Team Manager (Youth Justice/Youth Engagement Service)

About the Role

We are seeking a Team Manager within the Youth Engagement Service to provide strong leadership and practice oversight to a team of Youth Engagement Officers working with children and young people at risk of exploitation and harm in their communities.

This is a key operational and safeguarding role within Children and Families, supporting young people experiencing complex risk, vulnerability and contextual harm. The role requires confident practice leadership, partnership working and a strong commitment to relational, trauma‑informed approaches.

This post requires a recognised Social Work qualification and current registration with Social Work England, due to the statutory safeguarding and risk‑management responsibilities of the role.

Role Focus

The Team Manager is responsible for the day‑to‑day management and professional oversight of Youth Engagement Officers delivering direct work with children at risk of exploitation, including criminal and sexual exploitation, peer harm and contextual safeguarding concerns.

The role focuses on ensuring that community‑based youth engagement work is safe, purposeful, coordinated and outcome‑driven, with robust oversight of risk, decision‑making and safeguarding responses.

Key Areas of Focus

Practice Leadership and Safeguarding

• Provide practice leadership and management oversight for Youth Engagement Officers working intensively with children at risk of exploitation in community settings.
• Ensure safeguarding responses are timely, proportionate and aligned with statutory thresholds, including appropriate escalation and multi‑agency intervention.
• Support and embed contextual safeguarding and trauma‑informed practice, recognising the impact of extra‑familial harm on children and young people.

Team Management and Supervision

• Line manage Youth Engagement Officers, providing regular supervision, guidance and reflective oversight of practice, risk and decision‑making.
• Ensure staff are supported to undertake complex, relationship‑based work safely and effectively in the community.
• Promote consistent, accountable and child‑centred practice across the team.

Service Delivery and Quality

• Oversee the delivery of youth engagement interventions aimed at reducing exploitation, increasing safety and improving outcomes.
• Contribute to quality assurance activity, audits and learning from practice.
• Monitor team performance, activity and impact, ensuring accurate recording and reporting.

Partnership Working

• Work closely with colleagues and partners across social care, police, education, health and the voluntary and community sector.
• Contribute to multi‑agency planning and risk management for children vulnerable to exploitation.
• Represent the Youth Engagement Service at relevant operational and safeguarding forums.

Who This Role Is For

This role will suit a Social Work‑qualified Team Manager or experienced practitioner with a strong understanding of safeguarding, exploitation and contextual harm, and the confidence to lead practice with children at risk in community settings.

Essential Requirement

• Recognised Social Work qualification
• Current registration with Social Work England

Why Work in the Youth Engagement Service?

Kirklees is committed to strengthening its response to exploitation and harm outside the home. This role offers the opportunity to:

• Lead meaningful, preventative work with children at risk
• Support and develop skilled Youth Engagement Officers
• Be part of a service that places relationships, safety and young people’s lived experiences at the centre of practice

Additional Information

• Flexibility is required, including some evening or weekend working.