SAFE Worker
Job Description
Job summary
As a SAFE worker you will be part of the Missing and Exploitation Team (M&ET). Our M&ET is part of an integrated service which means we are closely aligned with the Adolescent Team and Youth Justice Teams. As a result of these close links, you will be working alongside social workers, youth justice officers, police, psychologists, education officers, substance misuse workers and health workers. In Cambridgeshire we strive to ensure that children are at the heart of everything we do and to provide practitioners with the tools and resources they need to do their best practice. Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. For more information or to chat about this opportunity please contact Rachel Speechley, Missing and Exploitation Team Manager on 01223 507235.
Main duties of the job
As a SAFE Worker you will be line managed by the SAFE Team Leader within the Missing and Exploitation Team. The role requires you to establish and maintain trusted, long-term relationships with children experiencing exploitation by providing regular and consistent support over several months. The aim is to offer positive alternatives to help young people redirect their lives and enhance their safety. This may involve supporting their engagement in education, training, or other constructive activities that align with their interests and skills. SAFE workers provide guidance on effective strategies for working with exploited children, including developing safety plans for young people, their families, schools, or other organisations. Additionally, SAFE workers collaborate closely with partner agencies, attending meetings and sharing relevant information as needed. A key aspect of the role is to support education providers and communities in building resilience, identifying risks, and implementing measures to prevent exploitation. The SAFE worker acts as an advocate for young people, ensuring their voices are heard and remain central to decision-making. SAFE workers work alongside children, empowering them to express their needs, concerns, and aspirations while ensuring that their perspectives shape the support and interventions they receive. SAFE workers will support young people using a trauma informed model of intervention that helps young people to understand their previous and current experiences and gradually make steps and positive plans for the future. This team will work with young people and their families to help them recognise the risk they are at, and develop safety plans to avoid them becoming involved in exploitation and serious youth violence in the future. You will have 3 A Levels/NVQ Level 3 and GCSE level C in Maths and English or equivalent. You will also be someone who has in depth knowledge of child protection and safeguarding processes and services, an awareness of issues relating to communities from different racial and cultural backgrounds and equal opportunities and up to date working knowledge of relevant legislation relating to young people. You will also be someone who has the ability to adapt to change on a daily basis, and/or longer term as services develop and change, to communicate effectively at all levels, through different mediums as required and work closely within a team as well as being able to work independently. You will have experience of working with young people with challenging behaviour, working in a statutory or voluntary agency, Social Care, Youth Work with Adolescents or Youth Offending. You will also be someone who can demonstrate experience of case work, supervision, risk management and inter-agency working and who is able to work in a way that promotes the safety and well-being of children.
About us
Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes. Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.
Job responsibilities
As a SAFE worker you will be part of the Missing and Exploitation Team (M&ET). Our M&ET is part of an integrated service which means we are closely aligned with the Adolescent Team and Youth Justice Teams. As a result of these close links, you will be working alongside social workers, youth justice officers, police, psychologists, education officers, substance misuse workers and health workers.
In Cambridgeshire we strive to ensure that children are at the heart of everything we do and to provide practitioners with the tools and resources they need to do their best practice.
Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
For more information or to chat about this opportunity please contact Rachel Speechley, Missing and Exploitation Team Manager on 01223 507235.
Our benefitsWe value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage
- A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing , both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
- Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme
- Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances
- Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings
- Access to development opportunities , apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth
- Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day
- Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network
- Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards
- An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes
Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.
What will you be doing?As a SAFE Worker you will be line managed by the SAFE Team Leader within the Missing and Exploitation Team.
The role requires you to establish and maintain trusted, long-term relationships with children experiencing exploitation by providing regular and consistent support over several months. The aim is to offer positive alternatives to help young people redirect their lives and enhance their safety. This may involve supporting their engagement in education, training, or other constructive activities that align with their interests and skills. SAFE workers provide guidance on effective strategies for working with exploited children, including developing safety plans for young people, their families, schools, or other organisations. Additionally, SAFE workers collaborate closely with partner agencies, attending meetings and sharing relevant information as needed. A key aspect of the role is to support education providers and communities in building resilience, identifying risks, and implementing measures to prevent exploitation.
The SAFE worker acts as an advocate for young people, ensuring their voices are heard and remain central to decision-making. SAFE workers work alongside children, empowering them to express their needs, concerns, and aspirations while ensuring that their perspectives shape the support and interventions they receive.
SAFE workers will support young people using a trauma informed model of intervention that helps young people to understand their previous and current experiences and gradually make steps and positive plans for the future. This team will work with young people and their families to help them recognise the risk they are at, and develop safety plans to avoid them becoming involved in exploitation and serious youth violence in the future.
About youYou will have 3 A Levels/NVQ Level 3 and GCSE level C in Maths and English or equivalent.
You will also be someone who has in depth knowledge of child protection and safeguarding processes and services, an awareness of issues relating to communities from different racial and cultural backgrounds and equal opportunities and up to date working knowledge of relevant legislation relating to young people.
You will also be someone who has the ability to adapt to change on a daily basis, and/or longer term as services ...
