Youth Worker

Safe Places are recruiting for several residential Youth Worker positions for our 2 bedded children homes within the Carryduff and Dungiven area. This position relates to working within a residential setting and working with potential complex traumatised young people that are aged between 6-15, that display challenging pain-based behaviours.

Safe Places model of care is based on providing a small, stable and consistent team to help achieve positive outcomes for young people, within a domestic, safe and nurturing home. Our children home works within the objectives and aims that are set out within its statement of purpose (SOP) and Safe Place policies and procedures. 

This advertised position relates to shift work and the salary includes a requirement to undertake sleepovers within the home. Our children home is looking to appoint skilled, qualified, resilient, compassionate and empathetic staff that can help continue to make positive changes and outcomes for young people.

Annual Salary: £30,000 per a year and opportunities for additional pay-out of extra hours worked.

Employment Type: Full Time Position 

Reports To: Registered Manager 

Position Locations: Carryduff or Dungiven, Northern Ireland 

Benefits with our Charity: 

• Career pathways towards Senior Youth Work 2, or Key Worker positions within Safe Places. 
• An induction period to help with being embedded into the home and the team. As well as an opportunity to complete shadow shifts.
• Flexible working and a planned structured roster. Supporting team members work life balance.  
• Paid 3 weeks induction training that includes; Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Training (TCI), Health and Safety, Fire Safety, Safeguarding, Medicine Management, Trauma and Attachment Training etc. 
• Ongoing commitment to training and your professional development, that includes roles and responsibility checklist within the first 6 months of employment.
• Keyworker assigned a Professional Development Plan after successful 6-month probation period.
• Internal reflective supervision, ongoing coaching, professional development plans, additional support requests and a team ethos.
• Access to 24 hour on-call support, 7 days a week with a trained TCI Post Crisis Response staff member. 
• Access to our Triple Tier support, that include external counselling service offered to all employees (paid for by the charity). 
• A new model of working regarding providing a child centred focused therapeutic residential homes to young people in the UK.
• Be a part of Safe Places journey and evolvement to be one of the leading therapeutic residential providers across the UK. 
• 33 days of paid Annual Leave
• Monitoring of staff members work life balance through hour’s bank system.
• 6 months anniversary bonus of £250.00, this is paid every six months after successful completion of 6-month probation period.
• 10% Annual Leave Loading

Required Weekly Hours: 

• On average 38 shift hours and 2 sleepovers per a week (Safe Places operates with an hours bank system). 
• 2 sleepover shift’s one week and 3 sleepover shifts the second week. 
• Shift patterns and types are dependent on the needs of the young people within the Registered children home.

Shift Patterns: 

• A shift is 24 hours long. It consists of 16 hours awake working time and 8 hours paid sleepover period (1 Sleepover).
• Successful applicants for to complete a rota that consists of three shifts (one week) and two shifts (second week).
• Opportunity to work additional shifts and seek pay out of additional hours.  

Why work for a Charity like Safe Places for Children UK

• Effectively assisting the child to gain increased independence and to explore their behaviours in difficult times and be willing to try some more positive coping strategies – a lengthy and challenging but very rewarding journey;  
• A goal is always to see the child make progress that will help prepare them for their future transition into family-based placement, family reunification, group setting or independent living arrangements, focus on small wins; 
• Focus on the importance of understanding that the children’s behaviours are coping skills and our focus is on what’s lying beneath the behaviour. The need to respond to behaviours in a way that role models an ability to remain calm, hopeful, caring, consistent, respectful and understanding of others (as opposed to reacting emotionally); 
• Collaboration is needed to support the child across the various areas of their life (i.e. protective services, health services, counselling services, educational facilities); 
• Ongoing support provided to team members on shift and constant access to 24/7 on call support for urgent matters. Support provided to staff through TCI Post Crisis Response and Reflective Supervision. 

Essential Criteria 

• A minimum 2 years' experience working with traumatised children and young people that have displayed challenging and pain-based behaviours;
• A minimum Level 3 Diploma within a relevant subject discipline;
• Able to do shift work (approx. 5 shifts a fortnight for full time staff), and sleeping sleepovers; 
• Hold a UK driving licence for more than 1 Year and no more than three penalty points;
• Be able to obtain either a positive working with children check such as an Enhance Access NI (Northern Ireland)
• To be willing to register with or already registered with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council either as part 1 or part 2 registration (Northern Ireland).

Desirable Criteria

• A degree level in a relevant subject discipline; 
• Be flexible around roster changes and meeting the needs of the registered service in relation to picking up shifts at short notice;

Application Process 

• All applicants are to apply directly through our website; England and Northern Ireland Vacancies — Safe Places for Children UK
• A detailed copy of the Job Description can be located and downloaded from: https://safeplacesforchildren.co.uk/vacancies

Face to Face Interviews

• Interviews for successful applicants who have been shortlisted will commence the week starting the 24 and the 31 March 2025.

Induction Training Dates

• Successful candidates will commence compulsory three-week Induction training starting on the 05 May 2025 (induction training paid at a casual rate).

Safe Places will be developing a waiting list for any future Residential Youth Worker positions that come up within Northern Ireland. Any candidate that didn’t get an employment opportunity after an interview will be kept on file and be added the waiting list for a period of 6 months post interview. Safe Places may decide to contact and make an offer of employment to any suitable candidate that is on the waiting list.