Youth Engagement Officer

Job Introduction

Join Our Families First Transformation

As part of our ambitious Families First Social Care Reform Programme, we are excited to introduce the new role of Youth Engagement Officer (Return Home Interventions) within our Adolescent Safeguarding & Well-Being Service. This is an opportunity to play a vital role in supporting children and young people who go missing from home or care and those vulnerable to exploitation and extra-familial harm.

About the Role

Reporting to the Missing & Exploitation Coordinator, you will work as part of the Missing Team, delivering direct interventions with children and young people across Royal Greenwich.

Using trauma-informed, relational and child-centred approaches, you will conduct independent Return Home Conversations and provide targeted support to children who have gone missing or are at risk of exploitation. Through meaningful engagement, you will help young people identify risks, strengthen resilience, and access the right support at the right time.

You will work closely with families, social workers, schools, health professionals, police colleagues and other partners to safeguard children and influence positive change.

Key Responsibilities

As a Youth Engagement Officer (Return Home Interventions), you will:

• Deliver independent Return Home Conversations and interventions with children and young people who have gone missing from home or care.
• Build trusted relationships with vulnerable adolescents through persistent, trauma-informed and child-focused engagement.
• Identify and respond to safeguarding concerns relating to missing episodes, exploitation and extra-familial harm.
• Advocate for children and young people's wishes, feelings and best interests.
• Deliver targeted one-to-one and group interventions that promote safety, resilienceand positive outcomes.
• Support young people affected by or vulnerable to child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation, modern slavery, trafficking, radicalisation and other forms of harm.
• Work collaboratively with families, social care teams and partner agencies to develop effective safety and support plans.
• Attend and contribute to multi-agency meetings, reviews and planning forums.
• Complete referrals and signpost young people to appropriate services, support networks and positive activities.
• Gather and share young people's views to help shape and improve service delivery.

About You

We are looking for someone who:

• Has experience working directly with children, young people or families in a support, safeguarding, youth work or social care setting.
• Understands the challenges facing adolescents, particularly those who go missing or are vulnerable to exploitation.
• Can engage and build relationships with young people who may be reluctant to work with services.
• Has a good understanding of safeguarding, contextual safeguarding and trauma-informed practice.
• Is skilled at listening, advocating and working collaboratively with young people and families.
• Is confident working with a range of professionals and partner agencies.
• Can manage sensitive situations, maintain accurate records and exercise sound professional judgement.
• Is passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people.

Why Join Us?

This new role forms part of our ambitious Families First reforms, placing relationships, early help and effective intervention at the centre of our work with children and families.

You will join a committed and supportive team dedicated to safeguarding adolescents and reducing the risks associated with missing episodes and exploitation. Most importantly, you will have the opportunity to make a genuine difference in the lives of some of our most vulnerable young people.

If you are committed to helping young people feel heard, supported and safer, we would love to hear from you.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Shaba Dachi on Shaba.Dachi@royalgreenwich.gov.uk

Diversity Statement: Royal Borough of Greenwich values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this. We therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community.

Advert Close: All vacancies close at midnight unless otherwise stated.

Early Advert Close: Royal Borough of Greenwich reserves the right to close any job advert earlier than the advertised closing date where there is reason to do so (for example high volume of applications).

Full Employment History: A full employment history is required for this role. Please provide a full employment history, together with a satisfactory written explanation of any gaps in employment.

How Applications are Scored: Each application is scored according to how well the supporting statements addresses each point on the Person Specification for the role. Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the extent to which they meet the specific points within the Person Specification. The Person Specification is supplied with the job advert. When completing your application, please use the supporting statements section to tell us how you meet each of the points on the Person Specification. We need to have this information in order to consider your application.

Salary: Salaries advertised are for a standard working week of 35 hours unless otherwise stated. Please use this 'Salary Calculator to help you calculate a pro rata salary.

Our Staff Values: Our Staff Values are important to us. Candidates will be continuously assessed against our staff values throughout the recruitment process. Where candidates demonstrate views and behaviours that do not meet the standards of our staff values, we reserve the right to reject their application/ registration.