About the job

Job summary

Please see Job Description

Job description

Youth Justice Worker – HMP/YOI Cookham Wood

 

HMP/YOI Cookham Wood, Sir Evelyn Rd, Rochester ME1 3LU

Starting salary: £34,851 (for a 39 hour week inc 20% unsocial)

City/Town:         Chatham

Region:              Kent, Surrey & Sussex

Vacancy type:   Merit

                       

Someone like you

The Youth Custody Service is transforming its workforce and we want you to help us on this journey. The youth justice worker role is a based on the prison officer role, but specific to working in youth custody. It will be a driving force for changing the way children and young people are cared for in custody.

 

We are looking for people who have a special talent in helping young people.

You will be responsible for ensuring the security and safety of children and supporting them day-to-day in a custodial environment. You’ll get training and development 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 are key to ensuring these children are helped to build better lives.

 

You will support children and young people who may have committed serious crimes, grown up in difficult settings, or have mental health concerns. These individuals will test boundaries at every level, but also have a huge potential for change.

You will need a DBS check.

 

 

An extraordinary job

Become part of a real team​ and help to protect the public.

You’ll work directly with children and young people who have committed offences, helping them to develop new skills while playing multiple different roles within one day be that a peacekeeper, a teacher, a counsellor or a mentor.

You will act as a role model to children and young people in custody, providing them with the opportunities to better their future.

 

Job details

 

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
• be skilled in recognising and assessing the complex needs that children, young people and families often present
• agree with the child, young person or family any specific interventions or referrals
• take an approach that will be one of respectful curiosity that challenges and supports children, young people and families to achieve their potential and stay safe
• 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 you work with.

 

Find out more about being a youth justice worker.

 

Eligibility

 

To be a youth justice worker you must:

 

• be at least 18 years old at the point you commence employment

• meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements (see nationality section below)

• as this is a physically active job, you will need to pass a medical and fitness assessment as part of the application process

• meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes (both with and without corrective lenses)

• For safety reasons, everyone training to be a prison officer needs a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids)

 

Nationality requirements

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) 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 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules.

 

Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

 

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.

 

• 37 hours a week = £32,902 a year
• 39 hours a week = £34,851 a year
• 41 hours a week = £36,800 a year

 

All salary figures quoted include any additional allowances.

 

Prisons operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means you will have to cover various shift patterns that will include evenings, some nights, weekends and public holidays (these days are added to your holiday allowance).  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’ 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
• cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

 

Read more about youth justice worker benefits.

 

The rewards aren’t all you’ll gain from a role in the Prison Service. There’s the sense of achievement you feel when you’ve helped young people to get their life back on track - the kind of experience you simply won’t find anywhere else.

 

Assessment Process

 

During the recruitment process you will be assessed on the behaviours, strengths and abilities you need to become an effective youth justice worker. These include:

 

• communicating and influencing
• managing a quality service
• making effective decisions
• caring

 

Your natural strengths are assessed to find out what motivates and energises you. We will also assess your numerical, written English and spoken English abilities.

Online Test

You will be invited to complete the online test, to see if you have the basic judgement and numerical skills expected of a youth justice worker.

The online assessment centre (OAC)

 If you pass the online test, we will invite you to an online assessment centre.

We test to see if you have the abilities, behaviours and strengths to be a youth justice worker

Once you’ve successfully completed the online assessment centre, we will invite you to complete a medical and fitness test. This will cover an eyesight test, hearing test and basic health screening, including a blood pressure check.

Read more about the application process.

 

 

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, job offers will be made to individuals 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.

 

Your successful pass from assessment centre will be valid for 12 months if you want to apply for vacancies at other prisons.

 

If your application is unsuccessful at the sift/Interview stage, a six month waiting period will be applied during which time you will not be allowed to submit any further applications for youth justice worker positions.

 

Operational Support Grade Role

Our Online Assessment Centre (OAC), will not only assess you against the key criteria to become a youth justice worker but will also determine your suitability for appointment as an operational support grade  OSG   If following attendance at your OAC, you are unsuccessful in your application to become a youth justice worker, we may instead offer you an alternative role as an OSG.

 

 

Training and career progression

Working within youth custody, you’ll have a clear progression 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. If you feel the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you can raise a formal complaint in the following order:

 

1. Shared Services Connected Ltd: call 0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or email Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com
2. Ministry of Justice Resourcing
3. The Civil Service Commission.

 

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.  

 

Disability support

 

As a Disability Confident employer, the Ministry of Justice is 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 need assistance, please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or email MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com.

 

Please note the successful applicant will need to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Security Check for this post.

 

Person specification

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 82820.

The jobholder must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English or (when specified in Wales) Welsh.

Closing Date: 31st January 2024

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,902, HM Prison & Probation Service contributes £8,916 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Please see Job Description

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)
• 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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.