Job summary

This is a permanent, part-time position working 15 hours per week.

The role will strengthen the service's front-line youth-work offer, with a particular focus on engaging young people and families before they attend the clinical service.

You will build trusted relationships, help young people and families understand and prepare for their involvement with the service, and develop a holistic understanding of their needs, strengths and priorities. This will include identifying services already involved in their care and considering any social, emotional or practical factors that may affect their engagement.

Working as part of a specialist multidisciplinary team, you will manage an allocated caseload and help ensure that young people and families receive coordinated, person-centred support throughout their care journey. You will advocate for the voice of young people and support them to participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their care.

We are looking for a professionally qualified Youth Worker with a relevant honours degree, appropriate safeguarding training and substantial experience of working with children, young people and families. Experience of working inclusively with LGBTQ+ young people and an understanding of the issues that may affect them are essential.

The successful candidate will be confident working sensitively in a specialist service that continues to develop in response to evidence, learning and the needs of children, young people and families.

Main duties of the job

The postholder will provide direct youth-work support to young people and families before and during their involvement with the service. They will establish trusted relationships, understand what matters to each young person and identify any social, emotional or practical needs that may affect their experience or engagement.

The postholder will:

• Manage an allocated caseload of young people with a range of needs.
• Make contact with young people and families before clinical attendance, helping them understand and prepare for their appointment and the wider care pathway.
• Undertake youth-work assessments and contribute to plans that reflect the young person's needs, strengths, circumstances and goals.
• Establish which health, education, social-care, voluntary-sector or community services are already supporting the young person and family.
• Provide information, practical support and appropriate signposting to local and national services.
• Work closely with the multidisciplinary team to support coordinated, person-centred care and reduce unnecessary duplication.
• Promote young people's participation and ensure that their views, wishes and experiences inform their care and the continuing development of the service.
• Recognise and report safeguarding concerns promptly, following Trust policy and established escalation procedures.
• Maintain accurate, timely and confidential records of contacts, assessments, actions and outcomes.

About us

We are committed to recruiting the best person for the job through a fair, open and consistent process that is free from bias and discrimination.

We are working towards becoming an anti-racist organisation. This means creating a workplace where every colleague feels seen, heard and valued, and where racism in any form has no place. Our anti-racism commitment is backed by action through our Anti-Racism Statement and action plan, developed in collaboration with our REACH staff network.

We actively challenge discrimination, dismantle barriers and embed equity across all aspects of our workforce, including recruitment, progression and development. All applicants will receive equal consideration regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, health condition or employment history.

We particularly welcome applications from ethnically diverse communities, people with disabilities or long-term health conditions, and LGBTQ+ community members. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a member of the Business Disability Forum, and a Stonewall Diversity Champion.

Our staff networks, including REACH, PRIDE, ENABLED and Women's Networks, are active and executive supported. These employee-led networks play a vital role in shaping an inclusive culture at GOSH and are open to all colleagues.

Together, we are building a culture where inclusion is not optional - it is essential.