Youth Worker (Public Health)

Overview

Are you passionate about supporting young people to make healthier choices? As a Youth Worker (Public Health), you'll play a vital role in reducing smoking and vaping among young people across Buckinghamshire. This is a chance to create meaningful change, particularly for Looked After Children and Care Leavers, by equipping them with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions.

With a blend of youth engagement, partnership work, and creative programme development, you’ll help shape a more positive and health‑focused future for the young people you support.

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.  

Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected– only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

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

In this role, you will lead the coordination and delivery of our smoking and vaping support offer across the county. You’ll stay aware of current trends, work directly with young people, and develop strong relationships with professionals across education, health and community services.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Delivering targeted sessions and workshops that help young people understand the risks of smoking and vaping.
• Working closely with partners such as schools, youth services and health teams to create a joined‑up support offer.
• Providing specialist advice and guidance to staff, carers and practitioners so they can confidently support young people.

The role also includes some focused one‑to‑one casework, representing the service in community settings, and contributing to reports and plans that shape the future development of our support offer.

About you

You’re someone who engages naturally with young people and thrives on building trusting relationships. You’ll bring confidence, compassion and curiosity to your work, alongside an understanding of the challenges young people face today.

You will bring:

• Relevant experience in youth work or a related field, ideally with vulnerable or at‑risk young people.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to motivate, influence and collaborate effectively.
• Good organisational skills, with the ability to manage your time and workload independently.

You’ll model our organisational values — being Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy — and you’ll be driven by the belief that young people’s voices should be at the heart of the work we deliver.

Other information

If you would like to find out more about this role, please contact Stuart Parker [email protected]

Closing date: Midnight on Monday 6th April

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’).

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/