Restorative Justice Worker within Oxfordshire's Youth Justice & Exploitation Service
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Restorative Justice Worker within Oxfordshire’s Youth Justice and Exploitation Service (YJES). These vacancies come round very rarely. The role is uniquely rewarding, offering hope and resolution for people whose lives have been blighted by crime.
About the post
Oxfordshire’s Youth Justice and Exploitation Service receives referrals from the police and the courts for children between the ages of 10 and 18 who have offended. An important element of our work with these young people is to encourage them to consider the impact of their actions, and think about what they may need to do to repair any harm caused to others. The Restorative Justice team also meets with the people harmed, to update them on the child’s progress, offer support and make them aware of restorative justice.
The YJES works with children at risk of offending and those who are being exploited. Oxfordshire Children’s Services has restorative practice as a core approach, providing opportunities for you to contribute to the development of innovative restorative work in those wider contexts.
Restorative justice is based on a set of values with a specific ethos, language and skills. When people in conflict come together in a restorative meeting it can be powerful and transformative for both participants and facilitators. We need someone who likes a challenge, who is passionate, empathic and a good listener.
Our Organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. As a Disability Confident employer we guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job. We also guarantee interviews to care leavers who have completed further education and who meet the essential criteria for the job. For those leaving care without any further education, we guarantee an interview for our apprenticeships.
About the role
The role involves:
• Working directly with people who have been harmed by youth crime and the children who committed those crimes.
• Meeting both parties individually to hear about what happened, exploring their needs and wishes, and offering opportunities for carefully facilitated communication to address the harm caused by the offence.
• Facilitating restorative meetings between children who offend and those harmed by their crime, and for those who don’t wish to meet, supporting indirect forms of communication (for example through letters, shuttle mediation, practical reparation, etc.).
Most of the face-to-face contact is in people’s homes and the YJES works across Oxfordshire, so expect to travel around the county. You will have the privilege of hearing both sides of the same story, and will be uniquely placed to empower people to find their own way to resolve the issues leading to and arising out of a crime.
Full training to restorative justice facilitator level and practitioner registration will be provided, with future opportunities to join the pool of trainers.
We need someone who likes a challenge, who is passionate, empathic and a good listener. You will have a proven track record of engaging with young people and their families and working with other professionals.
About you:
You will have a desire to work with and alongside others, to learn, innovate and deliver improvements. You will be keen to develop professionally, and we are keen to support you.
Additional Benefits
Rewards and benefits
• Culture of flexible working
• Technology to support agile working where role permits
• Up to 33 day’s holiday p.a. plus bank holidays
• Option to ‘buy’ additional holiday
• Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support
• Membership of the Local Government contributory pension scheme, with an employer’s contribution of up to 19.9%
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Local and national discounts for shopping and travel
• Great learning and development opportunities to support your ongoing development
Kidlington, Oxfordshire
37
Salary range: £30,151 - £32,909 per annum
Submitting your application
To apply, click HERE
Closing Date: 24 November 2023
Interview Date: 04 December 2023
Contact Name: Pete Wallis
