Youth Justice Service (YJS) Officer

Overview

Are you passionate about helping children make positive changes in their lives? Do you want a role where your work has a direct, meaningful impact on children, victims, families and the wider community?

Our Youth Justice & Support Team (YJST) supports children who have offended or are at risk of offending. We work creatively and collaboratively to help them understand the triggers behind their behaviour, overcome challenges/barriers and move toward safer, more hopeful futures. We’re looking for a committed individual who shares this purpose and who thrives in a fast‑paced, multi‑agency environment.

This is a fixed term/secondment position until 31st March 2028

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally. 

We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home.

About the role

As a YJS Officer, you will work closely with children, their families, victims and partner agencies to reduce offending and improve life outcomes. You’ll be responsible for engaging children, assessing safety, developing effective intervention plans and supporting children to thrive and build safety, avoiding future harm. A key role of the YJS Officer is to ensure safety of persons harmed.

A key part of your role will be completing detailed assessments, preparing high‑quality reports and presenting them in various settings, including Referral Order panels, multi‑agency meetings and court. You will supervise and monitor children through voluntary, out of court, community or custodial interventions, ensuring individualised plans are delivered to address underlying needs and focus on developing future positive self.

You’ll deliver interventions based on evidence‑based practice, helping children learn new skills, repair harm and build stronger relationships. Many children face challenges such as trauma, exploitation, family conflict, school disengagement or emotional difficulties. Your approach will need to be empathetic, creative, flexible and focused on building trust.

The role requires close collaboration with schools, police, social care, health and community organisations. You will be part of a duty rota, responding to urgent tasks such as bail assessments or acting as an Appropriate Adult when needed. Some evening and weekend work is required to meet the needs of the service and the children we support.

About you

You’ll be someone who genuinely believes in the potential of children, even when they are facing significant challenges. You need to be confident, resilient and creative in your problem‑solving. Strong communication skills are essential—as you will engage with children, parents, professionals, courts and senior partners.

You’ll be organised, able to work to deadlines and comfortable managing a varied and sometimes emotionally demanding workload. Experience working directly with children or families is essential, especially in settings where safety and vulnerability may be present.

You will also need to be committed to accurate record‑keeping, safeguarding, equality and high professional standards. A relevant degree or equivalent qualification is required, and further youth justice or related training is an advantage. As the role involves travel across the county, you must have access to a vehicle and be willing to work flexibly, including some evenings or weekends. An Enhanced DBS with Barred List check is essential due to the nature of the work.

Other information

If you would like to find out more about this role, please contact Jenni Hathaway, Service Manager at [email protected]

Closing date: Midnight on Sunday 8th March

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/