Senior Youth Worker

Help lead youth outreach and build safety around young people in Southampton

We are looking for an experienced Senior Youth Worker to join Southampton's Young People's Service and help coordinate youth outreach across the city.

This is a role for someone who believes that skilled, relationship based youth work can make a real difference. You will work with groups of young people in the places they spend time, helping to build trust, increase safety, create opportunities and respond to risks linked to exploitation, serious youth violence, missing episodes, peer relationships and community spaces.

The post sits within our Contextual Safeguarding Team and will play an important part in strengthening how Southampton responds to harm outside the home.

About the role

You will help coordinate outreach, detached and place based youth work across the city, ensuring activity is safe, purposeful and focused where need and risk are greatest. This will include using information from young people, communities, practitioners and partners to shape where and how outreach takes place.

You will work directly with groups of young people in community settings, including those who may be reluctant to engage with professionals. You will need to be confident approaching young people, building rapport over time, adapting your approach when situations change and making sound safeguarding decisions when concerns arise.

As a Senior Youth Worker, you will support Youth Support Practitioners in day to day delivery, model good youth work practice, contribute to planning and help ensure work is clearly recorded so we can understand demand, impact and unmet need.

A key part of the role will be supporting Community Guardianship by building relationships with parents, carers, schools, police, community groups, local businesses, residents and other trusted adults who can help create safer spaces and stronger support around young people.

The role will include planned evening and weekend working as part of youth outreach activity.

About you

We are particularly keen to hear from practitioners who:

• Are committed to child centred, trauma informed, culturally competent and anti oppressive practice.
• Have experience of outreach, detached or place based youth work with groups of young people.
• Can build trust with young people who may be reluctant, guarded or at risk.
• Understand the risks young people can experience outside the home, including exploitation, serious youth violence, missing episodes and peer or place based harm.
• Can work flexibly and safely in response to changing needs, risks and circumstances.
• Have sound safeguarding judgement and know when to share information, seek advice or escalation concerns.
• Can support and guide others, coordinate activity and build effective relationships with partners, community organisations, local businesses and residents.

Most importantly, you will care about young people and be committed to helping them feel safer, more connected and better supported in their communities.

This is an opportunity to join a developing area of work within the Young People's Service. You will be part of a supportive and committed team working with partners and communities to reduce harm, increase safety and improve opportunities for young people.

What we can offer you

Here at SCC we have a range of different benefits, a few examples can be found below.

• Excellent local government pension with 15.2% employer contribution
• Death in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution)
• Generous holiday 25-31 days, based on role and service
• Flexible working options (role dependent)
• Family friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for Dependents
• Training and development, including coaching and mentoring
• Health and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networks
• Veteran friendly employer with the Armed Forces Covenant
• Retail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platform
• Discounted memberships at local sports and fitness centres
• Sustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loans
• Employee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteer

For further information on our benefits package please visit Employee benefits (southampton.gov.uk)

Contact details for informal discussion

For further information and details regarding the position, please contact Laura Tanner, Contextual Safeguarding Lead at

Interview Information

Please note that provisional dates for interviews are Thursday 8th and Friday 9th October 2026 in person.

Recruitment contact details

Email: Tel:

For more information about SCC please visit Southampton City Council