Essex County Council (ECC) are "Serious about Social Work". Having recently won the Best Social Work Employer of the Year Award 2018 and been awarded 'Outstanding' by Ofsted this is an exciting time to join us. As if that wasn't enough, Essex has also been announced as a Partner in Practice by the Department of Education, and the Essex Social Care Academy (ESCA) is the only Local Authority team in the country to be accredited by BASW as a CPD provider. We have invested in our workforce and created a positive environment for our social workers to make a difference and achieve change for our most vulnerable children and families through direct relationship-based social work practice. We have supported our staff to have an understanding of systemic theoretical framework and models underpinning our interventions; to have access to the right tools, equipment and resources; and also the right supervision, training and learning opportunities they need to be strong practitioners.

Children and Families is recognised as a service in which social work can develop and prosper, with a culture of collaboration, integrity and compassion; promoting the development and wellbeing of children, young people and their families; protecting them from neglect and abuse. Working together with partners delivering a range of early help, family support and effective social work interventions which build resilience, remove barriers and enable children and young people to look forward to a brighter future.

Essex Youth Offending Service works with young people aged 10-17 who have offended and are subject to both pre and post court disposals. The Restorative Justice Worker will be responsible for statutory delivery of RJ interventions to victims and young people, this will include sensitive and complex cases, full victim/offender conferencing and the supervision of Direct Reparation to victims.

Service/Functional Accountabilities

* To facilitate and deliver all RJ interventions with young people and victims, ensuring adherence to the Victim Code of Conduct, and within the principles of restorative justice in line with the policies and protocols of Essex Youth Offending Service. Responsible for statutory Victim Contact to seek the views of victims of crime.
* Engage and facilitate a variety of interventions to enable victims to take part if they wish, at a level with which they feel comfortable. Represent the voice of the victim throughout the work of the youth offending service. This will include sensitive and complex cases.
* Organise and deliver direct victim/offender conferences - both in the community and within young offender institutions where appropriate.
* Deliver victim awareness programmes to young people working with the service to enable empathy and an understanding of the impact crime has on the community.
* Co-deliver Restorative Justice training working collaboratively with partners and the wider community to achieve joint objectives which ensure the best overall outcome for the people of Essex and to reduce first time entrants and reduce reoffending.
* Responsible for completing robust risk assessments on all restorative activities to ensure safe delivery, using skills, knowledge and professional experience.
* Responsible for the safety of young people at all times, exercising an appropriate and commensurate duty of care that reflects the ages of young people being supervised.
* Responsibility for updating records accurately, ensuring they meet National standards and adhere to designed outcomes and agreed service levels.
* Responsible for highlighting and reporting issues as appropriate, to safeguard a child, with a good understanding of child protection policies and procedures.
* Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework

Dimensions

Special Conditions:
* Restorative Justice will be facilitated 7 days a week in line with victim wishes. Evening and weekend working will be required on occasion, therefore a flexible approach to working hours is essential.
* Lone working in the community including home visits.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

* A full driving licence is required.
* 5 GCSEs at A-C or equivalent
* Holds Accredited Practitioner status or is willing to work towards it.
* Outstanding communication skills both written and oral.
* Evidence a sound knowledge of Restorative Justice and its application within a justice environment.
* Experience in direct work with children and young people, with the ability to evidence positively promoting children's welfare and deep understanding of Child Protection procedures.
* Experience of acting as an advocate on behalf of the child within the extended family network and alongside colleagues within Social Care, with a readiness to challenge bureaucracy.
* Experience of successfully arranging and managing a victim/offender conference.
* Demonstrate an understanding of anti-discriminatory practice and is imaginative and flexible.
* Deep knowledge of and provision of advice upon, a range of social services and wider agency resources, to positively promote children's safety and well-being within their family.
* Evidence of accurate record keeping and a sound knowledge of data protection issues.