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 & Exploitation Service (YJES). These vacancies come round very rarely. The role is uniquely rewarding, offering hope and resolution for people whose lives have been affected by crime.
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.)
About the post
The Youth Justice & Exploitation Service works with children at risk of offending, children who have offended and those who are being exploited. The Restorative Justice practitioner has a key role within this service.
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.
Oxfordshire’s Youth Justice & 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 meets with the people harmed, to update them on the child’s progress, offer support and make them aware of restorative justice.
Most of the face-to-face contact is in people’s homes and the Youth Justice & Exploitation Service 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.
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.
Up to 33 day’s holiday p.a. plus bank holidays
Access to a Local Government Pension Scheme with employer contributions of up to 19.9% of your salary
Culture of flexible working
Technology to support agile working where the role permits
Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support
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
£33,366 - £36,124
Submitting your application
https://careers.oxfordshire.gov.uk/jobs/job/Restorative-Justice-Worker/470
Closing Date: 2 January 2025
Interview Date: 13 January 2025
Contact Name: Pete Wallis
