Youth Worker

We are committed to the development of our workforce. This position is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council. We thank you for your interest in our roles and would encourage you to review our vacancies which are open to all.

The starting salary for this full-time (37 hours per week), permanent position is:

• JNC Grades 14-17 (Unqualified): £33,066 – £35,533 per annum, plus Fringe Allowance of £954 per annum. Or,
• JNC Grades 17-20 (Nationally Qualified): £35,533 – £38,016 per annum, plus Fringe Allowance

We have a fantastic opportunity for two enthusiastic and committed Youth Workers to join us!

Either as a 'National Professional JNC' qualified Youth Worker, or unqualified Youth Worker with a commitment to undertake a JNC qualification within 3 years; you will become a key part of our highly innovative and motivated ‘Child First’ Youth Offer Service.

We have two posts available, one based in the West of the County the other in the East. You will be able to share your preference as part of the application process.

Our Offer to You

• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Carers leave and volunteering days dependant on agreed working hours
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About the Role

Surrey's Youth Offer service is a targeted youth work service embedded within the Adolescent Service. We work with the most vulnerable and at-risk young people and groups who fall into the Targeted & Intensive Support categories of Surrey’s continuum of support.

Our goal is to provide relational based youth work interventions to strengthen the young people’s existing plans, improve life chances and reduce escalation to more expensive and intensive statutory services such as Youth Justice, Children's services, Mental Health services.

Intervention is delivered through timebound targeted group work, targeted community-based projects, targeted outreach programmes, emotional wellbeing drop-ins and one to one work. Youth work focuses on the identified outcomes from the referrer and gaining accreditation (AQAs), employability skills, and developing personal, social & emotional skills to build resilience and promote re-engagement.

The Youth Offer Service has five distinct core intervention areas:

• Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health interventions (CYP Haven Programme)
• Targeted project-based vocational skills interventions
• Targeted Group Community based interventions
• ENGAGE Police Custody intervention of High risk & vulnerable young people
• Community Reparation for the Youth Justice Service

For more information about the service see the Youth Offer Service SharePoint Page - The Youth Offer Service.

As a Youth Worker you will play a key role in delivering targeted youth work opportunities that support vulnerable young people by providing high-quality informal education, preventative intervention and early help opportunities, enhancing their personal and social development.

You will work in partnership with referrers, young people, their families and the network around them to facilitate timely initial engagement, identify goal-based outcomes for your direct work and build your intervention into the wider action plan for the young person within their network.

You will have responsibility for timely engagement work and tracking and recording engagement measures, weekly interventions, outcomes and next steps for the young people allocated to you. All direct work will be written up and recorded within set timescales.

The work you do will enable young people to make informed decisions, reach their potential and make a successful transition to adulthood. To achieve this, the team deliver high quality projects and programmes across the county in a variety of settings.

Your Application

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills, experience, and align with our behaviours:

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Ability to proactively engage young people with complex needs & ACEs, assess needs and develop interventions based on those needs
• Ability to provide face-to-face support to children and their families while they are detained in police custody and follow up shortly after their release
• Ability to lone work with children and young people with the remote support of an on-call Duty Manager
• Ability to deliver effective youth work in a variety of approaches in relation to participation and targeted prevention, and draw up goal based outcomes through robust engagement & analysis skills
• Ability to work in partnership with a variety of core stakeholders, develop and maintain local networks and engage other agencies and groups in work with young people
• Proficient in the use of ICT (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Web based applications)

You will also be able to demonstrate the following personal attributes and values:

• Kindness
• Non-judgemental
• Reliable
• The ability to remain calm under pressure
• Curious
• Willingness to share skills and abilities with young people

We are a countywide provision which means there will be a requirement to work some evenings at times, and possible weekends, to meet the particular needs of the young people in exceptional circumstances. We work as 'one service' and will often deploy staff in response to issues presented around the county which means you will need to be flexible and have the ability to travel across the county.

An enhanced DBS ‘Disclosure and Barring Service’ check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children’s and Adults’ Barred List checks will be required for this role.

To apply submit a CV and answers to the following 4 questions drawing on the required skills and experience above in your answers.

1. As a Youth Worker in this service, you will be responsible for managing your own diary across the county and ensuring all direct work, interventions, and outcomes are recorded within set timescales. Please describe your personal system for managing a busy workload. How do you ensure that administrative tasks and recording requirements are not neglected when direct work with young people becomes demanding?
2. Please tell us about a situation where something did not go to plan in your work (for example a missed contact, misunderstanding, or competing priorities). What did you do, who did you communicate with, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. We operate as "one service," which requires working in partnership with referrers, families, and a wide network of stakeholders like the Police, Education, and Social Care. Please give an example of a time you worked with a young person where you had to communicate and coordinate with a wider professional network. How did you ensure all parties were kept "in the loop," and how did you take personal responsibility for ensuring communication was timely and clear?
4. Please describe a situation where you identified an escalating risk or a barrier to a young person’s progress. What steps did you take to address this proactively, and how did you demonstrate a solution-focused approach.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 2nd June 2026 with interviews planned to follow.

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description and our Life at Surrey Handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey.

Contact Us

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment. Please contact Chris Beck, Youth Offer Service Manager, by email at chris.beck@surreycc.gov.uk or phone 07816143785.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents! Please see more information here: Information for applicants on Local Government Reorganisation - Surrey County Council.

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we’re committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.