Youth Justice Keyworker (Custody Navigators)

About Us

West Sussex Youth Justice Service (YJS) is a high‑performing multi‑agency partnership supporting children and young people before and after court, in line with youth justice legislation. Custody Navigators sit within the Turnaround and Prevention Team, where our work is rooted in seeing children as children, understanding their individual circumstances, and preventing further harm by reducing future justice involvement. Custody Navigators work directly with children following arrest and during their time in custody.

The Turnaround and Prevention Team provides voluntary, strengths‑based support to children and young people facing challenges that may affect their life choices. We work alongside children and their families, alongside our strong partnerships with Sussex Police and other agencies, to build on strengths, support positive change, and create hopeful, meaningful futures.

About the Role

Salary: £32,597 to £35,412 per annum
Contract Length: Fixed Term or Secondment currently until 31.03.2027
Working Pattern: Full Time, 37 hours per week
Work Locations: Crawley Police Station or Worthing Police Station.
Office Base: Crawley Library or Arun Civic Centre, Littlehampton. The use of Arun Civic Centre is currently initially expected to be in place for three years to April 2029. The substantive hub for your service is Worthing and therefore, there is the potential for services to relocate to Worthing in the future.

Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

As a Custody Navigator, you will play a vital part in supporting children and young people at a particularly vulnerable and stressful moment in their lives. Working directly with children following arrest and during their time in custody, you will focus on understanding their experiences, recognising their strengths, and identifying any unmet needs to ensure they feel heard, supported and safeguarded.

You will act as a consistent, trusted adult presence, offering reassurance, advocacy and guidance within the custody setting. You will work closely with parents or carers, social workers and partner agencies to promote a coordinated, child‑centred response that prioritises safety, wellbeing and the child's best interests. This is a hands‑on and rewarding role in a fast‑paced environment, where practice is informed by reflection and professional judgement.

Following a child's release, you will provide short‑term outreach and follow‑up support within the community, including home visits where appropriate. This work will focus on helping children and families access the right support, strengthening protective relationships, and reducing the likelihood of further involvement with the justice system.

We are looking for a practitioner who communicates with warmth, empathy and clarity, using active listening, curiousity and a child‑centred approach. You will be able to remain calm and reflective in emotionally complex situations and work collaboratively with partner agencies to deliver creative, purposeful support that is tailored to each child's needs and circumstances.

Please indicate your location preference on the application form; this will be considered by the panel and explored further at interview.

Experience and Skills

The following are some of the key skills and experience required for the role:

• Demonstrable experience of working with families in crisis in order to provide support, especially those with complex and chronic difficulties.
• Ability to listen to adults and children who have experienced trauma and have complex needs, and to use excellent interpersonal skills to build an effective relationships.
• Analytical and judgmental skills to interpret complex situations and information from families to make assessments.
• Excellent crisis management skills with the ability to recognize the individual needs of families.
• Ability to build rapport quickly with people participating in services and remain up to date with changes in best practice and available support mechanisms.
• Ability to create an environment where families are empowered to make positive change.
• Ability to accurately record information in Excel spreadsheets and web databases. Ability to use a variety of screening tools.
• Relevant qualification, degree level preferably, in a relevant subject, or demonstrable experience in a paid or unpaid capacity of providing support to people in stressful and difficult situations.
• Valid and full driving licence.

Please refer to the full list of key skills, experience qualifications on our job description attached.

Rewards and Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE06283.

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and application form. In your application form outline your motivations for applying and explain how you meet the key skills listed in full and the experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

West Sussex County Council is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that is inclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of its people. We actively welcome and encourage applications from people with lived experience and from minority groups, and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged.

For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran's Guaranteed Interview Scheme, this can be found on our application help page.