Adolescent Service Specialist Support Worker

Sutton Council
Sutton
Permanent
Full Time
7
36
£35,577 - £41,808 (£44,019 unconsolidated maximum)
Per annum
28 days

04/06/2023, 23:55

08.06.23

In Sutton, there is much for us to be proud of both as a council and as a borough. This includes high levels of resident satisfaction, the quality of our services, our success in addressing our financial challenges to date, the way that we involve and engage with residents on key issues facing the borough, and the enthusiastic and motivated staff that we employ. 

Looking ahead, there are plans for the delivery of new homes and new schools and the London Cancer Hub is being developed, while the Council is also seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment.

All of this demonstrates a good track record and an authority that is ambitious and set to deliver more improvements for the borough. We've set out our vision for the future of Sutton in our corporate plan - Ambitious for Sutton. This strategic plan will shape the outcomes we achieve, the services we provide, and the impact we have on residents, to make Sutton a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Situated in Zone 5, Sutton is less than 30 minutes by train from central London, and south and south west London are easily accessible by public transport. There are 10 train stations which serve key neighbourhoods within the borough providing direct connections to London Victoria, London Bridge, London Blackfriars and St Pancras International. Sutton also has direct rail connections with Epsom, Dorking, Guildford and Horsham, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and West Croydon for the London Overground. There’s also an extensive road network which provides close and easy access to the M25 and M23.

The Adolescent Team work with young people that are 'edge of care', we aim to support young people and families to overcome barriers and prevent young people from going into care. 

Workers will support a caseload of young people (aged 11-17) who are potentially at the edge of care and/or at risk of exploitation which is leading them to display risky behaviours.

You will look to create a plan of interventions to support the child and their families which leads to better outcomes and reduces risks.

You will need to think holistically about working with children and families with complex needs using restorative approached to support families to stay together. 

Some flexibility is required as visits to families may be required outside of regular office hours and you may be required to work a weekend every 6 weeks. 


You will be joining an enthusiastic, friendly and supportive Service who puts families and young people at the heart of what they do. The Adolescent service is part of a wider service including the Early help team and Youth Justice Service.

You will work closely with social care and the service is seen as an integral part of improving outcomes for young people and is widely valued. We are looking to increase our edge of care offer so we can offer more bespoke, intensive services to keep young people at home when we know their long term outcomes would be better and where safe to do so.

The service consists of 3 managers within the Adolescent team but 8 across the wider service so there is a great deal of support and expertise in the team. There are 7 other staff within the adolescent service but 40 staff across the whole service. We believe in caring for our staff, being flexible to their needs, creating reflective spaces and developing our own with excellent opportunities for training. 

You will be passionate and experienced in understanding the needs and complexities around vulnerable adolescents. You will ideally have experience of working with caseloads of young people and carrying out assessments, intervention plans and direct work with families. 

You will be able to think creatively around support packages for families meeting their needs and being innovative with your approaches. You will have experience of being part of multi agency meetings and representing your organisation in formal situations being confident with a range of partner agencies. 

You will be able to manage your own time effectively and be able to evidence outcomes, complete tasks within tight deadlines. Quality assurance is very important to us and we are keen for all staff to collect feedback from the young people and families they work with.

Whilst no formal qualification is needed, we would be keen to hear from people with experience in youth work, family therapy, trauma informed practice, restorative approaches, contextual safeguarding and social care.

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

  • Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
  • Flexi-time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
  • Comprehensive learning and development programme
  • Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
  • Interest free season ticket loans
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Car parking scheme
  • Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
  • Zip car scheme
  • Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
  • Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
  • Subsidised gym membership

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

To support our diversity agenda and reduce the risk of bias in our recruitment activities, our short listing process completely anonymises personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc. Our hiring managers review and short list applications based on the information provided as part of your application as to how well you meet the requirements and criteria for the role, as outlined in the job profile.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve - the key highlights from our recent Equalities Workforce Report can be seen here. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

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Important Information - Criminal Records
This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory result to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

This opportunity is closed to applications.