The Children’s Society has been working in partnership with existing services, in the Keighley area of Bradford, to develop further provision for children and young people at risk of and/or involved in sexual exploitation. We are now in a position to develop a larger multi-agency programme of work for this vulnerable group of young people, which will have a greater capacity to respond to those needs identified.

We are looking to recruit part-time Project Workers to join our multi agency team to work with and support young people involved in/or at risk of sexual exploitation across the Keighley and Skipton areas of Bradford.

Combined with a relevant professional qualification (e.g. Social Work, Youth and Community), you will have significant experience of direct one-to-one work with young people who are at risk/ vulnerable to sexual exploitation, as well as the ability to support young people dealing with complex and sensitive issues.

You should have a commitment to anti-oppressive practice and promoting the rights and voices of children and young people through advocacy and participation. Empathetic to the needs of this vulnerable group of young people, you’ll have an awareness and working knowledge of the related legislation, policy and practice.

Hours of work will be 18.5 per week.

Our work reaches out to diverse groups of young people and we welcome applicants who reflect this diversity in terms of their identity, experiences, knowledge and skills.

For an informal discussion please contact Emma Holmes on 01535 606 868.

Interviews will be held on 29th September 2008.

Project Worker (Part Time)Child Sexual Exploitation Worker – Hand in Hand Project

Location:

Keighley in Bradford, West Yorkshire

Reward Band:

Band 2 SC £20, 193 - £26, 130 Pro Rata (Pay Award Pending)

Reporting To:

Senior Practitioner and Programme Manager

Job Purpose:

• To ensure that children and young people who are sexually exploited or at risk/vulnerable to sexual exploitation receive the appropriate services and support to meet their varying and diverse needs.

Key Activities:

• To identify and make contact with sexually exploited young people through a range of outreach and referral methods, developing effective and sensitive relationships.
• Work in partnership with workers from key service providers to ensure that young people receive sensitive and timely services in line with good practice guidance for sexually exploited children and young people.
• To advocate with and for young people in decision making arenas and processes.
• To construct interventions to resolve young people’s issues, including utilising child protection systems and practices where appropriate.
• Work in partnership with other agencies to improve their understanding to provide appropriate support for sexually exploited children and young people, including developing training materials and other resources.
• To raise awareness and understanding of child sexual exploitation issues with groups of young people through preventative and information sessions delivered in a variety of settings.
• To contribute to and inform the projects’ strategy for engaging sexually exploited young people, based on young people’s feedback and participation.
• To contribute to the projects’ learning and development, through producing material for regular monitoring and evaluation, attending training days, practice seminars and case reviews.
• Attend local and national meetings to represent young people’s views, highlight relevant issues and contribute to planning and strategy discussions.
• To comply at all times with the Societies Safeguarding policy and to attend training as required.
• To ensure that information and concerns are shared with the line management to support young people.
• To keep accurate and detailed records of work, and produce and maintain records, statistics and reports, ensuring the Society’s codes of confidentiality and standards are adhered to.

Attainments:

In order to be considered for this post you will have to demonstrate that you already have:

Experience

• Substantial experience of working with children and young people at risk or who are hard to reach.
• An awareness of policy, guidance and good practice for working with sexually exploited children and young people would be an asset for this post.
• Group work with young people.
• Advice and advocacy work with particularly vulnerable young people.

Qualifications

• A relevant qualification e.g. Diploma in Social Work, Youth and Community qualification or another qualification associated with this area of work, or substantial experience of working with young people at risk/vulnerable to sexual exploitation.

Work based Knowledge

• Knowledge of child sexual exploitation (CSE) legislation and policy would be an advantage
• Knowledge of issues affecting sexually exploited children and young people
• Current knowledge of Safeguarding policy and practice
• Clear understanding of children’s rights and a commitment to promoting those rights

Skills

• One to one working and group working experience
• Ability to engage and motivate young people who are sexually exploited
• Ability to build effective working relationships with children and young people, parents/carers, colleagues, partners and external agencies
• Experience of partnership working
• Networking internally and externally
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely with children and young people written and verbally
• IT skills in word processing and email. (The Children’s Society uses Microsoft Office applications).

Core Competencies:

In order to be successful in this role you will be able to demonstrate that you have the ability to:

Provide a Service to Others

• Demonstrate that you have an understanding of the problems presented and faced by sexually exploited children and young people and how to intervene appropriately and effectively.

Communicate Effectively

• Communicate effectively and appropriately with children and young people of diverse ages, backgrounds and abilities.

Build and Maintain Relationships

• Offer support to children and young people through regular contact, offering tailored advice, information and support that are mindful of the safeguarding agenda.

Continuously Improving

• Be aware of quality and practice standards and continuously strive to improve service delivery by being flexible in your approach.
• Show tact, sensitivity and support and use this to build good relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Agreeing and Meeting Targets

• Commit to setting targets and achieving high quality results in all day-to-day activities with children and young people.

Managing Yourself

• Manage yourself by effectively managing your time, taking the initiative to solve problems and seek opportunities for your learning and development through supervision and other opportunities.

Other Competencies:

Managing Resources

• Effectively use available resources within the project to provide a high level of service.

Leading Others

• Be a good team player and welcome feedback from your line manager, team members and children and young people.

Special Job Circumstances:

• Working with young people at risk can be stressful and regular personal supervision is available to staff with a high priority placed on staff health and safety.
• The post can involve irregular hours, including some late evenings, early mornings and weekend working.

(Please note: if you have difficulty meeting these conditions because of a disability or family circumstances the appointing manager will discuss it with you in order to consider reasonable adjustments to the job or working conditions)

Relevant Personal Characteristics:

So that you can personally succeed in this role and in The Children’s Society you will require:

• An understanding and acceptance of the principles and values of the organisation.
• An ability to promote anti-discriminatory practice with young people, the project, and others that you come into contact with.
• A willingness to work within The Children Society Hand in Hand Project’s Child Protection and Confidentiality Policy, and all internal policies that promote safe practice and staff welfare.
• A commitment to ensuring that the needs and rights of all young people are upheld through their active participation in the work of the project.

Files/File/CSE Keighley Project external agencies info 09.08.doc

Files/File/Keighley - Additional Info 09.08.doc