - we are striving to ensure that our workforce represents and understands unique experiences and perspectives of those who live in Leicestershire.

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex offenders, please see our policy statement.

About You

Please ensure that you cover all 7 points in your application and provide clear examples and evidence of how each point has been met. Applications that do not demonstrate skills and experience will not be shortlisted.

To be considered for this role, you are required to have permanent rights to work within the UK.

Key Features & Requirements

• Qualification level required - NVQ Level 3 or above, and significant experience of working with children (11 years+) and families.
• Conduct timely and dynamic assessments that identify immediate risks, needs, and priorities. Provide short interventions to stabilise situations, support young people, and ensure they are signposted or referred to the most appropriate services.
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of the issues faced by vulnerable children and families with complex needs, including awareness of differing developmental needs, adverse childhood experiences, and trauma. Experience in capturing the voice of children and families, ensuring their views inform decision making, assessments, and case records.
• Draw on a strong understanding of local services to guide children and families toward the most appropriate support, empowering them to complete referrals independently and providing assistance with referrals when required.
• Experience in using targeted and purposeful interventions to stabilise situations, strengthen family functioning, and support children to engage positively.
• Demonstrable, significant experience of forming positive working relationships with a variety of professional partners and working collaboratively to meet the identified needs of children and their families.
• We are a safeguarding organisation - Please evidence your knowledge and ability to contribute to the protection of children from abuse in accordance with local and national safeguarding policies, procedures, and practice - including a comprehensive understanding of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child.

All posts are essential car users - you will need to hold a valid UK Drivers' Licence and have access to a vehicle for work purposes.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Flexible Working

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.