18 month fixed term contract

Hosted by the Royal Borough of Greenwich, SHiFT will work to break the destructive cycle of children and young people committing crimes so that, instead, they make a positive contribution to our society and build better lives for themselves.

At the heart of SHiFT’s approach will be the relationship the child or young person has with a SHiFT Guide. Participants will typically spend 18 months with their SHiFT Guide who will have the time, skills, experience and support to do whatever it takes to get alongside each child and young person - helping them to change their life so that so that, one day, they will no longer be needed. For more information about SHiFT please visit www.shiftuk.org/shift_teams

Job Role

As a SHiFT Guide you will be responsible for forming and developing supportive relationships with 5-6 children or young people who are, or are at risk of, repeatedly committing crimes. You will be a constant presence in their lives, offering a stable point of focus for expert support through pre-offending behaviours and active periods of offending, custody and release. You will need to be there for them in moments of crisis when they are in most need of support and are open to being challenged about the decisions that got them into trouble – as well as to celebrate successes, big and small. You will:

• Work tenaciously and creatively with a small number of children and young people with the time, flexibility and resources to help them change their lives;
• Build relationships quickly, helping children and young people to navigate complex systems of support and simplifying these wherever possible;
• Work effectively as a member of the local multi-disciplinary SHiFT team, contributing collaboratively to the work of your SHiFT team and shaping the SHiFT pilot.

A SHiFT team is made up of 5 highly experienced SHiFT Guides and one Team Coordinator supporting all aspects of SHiFT activities. The team works tenaciously, collaboratively, and systemically with SHiFT participants and everyone in their world, identifying the right moment to intervene with tailored and flexible interactions that suit each person.

One SHiFT Guide takes on a lead role within the team however a SHiFT team is not traditionally hierarchical; making decisions as a group, taking collective responsibility for SHiFT delivery, and sharing knowledge and experience to maximise good practice.

The ideal SHiFT Guide candidate will:

• Be persistent, flexible and determined; able to identify the “hook” that motivates a young person to think, reflect and begin taking steps towards a better life.
• Have extensive knowledge and experience of delivering successful change through evidence-based approaches with children and young people who present with a range of complex needs.
• Have experience of working with professionals from other disciplines, overcoming interprofessional inertia and working in concert for better outcomes for children.

This is an ideal role for experienced social workers, teachers, youth workers or other professionals who want to invest their professional life in meaningful, skilled and direct work with children.

SHiFT is a pilot of a new way of working which you will help shape and develop. The SHiFT pilot needs your experience and input to ensure it develops the impact we believe it can. You will need to be flexible and collaborative; ready to share ideas and take risks to change the lives of children and young people in Greenwich. Apply now!

For more information about this role, please contact Emma Clements emma.clements@royalgreenwich.gov.uk, 07946346904 or Michael O’Connor at info@shiftuk.org, 07956323172

Safer recruitment: Royal Borough of Greenwich is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Any roles which involve working with children, young people or vulnerable adults, or roles in which the duties will involve access to sensitive information relating to children, young people or vulnerable adults, the Royal Borough will take up references prior to interview. You should provide details of referees including your current and previous employers, covering the last 5 years. Candidates can request for us not to send a reference request to their current employer prior to interview by emailing us at recruitment@royalgreenwich.gov.uk. As part of our Safer Recruitment Policy, a full employment history is also required for this role. Please provide a full employment history, together with a satisfactory written explanation of any gaps in employment. Unless otherwise stated, a Basic DBS check will be undertaken as part of the pre-employment checks for successful candidates.

Diversity Statement: Royal Borough of Greenwich values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this. We therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community.

High Volume Applications: Royal Borough of Greenwich reserves the right to close any vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date should there be a high volume of applications received.

DBS: This role requires an Enhanced DBS. (This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act,1974)

Advert Close: All vacancies close at midnight unless otherwise stated

Full Employment History: A full employment history is required for this role. Please provide a full employment history, together with a satisfactory written explanation of any gaps in employment.

How Applications are Scored: Each application is scored according to how well the supporting statement addresses each point on the Person Specification for the role. Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the extent to which they meet the specific points within the Person Specification. The Person Specification is supplied with the job advert. When completing your application, please use the supporting statement section to tell us how you meet each of the points on the Person Specification. We need to have this information in order to consider your application. If you have a disability and are unable to meet some of the job requirements specifically because of your disability, please address this in your application. If you meet all the other criteria, you will be shortlisted and we will explore jointly with you if there are ways in which the job can be changed to enable you to meet the requirements.

Interview Arrangements: During this time, our priority for all of our recruitment activity is to make sure our applicants, hiring departments and new starters are informed, safe and supported. Careful and thorough consideration will be given to interview arrangements and for any essential in-person recruitment, we will ensure this is held in a suitable, secure setting with additional arrangements to ensure any current safety requirements are fully adhered to.

Salary: Salaries advertised are for a standard working week of 35 hours unless otherwise stated. Please use this 'Salary Calculator to help you calculate a pro rata salary.