Head of Service, Harms Outside the Home (HOTH) and Youth Justice

Lead the Change. Shape the Future. Make a Real Impact. As part of this journey, we are expanding our senior leadership capacity and are now seeking an exceptional Head of Youth Justice and Harms Outside the Home (Contextual Safeguarding) to help drive this vision forward.

This is a pivotal leadership role within our senior leadership team working closely with our communities, colleagues, partners, and elected members. You will play a central role in shaping how we respond to risks beyond the family home—leading our approach to contextual safeguarding and youth justice while ensuring children and young people receive the right support, at the right time, in the right place.

You will take a lead on changes identified in the White Paper “Cutting Youth Crime, Changing Young Lives”.

The Opportunity

This is your chance to lead with purpose, influence system-wide change, and make a lasting difference to the lives of children and young people.

You will

Provide strategic leadership across Youth Justice and Harms Outside the Home (contextual safeguarding) services

Lead and develop innovative responses to extra-familial harm, working across partnerships and communities

Drive excellence in practice, embedding trauma-informed, strengths-based and reflective approaches

Work collaboratively with partners to disrupt harm, reduce risk, and improve outcomes for vulnerable young people

Contribute to shaping future services in line with national reforms and emerging best practice

Ensure strong operational oversight and delivery across your service areas, with a clear focus on impact

This role combines strategic leadership with operational influence—your decisions will directly improve outcomes for children, young people, and families across North Somerset.

We are looking for a bold, values-driven leader who can inspire others and deliver meaningful change.

You will bring

Significant senior leadership experience within Youth Justice or associated professions and a good knowledge of children’s services.

A strong understanding of contextual safeguarding and responses to harm outside the home

The ability to translate vision into clear, deliverable strategies

A collaborative and inclusive leadership style, with a track record of building strong partnerships

A deep commitment to working alongside children, families, and communities to create sustainable change

In this role, your key responsibilities will be as follows

Key Responsibilities

Developing and implementing strategies and policies in own service area that support the overall achievement of the Children’s Services vision, strategy, and improvement plan as well as ensuring all statutory responsibilities are fully discharged

Leading and managing own service area ensuring colleagues and multi-agency practitioners meet their service area objectives and statutory responsibilities

Delivering high quality, value for money services whilst ensuring effective budgetary and performance management & contributing to the achievement of the council’s overall aims, practices and policy objectives, including modelling the council’s values and expected behaviours

Leading and delivering recruitment, induction, colleague development and training plans, ensuring that the service has an effective workforce capable of meeting its strategy, objectives and statutory requirements

Developing partnership working with a range of organisations, and internal stakeholders, which ensures the most cost effective and good quality delivery models

About You

We are looking for an individual who possesses the following skills and experience

Qualifications & Knowledge

To be educated to a degree level and hold a professional qualification in Social Work, Policing, Criminal Justice and/or management and a minimum of 3 years post qualification management experience in YOT/Youth Justice or related field or at least 5 years post qualified management experience in children’s social work, health, education, policing.

Management and supervisory experience in YOT / Youth Justice or Management and supervisory experience in relevant role with statutory partner (Children’ Social Work; Education; Health; Police; Probation) and 5 years relevant experience in Youth Justice. Expert knowledge of the service area with in-depth knowledge of working within a local authority, partnership agencies and the political agendas impacting on them

Significant post qualification work experience at Head of Service level including professional development of others

Highly developed specialist knowledge and extensive experience of direct work in contextual safeguarding involving risk management, decision making and internal investigations

Experience and understanding of delivering services to those at risk of Child Exploitation, Gang affiliation and Criminal influences.

Up-to-date knowledge of external issues (legislative, regulatory, best practice standards etc.) that affect Youth Justice practice.

Thorough knowledge and understanding of current social policy, good practice and all relevant Children’s Service legislation.

Experience

Experience in leading complex investigations, including strategy discussions, where multi agency information sharing, detailed analysis and robust planning has been required.

Able to demonstrate successful track record in developing effective multi-agency partnerships

Knowledge and experience of the framework of learning and development for qualifying and post qualifying social workers

Proven record of accomplishment in initiating new and improved ways of working

Experience of successful working in Partnership with children, young people and families

Satisfactory enhanced DBS disclosure certificate, relevant applications and checks will be carried out before and job offer is confirmed

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Disability Confident

About Disability Confident

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.