Youth Justice Officer (Norfolk Youth Justice Service) | 10511 | Permanent Contract and Temporary Fixed Term Contracts until March 2028 | 37 hours per week | £39,862 to £41,771 per annum | Grade J | Countywide

This is an exciting opportunity to join Norfolk Youth Justice Service. We have various posts available with locality bases across Norfolk, both full time and fixed term temporary. 

Youth Justice Officer is a key role in our multi-disciplinary service. Primarily, you will be expected to engage, assess and work directly and creatively with children aged 10-17 who are at risk of offending or who have offended, whilst safeguarding their welfare, protecting the public and helping restore the damage caused to the victims of their crimes.

As a Youth Justice Officer (YJO), you will carry out a case management role in accordance with the Youth Justice Board Case Management Guidance. Your primary focus will be on the engagement, assessment, planning, delivering interventions, public protection and management of safeguarding concerns. You will undertake assessments of children, young people and their families (using YJB-approved assessment tools and other relevant assessment frameworks) to identify risks, needs and strengths to inform statutory and voluntary interventions.

Working within a multi-agency framework, you will actively promote and co-ordinate access to universal and specialist services for young people and their families and produce written and verbal reports based on assessments to inform a wide range of audiences, including courts, referral order panels and child protection conferences. The postholder will be expected to work flexibly, with a clear expectation of evening, weekend and bank holiday working. This includes work on a rota basis to cover weekend and bank holiday court and statutory contact’s cover.

With a professional qualification in an allied service such as social work, teaching, health or a professional certificate in Effective Practice / Youth Justice, you will have significant relevant experience of designing and implementing interventions intended to change behaviours and achieve positive outcomes. You will understand relevant criminal justice and childcare legislation and theories, including effective practice and restorative justice principles and will have managed a caseload of young people with emotional, behavioural or offending concerns. 

These roles are suited to individuals who are Child First in their approach, keen to work collaboratively with children and their parents/carers motivating them and helping to support changes and find solutions in difficult and often complex situations. 

The role can be fast paced with a need to be highly organised and able to meet competing deadlines. There will be statutory duties and a requirement to participate in multi-agency meetings, carry out assessments and produce formal written reports for a variety of audiences and keep high quality, timely records.  There is an expectation to work flexibly, with some evening and on a rota basis for weekend and bank holiday working, court duty and intervention sessions.

You should apply for this role if:

• You are passionate about working with children in a co-productive way, advocating for children’s rights and being part of an organisation that challenges inequality.
• You like the way you work to be rooted in evidence-based practice 
• You always give maximum effort to understand and meet the needs of children in the youth justice system.
• You have a good work ethic, you are resilient and not easily offended. 
• You are creative and work with your initiative to bring new ideas and a fresh perspective.
• You are open to feedback and learning because you want to keep getting better.
• You are well organised and can prioritise work that will have the greatest impact.

Our children say: 

• I want you to listen to me and hear what I’m saying 
• Ask me about my views and opinions
• Don’t assume you know
• Be honest and try not to keep secrets
• Don’t make decisions about me, make decisions with me 
• Take time to explain in a way I understand
• ‘Doing with’ gets me to my future

These posts will have a locality base but much of your working week will be out and about in the community or working from home so you must have a driving licence and access to a vehicle to meet the requirements of the post.  In line with our current ways of working, you’ll be expected to be in the office at least 2 days a week, in addition to team days.

Please ensure you complete a Norfolk County Council application form which clearly explains how you meet all essential criteria specified in the job description, including whether you have a valid driving licence for use in the UK.

If you are shortlisted, there will be two stages of the interview process. Stage one will be to complete an online short written task.  If you are successful after this stage, then the second stage will be a formal, in person, interview.  This will consist of 3 elements; a formal competency based interview, a Warner interview and a children’s panel. Please let us know at the earliest opportunity if you require any reasonable adjustments to support you during the interview process.

Before you apply, we recommend reading the full Job Description and Person Specification to help you demonstrate you meet the criteria.

For an informal conversation about the role contact Claire Howlett or Charlotte Squires on 01603 679100 

To apply, you must download a Norfolk County Council application form >> Here << and attach it to your online application.  

Your application form should clearly explain how you meet all essential criteria specified in the job description, including whether you have a valid driving licence for use in the UK.

Applications submitted without a completed application form will not be considered for shortlisting.

This role is not open to applicants who require UK visa sponsorship. If it is determined that sponsorship is required, your application will be declined and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

These are some benefits you can enjoy by working for Norfolk County Council:

• Competitive salary
• Generous holiday entitlement 
• Health and Wellbeing services including fast-track physiotherapy and a free counselling service
• Flexible working opportunities including flexi-time, part time, remote and hybrid working – dependant on your job role and business need. 
• Financial benefits such as:
  • ‘Norfolk Rewards’ our employee discounts programme which helps you save money on almost anything, from everyday groceries and clothes, to holidays, new technology, gym membership, trips to the cinema and days out.   
  • A Blue Light card for Fire Service and Social Care Workers
  • Relocation expenses (where applicable)
  • An advance of your expenses if you travel for work
  • Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution, life assurance, death in service payments and dependants’ pensions.

  • Tax efficient ways of getting extra pension and new bikes

  • Access to our tax efficient car lease scheme for greener travel enabling you to lease a brand new, ultra-low emission vehicle (subject to eligibility)

  • A payment if you refer someone you know to a hard to fill job

You can also find information on our Terms and Conditions here.

Already a Norfolk County Council employee? See and apply for internal and external vacancies in myOracle using your @norfolk.gov.uk or @nccal.ac.uk email.

We would like to make you aware that priority consideration for this post may be given to current employees who are at risk due to restructure within the organisation or are in a redeployment position.  

Redeployment closing date: 28 May 2026 at 23:55

All other applicants closing date: 15 June 2026 at 23:55

nWe have miles of beautiful coastline and our unique Broads, thriving market towns and a city with a proud cultural heritage.  Our economy is growing and driven by innovation in a number of sectors, including energy and food.  We also have ambitious plans for new housing and a building programme for schools across Norfolk.  Our county a great place to live, work and visit, and is an excellent environment for businesses to start, grow and innovate.

We are the main local authority for Norfolk providing services countywide to more than 850,000 Norfolk residents. We take the lead in critical policy areas, working with 84 elected Members responsible for the strategic local government services in the county.

We provide a high quality service through involving people who use our services to shape and comment on them and by promoting efficiency and innovation.

We work in partnership with local businesses, voluntary organisations and other local authorities such as District and Parish Councils to provide the people of Norfolk with excellent services.
n