Operational Manager – Youth Justice Service – Croydon Council
Salary: Grade 16 £58,692 - £60,819
Permanent – 36 hours per week
Hybrid working
Job Purpose
The Operational Manager is responsible for the development band and management of a multi-agency team to deliver youth justice services, to meet the key objectives of the Youth Justice Plan and statutory requirements of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The service area covers the Council’s statutory responsibilities for children who offend. The successful candidate will lead on Out of Court and Referral Orders, manage day-to-day operational activity of the team to prevent and reduce re-offending, improving outcomes for children involved in the criminal justice system, whilst ensuring victims are given the opportunity to have a say. The purpose of this role is to ensure that all referrals received are allocated and responded to in a timely and appropriate manner, prioritising cases according to urgency and need. You will lead, manage and motivate staff providing reflective supervisions, professional support and guidance.
About You
We are looking for an experienced and appropriately qualified professional that is able to demonstrate their knowledge and experience of working in youth justice service or with young people. This role would also suit a social work qualified professional or a confirmed police officer. You will need to have a knowledge of current practice and service development issues concerning young people who offend and their families. The successful candidate will have a knowledge of the causes of crime, effective methods of reducing offending behaviour, restorative approaches and code of practice for victims of crime. The appointed candidate will be able to demonstrate:
Ability to lead and manage in an operational area dealing with high risk and complexity in a way that delivers effective management of risk and vulnerability and produces good outcomes.
Relevant management experience gained within a social care/criminal justice/ community safety field.
Ability to organise and implement effective working practices, in a multi-disciplinary team.
Substantial practitioner experience in the Youth Justice System and experience of supervising staff/students/trainees, both in respect of direct work and in the promotion of professional development.
Assessment skills for safety to others and safeguarding work.
Home to 94,000 children, Croydon is a truly unique place to practice social work. We are a borough with big ambition, grit, and determination. Children's social care was judged ‘good’ in our last Ofsted inspection.
Our systemic practice framework places emphasis on relationships as key to supporting change for families. We make sense of the world through relationships, focusing on the whole family system and thinking about our own part in that too – what we bring, our own family stories and beliefs, how we use ourselves in the work that we do. Our practice model is all about collaboration - with our families, networks and partners; being open to challenge and ensuring our practitioners are highly trained in a variety of intervention approaches. Our established clinical service will support you to grow your own systemic practice within the service, providing accredited training, co-working and direct work with families.
For an informal chat about working in Croydon, contact Agata Stolowska at agata.stolowska@croydon.gov.uk