202107: Youth Justice Worker - HMYOI Cookham Wood
Join us as youth justice worker – make a difference to children and young people
The Youth Custody Service is transforming its workforce and we want you to help us on this journey. The youth justice worker is a new and innovative adaption of the prison officer role specific for working within youth custody and will be a driving force for changing the way in which children and young people are cared for in custody. You will be responsible for ensuring the security and safety of children and supporting them day to day in the custodial environment. Training and development is provided to ensure you have a clear understanding of the individual circumstances for young people in custody, and how your reactions in complex or dynamic situations is key to ensuring these children are helped to build better lives. We are looking for people who have a special talent in helping young people.
You will support young people who may have committed serious crimes, grown up in difficult settings or have mental health concerns. They will test boundaries at every level, but also have a huge potential for change
DBS is Required
Eligibility
To be a youth justice worker you must:
be at least 18 years old,
have the right to work in the UK,
be reasonably fit and able to pass our fitness test,
have good eyesight in both eyes (both with and without corrective lenses) and good hearing.
To work in a high security prison (category A) you must have been a resident in the UK for the last 3 years.
If you are not a UK or EU citizen, that you have approx. 30 months or more leave to remain in the UK entitlement at the point of application.
Essential skills
You don’t need qualifications to become a youth justice worker. Personal qualities are more important. You need to show:
Good communication and influencing skills
Commitment to quality
Effective decision-making
Care and understanding
As a practitioner you will be working with children, young people and families, including carers, to achieve positive and sustainable change in their lives. You will demonstrate a passion to care for and about children, young people and families. You will be skilled in recognising and assessing the complex needs that children, young people and families often present. You will agree with the child, young person or family any specific interventions or referrals. Your approach will be one of respectful curiosity that challenges and supports children, young people and families, to achieve their potential and stay safe. You will work alongside other professionals and organisations to share the responsibility for improving outcomes. Each piece of work with a child or family will be different and you will exercise judgement on a range of evidence-based approaches to inform your practice. You will regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your methods and actions. Regular supervision with an experienced practitioner will encourage reflection on your practice. At the end of the apprenticeship the high quality of your practice will be making a real difference to those that you work with.
Find out more about the role >>
How to apply
The online application begins with important details such as your National Insurance number and right to work in the UK.
You will then be invited to complete stage 1 of the online tests, to see if you have the basic judgement and numerical skills expected of a youth justice worker.
If you are successful, we will invite you to stage 2 of the online tests, to see if you have the right natural strengths and preferences to become a youth justice worker.
The Online assessment centre
If you pass the online tests, we will invite you to the online assessment centre. We test to see if you have the abilities, behaviours and strengths to be a youth justice worker.
Your online assessment centre will take place week commencing 9th August
We also carry out an eyesight test, hearing test and basic health screening, including blood pressure check along with a fitness test. This will take place after you have successfully passed your assessment and further details of how to book, what to expect and what to bring on the day will be available.
Find out about the application process >> - https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/tips-for-applying/
Job details
Pay and Progression Opportunities
Pay
The initial training is 37 hours a week. After training, you can choose to work 37, 39 or 41 hours a week. Your annual salary will reflect your weekly hours.
HMYOI Cookham Wood
37 hours a week = £27,851 a year
39 hours a week = £29,118 a year
41 hours a week = £30,385 a year
All salary figures quoted include any additional allowances.
The standard working week of a youth justice worker is based on a 39 hours per week shift pattern.
You may also have opportunities to work additional paid hours.
Benefits
- 25 days of annual holiday (rising to 30 days after 10 years’ service)
- paid time off for public holidays and 1 extra privilege day
- Civil Service pension of up to 20% of your salary
Training and career progression
Working within youth custody means you have a clear progression pathway. Youth justice workers starting in post from June 2021 will be enrolled onto the Practitioner in Children’s Residential Care apprenticeship upon completing the initial Prison Officer training pathway. Full details regarding the apprenticeship course will be made available prior to the time of enrolment.
Once you have successfully completed your qualification you will progress to a band 4 youth justice worker specialist role. Please note that if you are not successful on completion of the programme, you will be redeployed to a prison officer role in the adult estate.
Ongoing training and development for specialist skills such as child protection and safeguarding will be provided.
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order
1- To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);
2- To Ministry of Justice Resourcing (resourcing-services@justice.gov.uk);
3- To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles.
We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity
Disability support
As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. We can offer reasonable adjustments to help with the online tests and online assessment centre.
If you require any assistance, please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or e-mail MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com.
Merit campaign:
This is a ‘merit’ job vacancy. If you are successful at the online assessment centre, you will be added to a merit list based on your score.
When all applicants have completed the online assessment centre, the prison will make job offers to those with the highest scores first when positions become available.
You can stay on the merit list for 12 months. After this, you’ll need to apply again.
If you require any assistance, please call 0345 2415358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or e-mail MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com.
If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or e-mail MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com. Please quote the job reference 45986
Closing Date 5th August 2021
A Great Place to Work for Veterans
The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans
Redeployment Interview Scheme
Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.
MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.
What’s it really like to work as a prison officer?
Our interactive online activity will give you an insight into some of the situations prison officers may experience day-to-day in their work.
This is to help you decide whether the prison officer role is right for you, and your responses in the activity will not form part of your application.
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
· UK nationals
· nationals of the Republic of Ireland
· nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
· individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
· Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules
This Vacancy is closed to applications.