Job info	Job info details
Job title	Referral Order, Volunteer and Participation Officer
Strategic team/Directorate	Children’s Services
Service	Youth Justice Service
Business unit	Youth Justice Service
Responsible to (day to day issues)	Youth Justice Service Team Manager
Accountable to (line manager)	Youth Justice Service Team Manager
Salary grade	G
JE ref	CSERV019

1. Key purpose of job

• To recruit, train, supervise and manage volunteers in a range of activities which support the work of the Youth Justice Service.
• To co-ordinate the allocation of volunteer tasks and ensures that they are carried out to national service standards.
• To keep volunteer core training up to date with initiatives, polices and guidelines with national, local and corporate objectives.
• To support the design of surveys and schemes of direct work which maximise the potential for children and families to provide feedback to the Youth Justice Service to improve the service.
• Provide information, advice on the legal framework, proportionality, and potential interventions to Referral Order Panel meetings.

2. Anticipated outcomes of post

• To increase the service offered by the YJS to help prevent offending by the effective deployment of volunteers.
• To improve community involvement in shaping the direction of the service.
• To work across children’s service providers to ensure coordination of provision and that the voice of children, and families is heard and acted upon.
• Providing a checkpoint to ensure the Referral Order contract is effective, fair, includes appropriate reparation and contains activities to reduce reoffending.

3. List key duties and accountabilities of the post

• Responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children at all times. 
• Responsibility for management, supervision, training, allocation of workload, and the development of volunteers.
• Required to solve varied problems relating to the supervision and management of the volunteer’s day-to-day support of operational duties in the YJS.
• Develop and continually update policies, practice and procedures for all aspects of volunteering by keeping up to date with national and local volunteer’s developments and the impact of existing and new legislation as it affects volunteers.
• Complete risk assessments for volunteers in line with health and safety legislation and procedures and develop, maintain and monitor safe working practice.
• Respond to enquiries relating to volunteering by telephone, letter and e-mail. Creating and distributing publicity material and application packs.
• Recruit volunteers within Safer Recruitment Practice.
• Devise, adapt, update and deliver training programmes.  Co-ordinate ongoing training and monitor on-going training needs.
• Train YJS workers and panel members in Restorative Panel Matters training.
• Devise and maintain systems to monitor personnel information, analyse data record the contribution of volunteers to YJS.  Ensure volunteer records are complete and individual files are set up and regularly updated on the system.
• Responsible for supporting and advising RO panels and facilitating reflection at the end of each Panel on how the panel was conducted and how well the restorative process was followed, examples of good practice and any learning for the future.
• To lead feedback activity and participation groups with children, families, parents, victims, and carers in relation to current policy and practice of the YJS. To feedback to management in respect of ongoing service development.
• To work with management to identify key service improvement priorities and contribute to the design of schedules of participation which gather feedback in respect of those priorities.
• To visit and meet with children, parents and carers on an individual and group basis and undertake direct work in respect of their participation.
• To participate in a day duty rota system and to act as appropriate adult at PACE interviews.

4. Budgetary/Financial Responsibilities of the post

• None. 

5. Supervision/Line Management Responsibilities of the post

• Direct responsibility for management, recruitment, selection, supervision, training and development of volunteers.
• Manage and supervise 12 volunteers, both individual and in groups, ensuring they work safely and in line with childcare legislation.

6. Working environment and conditions of the post

• Primarily office hours 9am – 5pm with the ability to work flexibly if required / requested, but with occasional evening working. Can work from home or office.
• Will hear disturbing or upsetting information regarding sexual, physical and offending behaviour by adults or children on a weekly basis.
• Will be working directly with service users in public and community spaces on a weekly basis. 
• May have to deal with conflict or abusive behaviour, some lone working and visiting homes of families and children that may be show signs of deprivation and criminal behaviour.

7. Physical demands of the post

• None. 

8. Specific resources used by the post

• Use of laptop and mobile phone on a daily basis. 

9. Key contacts and relationships

External

• Voluntary, community and third sector, victims, community groups, children, young people and families.

Internal

• YJS management and practitioners.   Children’s Services managers and practitioners.

10. Other duties

• To undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the level of the job.

Other Information

• All staff must commit to the Workplace Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Practice and Policy.
• Torbay Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo the checks appropriate to the post applied for.
• The post holder is expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures. And are aware that the Chief Executive and the Director for Childrens Services are the Safeguarding Leads for the Council. 
• This post is office based at Electric House, Torquay, but the post holder may be required to move their base to any other location within the Council at a future date.
• This post is eligible for hybrid working.
• As this post meets the requirements in respect of exempted questions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, all applicants who are offered employment will be subject to a criminal record check (Disclosure) from the Disclosure & Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed.  This will include details of ALL cautions, reprimands or final warnings as well as convictions, whether “spent” or “unspent”. Criminal convictions will only be taken into account when they are relevant to the post.
• The Council operates a Smoke-Free Policy and the post-holder is prohibited from smoking in any of the Council's buildings (including Council owned and Council leased buildings, but excluding designated areas in residential schemes), enclosed spaces within the curtilage of buildings, and Council vehicles. The Council does not permit smoking breaks within work time, however, in services where the flexi-scheme is in operation, employees may take reasonable break times outside of core hours, in accordance with flexi-time arrangements.  Employees should follow the flexi-scheme procedure for agreeing time away from their duties in the normal manner with their immediate colleagues and line manager, with break start and finish times being recorded, as with any other break-time arrangement. 
• The post-holder is expected to familiarise themselves with and adhere to all relevant Council Policies and Procedures.
• The post-holder must comply with the Council’s Health and Safety requirements as outlined in the H&S policy appropriate to the role.
• The post-holder must be committed to the Council’s Core Values for employees – “Torbay Council employees are committed to being forward thinking, people orientated and adaptable - always with integrity”. Evidence will be sought during the probation and appraisal processes.
• If this post is customer facing, it will require the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.
• If you are required to access a government system such as HMRC, DWP or The Public services network (PSN) as part of your role with the Council you will be required to complete a basic disclose with your line manager before you can access these systems. Your manager will be required to complete a verification form that confirms your identity, nationality and immigration status, employment history and unspent convictions (third party).
• If you are required to use your own vehicle on Council business or drive a council vehicle you will be asked to provide information on any driving endorsements by accessing www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence and providing a code to your Line Manager in order to share your driving licence information with the Council.

Person Specification

Note for Candidate

All Candidates

The supporting statement on your application form will be used to assess ability to meet the essential requirements of the role, so you should explain how you meet each of the numbered essential requirements within your supporting statement. In a competitive situation, the desirable criteria may be taken into consideration, so you are encouraged to show how you also meet each of the desirable criteria.

Candidates who consider that they have a disability

Reasonable adjustments will be made to the job, job requirements or recruitment process for candidates with a disability.

If you consider yourself to have a disability you should indicate this on your application form, providing any information you would like us to take into account with regard to your disability in order to offer a fair selection interview.

Where ever possible and reasonable we will make adjustments and offer alternatives to help you through the application and selection process.

If you have indicated that you have a disability on your application form you will be guaranteed an interview if you clearly demonstrate in your supporting evidence how you broadly meet the essential requirements of the role.

Job info	Job info details
Job Title	Referral Order, Volunteer and Participation Officer
Strategic team/Directorate	Children’s Services
Service	Youth Justice Service
Business unit	Youth Justice Service

Skills and effectiveness

Essential skills and effectiveness

• Ability to engage positively with children, young people and their parents and victims.
• Ability to build effective relationships with a wide range of organisations and individuals.
• Ability to engage and communicate effectively with children and young people and form positive working relationships with them, their families and carers, specialist services and colleagues.
• Ability to carry out safe lone working practices and deal with conflict and challenge in community settings.
• Proven communication skills both written and oral to enable liaison and critical feedback with managers, other staff, volunteers, the public, outside organisations and local educational institutes.
• Ability to present complex information to a variety of audiences both written and visual form using a range of Microsoft office software.
• Ability to manage conflicting priorities and demands effectively to meet expected deadlines.
• Effective ICT skills including word processing and computerised systems.
• As this post meets the requirements of the Immigration Act 2016 (part 7), the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.

Desirable skills and effectiveness

• Ability to work with children who offend. 

Knowledge

Essential knowledge

• Understanding the needs of local young people including the more complex issues that the most vulnerable young people face in society. 
• Child Protection and Safeguarding policies in relation to the use of volunteers in a childcare setting.
• Knowledge of relevant childcare and youth justice legislation and policy.
• Knowledge of Restorative approaches.
• Knowledge of Feedback and Participation best practice.
• Knowledge of overseeing risk management and other health and safety responsibilities.
• Knowledge of Appropriate Adult requirement when supporting children in police custody.

Desirable knowledge

• Employment law and benefit regulations in relation to volunteers.

Experience and achievements

Essential experience and achievements

• Experience of working in supervisory capacity with volunteers.
• Experience developing and delivering accredited training programmes.
• Experience working to tight timescales with finite resources.
• Experience of working across agency boundaries.
• Experience of negotiation and mediation between groups.
• Experience of engaging children and parents in feedback and participation activity. 
• Experience working within HR systems.
• Experience maintaining a database.
• Experience of monitoring and evaluating service or provision.
• Experience of working within an integrated service model or multi-agency team.
• Experience of writing reports.

Desirable experience and achievements

• Experience of working in criminal justice.

Qualifications/professional memberships

Essential qualifications/professional memberships

• Educated to GCSE O Level standard or equivalent. 
• Relevant qualification or equivalent to NVQ 3.
• Minimum introduction level 1 Child Protection training.
• ICT qualification - ECDL or equivalent.

Desirable qualifications/professional memberships

• Restorative Panel Matters trained. 
• Level 2 award in principles of risk assessment.

Other requirements

Other requirements of the job role

• Demonstrates a commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
• Ability to travel efficiently around the Bay and the Southwest in order to carry out duties.
• Ability to work occasional unsociable hours.
• Ability to accommodate occasional home-working.