Probation Link Worker - 04534

Are you passionate about supporting children and young people to make positive life changes and reduce offending? West Berkshire Council is seeking an experienced and motivated Probation Link Worker to join our Youth Justice Support Team (YJST).

This is a unique and rewarding role that acts as a vital link between the Probation Service and Youth Justice Services. Working within a highly skilled multi-agency team, you will support children and young people involved in the youth justice system, helping them to achieve positive outcomes, reduce reoffending, and safely transition into adult services where required. You will work closely with colleagues across children's services, probation, courts, police, education, health and wider community partners to deliver effective interventions and ensure the voice and needs of young people remain at the centre of practice.

Please not this is a fixed term role (Funding limited project) until 31.3.27

Interview date: Friday 23rd October 2026

The role
Key responsibilities include:

• Managing a caseload of children and young people across prevention, out of court disposals and statutory court orders.
• Acting as the lead professional and undertaking assessments of reoffending risk, safety and wellbeing.
• Developing and delivering creative, child-centred intervention plans that promote positive change.
• Managing transition cases between Youth Justice Services and the Probation Service, including liaison and sentence planning.
• Preparing pre-sentence reports and representing the Youth Justice Support Team in Youth, Magistrates' and Crown Courts.
• Supporting children in custody and coordinating effective resettlement and post-release plans.
• Working collaboratively with parents, carers and partner agencies to reduce offending and improve outcomes.
• Participating in Integrated Offender Management (IOM) meetings and contributing to safeguarding, quality assurance and service improvement activities.

We are ideally looking to offer the successful candidate the full number of hours advertised above. We may however consider offering less hours than advertised providing they meet the requirements of the role and service which will be determined by the recruiting manager.

The ideal candidate would have the following qualifications, skills and attributes:

• A professional qualification in Probation or Social Work.
• Significant experience working with children, young people or adults who offend, including managing high-risk and complex cases.
• Experience of court work, including preparing pre-sentence reports and supervising statutory orders.
• Sound knowledge of current youth justice legislation, policy and probation practice.
• Experience of building effective partnerships across multiple agencies and stakeholders.
• Strong assessment skills, including evaluating risk of reoffending, vulnerability and risk of serious harm.
• Excellent communication and report-writing skills, with confidence presenting information in court and multi-agency settings.
• The ability to engage positively with children and young people to support behavioural change.
• A full driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes.
• Flexibility to work occasional evenings, weekends and participate in the Saturday Remand Officer rota.
• Commitment to safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion

West Berkshire Council offer excellent employment benefits such as:

• Flexible working wherever possible
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities
• Generous Local Government pension scheme
• Family friendly policies
• A range of local discounts
• Wellbeing Programme including Employee Assistance Programme and employee benefits
• You will also be entitled to a generous annual leave entitlement starting at 29 days per annum (plus public holidays) Rising by an additional 5 days after 5 years’ service. (Pro rata for fixed term contract)

Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Join us at West Berkshire Council and make a positive impact in our community while advancing your career. Explore everything that a career with West Berkshire Council has to offer here: Working with Us

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact: Stacey Clay 01635 553600 or Stacey.clay@westberks.gov.uk

Equal Opportunities

The Council supports Equal Opportunity of employment and positively encourages applications from people who fall within any of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

How to apply

Please now complete a short online application form. You will then be able to upload your CV.

This role has been identified as public facing in accordance with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016; the requirement to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English applies.

West Berkshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all its staff and volunteers to share these values. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. This role involves regulated activity with children. As such, appointment is subject to an Enhanced DBS check with the relevant Barred List(s).

In this post you will be required to maintain continuous registration with the DBS Update Service for the duration of your employment.

This role requires the incumbent to have a car available at work to undertake his/her duties as they will be expected to undertake at least 1500 business miles per year. Essential Car User status attracts a lump sum allowance paid on a monthly basis and will be reviewed annually to ensure only employees driving 1500 miles or more receive this allowance.

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AI in Applications

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However, applications must reflect your own skills, experience and understanding. If an application appears to rely excessively on AI-generated content, it may not meet the required standard and could be rejected.

We encourage all applicants to ensure their submissions are authentic, tailored to the role, and clearly demonstrate their own knowledge, experience and suitability.