ENGAGE Youth Support Worker

Job Introduction We are committed to the development of our workforce. This position is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council. We thank you for your interest in our roles and would encourage you to review our vacancies which are open to all. The starting salary for these positions is £32,552 per annum, this is based on a 36-hour working week. These roles will operate on a countywide basis with a base location identified at one of our centre hubs nearest to the successful candidate. You will be delivering intervention and home visits and 1-1s all over the county for the young people who meet the teams criteria therefore you will need to be willing and able to work and travel across the county during your week. We have an exciting opportunity to join our Surrey’s Youth Offer Service as an ’Engage Youth Support Worker’. 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. We are seeking to appoint an experienced, enthusiastic, and committed Youth Worker to join our highly innovative and motivated ‘Child First’ Youth Offer service. About The Role The ENGAGE team targets outreach engagement work to high-risk children and young people who have come into police custody with the goal of engaging them at a key reachable and teachable moment to engage them into targeted interventions to divert them away from their escalating risks. We do this by involving them in diversionary activities through youth work projects & interventions, 1-1 bespoke interventions and relationship-based mentoring The Engage programme looks to upstream relationship-based prevention and intervention to children & young people at the point of arrest. The ENGAGE model in Surrey involves a small team of staff in the Youth Offer Service working alongside & in partnership with the multi-agency partnership meetings that take place each morning, this meeting is called the Daily Risk Briefing (DRB). Together they discuss the CYP that have been in police custody the day before, their risks, context and wider network and identify a priority plan for intervention. Young people are contacted within 24 hours and robust engagement attempts are made with them and their families & wider network to initiate engagement. The targeted project-based interventions in the service are used as ‘carrots’ to draw young people into engagement and to establish a working relationship with a youth worker to facilitate strengths based relational youth work & support towards positive outcomes. You will have responsibility for timely engagement work and tracking and recording engagement efforts, outcomes and next steps for young people. All direct work is written up and recorded within set timescales. About the Team The youth offer service is a targeted youth work service embedded within Children’s services Adolescent Service. The service works with the most vulnerable and at-risk young people and groups who fall into the Targeted & Intensive Support categories of Surrey’s continuum of support. The service’s goal is to provide relational based youth work interventions to strengthen the young people’s existing plans, improve life chances and reduce escalation to more expensive and intensive statutory services such as Youth Justice, Childrens services, Mental Health services. Intervention is delivered through timebound targeted group work, targeted community-based projects, targeted outreach programmes, emotional wellbeing drop-ins and one to one work. Youth work is delivered with a focus on the identified outcomes from the referrer and gaining accreditation (AQAs), employability skills, and developing personal, social & emotional skills to build resilience & promote re-engagement. The Youth Offer Service has five distinct core intervention areas: Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health interventions (CYP Haven Programme) Targeted project-based vocational skills interventions Targeted Group Community based interventions ENGAGE Police Custody intervention of High risk & vulnerable young people Community Reparation for the Youth Justice Service For more information about the service see the Youth Offer Service SharePoint Page - The Youth Offer Service Your Application In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills, experience, and align with our behaviours : Excellent communication skills, with the ability to complete high‑quality written records and reports about young people. Strong time‑management skills and the ability to work effectively on your own initiative, including lone working with remote support from an on‑call Duty Manager. The ability to proactively engage children and young people with complex needs and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The ability to provide face‑to‑face support to children and their families while they are detained in police custody, and to offer follow‑up support shortly after release. The ability to assess children and young people’s needs and develop appropriate, goal‑based interventions through robust engagement and analysis. The ability to deliver effective youth work using a range of approaches focused on participation and targeted prevention. The ability to work in partnership with core stakeholders, including Police, education, social care and health services. The ability to develop and maintain local networks and to engage other agencies and groups in supporting young people. Proficiency in ICT, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and web‑based applications. We are also looking for candidates who be possess the following personal attributes and values: Kindness Non-judgemental Reliable The ability to remain calm under pressure Curious Willingness to share skills and abilities with young people To apply submit a CV and answers to the following 4 questions drawing on the required skills & experience above in your answers. 1. The Engage Youth Support Worker role is countywide and requires high levels of self-management, including lone working and meeting strict recording timescales. Please provide a specific example of how you have managed a busy diary while ensuring that all administrative tasks and case notes were completed accurately and on time. How do you prioritize your workload when faced with competing demands? 2. Describe a time when you were working with a child or young person as part of a wider team or system (for example alongside colleagues, managers or partner agencies). How did you ensure you played your part effectively and kept others informed? What was the outcome? 3. Tell us about a situation where something did not go to plan in your work (for example a missed contact, misunderstanding, or competing priorities). What did you do, who did you communicate with, and what did you learn from the experience? 4. You will be working with high-risk young people at a "reachable and teachable moment" following arrest. Describe a situation where you identified an escalating risk or a barrier to a young person’s progress. What steps did you take to address this proactively, and how did you demonstrate a solution-focused approach. Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description & Our Life at Surrey handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey. The job advert closes at 23:59 on 28 th May 2026 with interviews planned to follow. Contact Us Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment. Jon Twigg Team Manager – Jonathan.Twigg@surreycc.gov.uk - 07929777599 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. Surrey has both urban and rural areas and you will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK and access to a vehicle and be willing to travel 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. Local Government Organisation (LGR) Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to new unitary councils in April 2027. Your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of these new councils, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities. Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents! Please see more information here: Information for applicants on Local Government Reorganisation - Surrey County Council 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.