Youth Work Team Leader – Hospital Project

About the role

Youth Work Team Leader – Hospital Project

Fixed Term, Full Time

£26,924 - £29,644 per annum

Location: Basildon

Closing Date: 5th November 2026

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Please note this vacancy is available as a fixed term contract or secondment opportunity for up to 12 months

The Youth Work in Hospital Project operates within the Mid and South Essex Hospitals (Basildon, Southend, and Broomfield) to support young people in their community. This service is available to those aged 11–19 (up to 25 with SEND) during their hospital visit and after discharge into their communities.

The project provides professionally qualified youth workers who:

Offer 1:1 support and guidance based on individual needs, such as school advocacy and next-step planning; signpost or referring young people to appropriate community groups or services; and Youth group interventions.

Youth workers are available five days a week, 9:00 AM–8:00 PM, for young people who have presented in A&E, are inpatients on a ward, or have been identified during clinic appointments. Enraging young people who may be experiencing health, emotional, social or personal challenges.

About the role:

As Team Leader You will be expected to:

Manage a caseload of young; completing assessments and delivering targeted interventions, mentoring and support.
Deliver youth work across hospital, community and home settings, including A&E departments, wards, clinics, schools.
Plan and facilitate group work programmes that promote young people's personal, social and health outcomes, ensuring young people help shape delivery.
Work collaboratively with NHS professionals, CAMHS, Education, Social Care, Housing, SEND, Youth Offending Services and other partners to maximise support and remove barriers.
Maintain accurate records, reports and data in line with Essex County Council requirements, information sharing protocols, GDPR and Youth Service procedures.
Promote safeguarding, equality, diversity, risk management and continuous improvement whilst contributing to team meetings, supervision and project development.

Essential Criteria:

JNC recognised Youth Work qualification (or equivalent relevant qualification or willingness to work toward qualification).
GCSE Grade A-C / 9-4 (or equivalent Level 2 qualification) in English and Mathematics.
Experience of delivering one-to-one and group work interventions with young people, including managing a caseload and assessing needs.
Strong understanding of safeguarding, child protection, professional boundaries, equality, diversity and information governance.
Ability to build positive relationships with young people and engage those facing complex personal, social, health or educational challenges.
Full UK driving licence, access to a vehicle and ability to travel across the Mid and South Essex, Thurrock and Southend area.

Desirable Criteria:

Knowledge of NHS services and experience working alongside CAMHS, Social Care, Education, SEND, Housing or Youth Justice services.
Experience supporting young people with long-term health conditions, emotional wellbeing needs or SEND.
Previous experience supervising, leading projects or supporting the development of other youth workers.
Knowledge of health inequalities, barriers to engagement and approaches that improve young people's health and wellbeing outcomes.

About You:

We are seeking a creative, proactive Youth Worker who is committed to helping young people overcome barriers, improve their wellbeing and achieve positive outcomes using Key Youth Work principles. You will be a strong team player, whilst being able to work independently while building effective partnerships across a range of organisations.

You will be passionate about listening and responding to young people's voices meaning it is at the centre to service delivery. To be confident working within a multi-agency environment where safeguarding, partnership working and youth work practice are key to achieving positive outcomes.

Interview process

If you are shortlisted, interviews will take place at our Basildon office. The interview will include a question-and-answer session along with a pre-prepared presentation.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email ami.fosker@essex.gov.uk

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