Job title: Youth Worker
Salary: JNC Points 12-15 (£30,745– £33,869)
Hours: 37
Contract: Permanent
Location: Technorth, 9 Harrogate Road LS7 3NB
As a Youth Worker, you’ll thrive on being part of a team to support and achieve positive outcomes for the most vulnerable young people of Leeds. Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.
About you
You bring:
- A minimum Level 3 JNC recognised Youth & Community qualification.
- Ability to record and evaluate Return Interviews, youth work sessions, and produce reports within specific timescales.
- A flexible and varied working pattern, including late evenings, weekends, schools holidays, and rota‑based shifts.
- A young‑person‑centred approach and the ability to engage with vulnerable children and young people in a positive and meaningful way.
About the Role
The successful candidate will be a qualified, experienced Youth Worker who can deliver exemplary service to children and young people. The role is integral to the Return Interview Service, providing statutory support to young people reported missing to the Police. Return interviews help hear the child’s voice, assess risk, and inform wider care planning. The role also involves street‑based youth work in Leeds City Centre on Friday and Saturday evenings as part of a rota.
Responsibilities
- Work directly with young people to develop and maintain relationships and help identify their starting points, needs and aspirations.
- Facilitate the social education of young people through designing and delivering responsive programmes aligned with the Youth Work curriculum.
- Assist in developing the Service by planning, delivering, monitoring and reviewing youth work provision.
- Encourage young people to design, deliver and review their programmes and take responsibility for their learning and actions.
- Create a safe environment that encourages challenging thinking, attitudes and behaviour.
- Contribute to Youth Services performance targets.
- Lead, support and develop staff for whom you have line‑management responsibility.
- Undertake relevant training to meet personal and professional development needs.
- Ensure all work is underpinned by equality and diversity principles.
- Create and maintain a safe youth work environment in line with Health and Safety policy.
- Maintain effective relationships with staff at all levels within the Directorate, other Council Directorates, elected members, external agencies, and the public.
- Improve your practice through observation, evaluation, discussion with colleagues and development programmes.
- Perform any other duties within the spirit of the post and commensurate with the job evaluation outcome.
Qualifications
Essential:
- Minimum JNC endorsed Level 3 NVQ/VRQ Initial qualification in Youth Work.
- Ability to work flexibly across different locations and areas.
- Ability to establish and maintain constructive relationships with young people.
- Skill in supporting young people to tackle problems, take actions, and use learning for future development.
- Experience of working with young people in youth work environments, including enabling them to work effectively in groups, explore values, safeguard welfare, and plan sessions linked to curriculum and targets.
- Experience of recording and evaluating youth work sessions.
- Knowledge of child protection, welfare, and local/national policies and their relationship to the youth work curriculum.
- Knowledge of Health and Safety issues affecting activities within your remit.
- Experience of working as an effective and reflective practitioner.
- Understanding of Leeds City Council values, behaviours and equality and diversity policies.
- Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
- Flexibility to adapt to change and assist other services as required.
- Commitment to continuous improvement and deliver best city ambition of health & wellbeing, inclusive growth, and zero carbon.
Desirable:
- Experience promoting and developing effective team working.
- Ability to lead on responding to immediate health and safety issues.
Benefits
- A competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays.
- Membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions.
- Flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements.
- A clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities.
- Range of staff benefits to support wellbeing and financial flexibility.
Equality & Diversity
We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from women, carers, veterans, LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care‑experienced people.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, including the Children’s barred list, will be carried out on preferred candidates.
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