Recruiting for a Gangs and Offending Specialist Support Worker to join our Young Peoples service in Milton Keynes.

GBP 23,543 per annum, 40 hours per week, plus 25 days Annual Leave, Pension Scheme, staff discounts, healthcare and more

The Young People in Milton Keynes services will be a mix of children in need, looked after children and care leavers (as well as those who are not open to social services.)
The young people will have complex and multifaceted needs. This could include emotional and mental health issues, drug and alcohol misuse, partaking in criminal activity and anti-social behaviours or being at risk of sexual exploitation.

Whilst the majority of young people referred will not yet be ready to live fully independently, they will be ready to begin the transition to adulthood and develop their independent living skills. The young people will require a supportive, structured and stable environment with clear boundaries in which to do this.
Senior support workers are expected to work with the young people that have the most complex needs as well as support their colleagues with their young people. They should be an experienced point of contact in their team, form partnerships with external agencies and lead on co production and customer engagement. You would work as part of a team of support workers and specialists, providing support to the rest of the team as needed.

Milton Keynes Young Person’s Service implements and promotes the Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE) model. This is an approach which was developed to support people out of homelessness, in particular those who have experienced complex trauma or are diagnosed with a personality disorder. However, its application is far broader than only homelessness. It considers the psychological needs of staff: developing skills and knowledge, increasing motivation, job satisfaction and resilience.

Job Overview:

Specialist Support Workers within Look Ahead are required to have either an extra dimension of experience or a higher qualification level as determined relevant for the particular post.
The Young People in Milton Keynes services will have complex and multifaceted needs. This could include emotional and mental health issues, drug and alcohol misuse, partaking in criminal activity and anti-social behaviours or being at risk of sexual exploitation.

Whilst the majority of young people referred will not yet be ready to live fully independently, they will be ready to begin the transition to adulthood and develop their independent living skills. The young people will require a supportive, structured and stable environment with clear boundaries in which to do this.
Specialist support workers are expected to work with the young people that have the most complex needs. They should be the lead in their team regarding their specialism, form partnerships with external agencies and lead on co production and customer engagement. You would work as part of a team of support workers and other specialists, providing support to the rest of the team as needed.

The Gang and Offending Specialist should have experience of working with young people that have experienced trauma and the complex issues that arise due to this. You will be required to work with young people to reduce their offending behaviour and prevent any recalls to prison. This will involve working with other agencies such as YOT and probation teams. You will also work with young people that maybe involved in gangs or on the periphery of involvement. Again this will involve working closely with partner agencies such as the police to support young people to exit gangs safely as well as providing alternative options to those on the periphery to prevent future gang activity and criminal behaviour.

Key Responsibilities:

• Building supportive, trusting relationships with customers and creating a positive atmosphere
• Carrying out holistic assessments of new customers which incorporate relevant statutory referral information
• Conducting regular key work sessions that are innovative and engaging in order to achieve Support Plan goals
• Create support plans for young people that are strength based and support them to achieve their goals.
• Ensuring ongoing assessment and management of risks associated with customers within an attitude of ‘positive risk taking
• Provide support and access to relevant services to enable customers to continue their support independently
• Undertake support work in partnership with external stakeholders to compliment their interventions
• Developing productive relationships with partner organisations to improve service outcomes
• Demonstrate strong commitment to the functioning of the staff team and to support colleagues in providing a high level of service and safety to customers
• Involving customers in the design, development and delivery of the service
• Lead on group workshops for customers

This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead.

Person Specification:

• Enjoys social interaction and the company of others, joins in local activities to encourage customer involvement
• Exudes a warm friendly presence and open behaviour
• Prefers working as part of a group or team
• Is fundamentally calm and resilient, does not let emotion adversely affect them or obscure their judgement
• Has a practical and logical mind and is naturally well organised
• Thrives on change and enjoys dynamic diverse environments
• Is respectful, articulate and sensitive in style of communication
• Is motivated towards excellence and improvement of personal performance with a can do attitude
• Ability to cope positively with challenging and diverse behaviour

Skills, Knowledge and Experience:

Essential:

• Sector work or equivalent experience in specialism applied for
• Knowledge of safeguarding young people and children
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Ability to work to deadlines
• Good Record Keeping
• Strong relationship skills

Desirable:

• Up to NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in a relevant area

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with the Inclusive Employers Standard 2020. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.