Date: 24 Jul 2026
Location: Taunton, GB, TA1 4DY
#job-location.job-location-inline { display: inline; }
Company: Somerset Council
Closing date: 10/08/2026
Salary: Grade 9, ranging from £41,771 - £46,142 per annum, plus a £3000 recruitment allowance until 31/03/2028.
Location: Yeovil
Role summary
Lead and shape Somerset’s Youth Justice Service, where you will be providing strategic oversight and driving excellent practice for children and young people.
As an experienced Youth Justice Manager, you’ll lead a dedicated team supporting children, families and victims across Somerset, helping young people achieve positive outcomes and reduce offending. Using a solution-focused approach, you’ll champion local and national youth justice priorities, influence service development, and ensure high-quality interventions that make a lasting difference to young lives.
What you’ll do - key responsibilities
As a key leader within Somerset’s Youth Justice Service, you’ll play a vital role in shaping and delivering services that help children and young people move towards brighter futures. Working closely with the Operations Manager, you’ll lead a skilled team, oversee high-quality interventions, and ensure children receive the right support at the right time.
Our resource is focussed to reducing emerging and impactful criminal behaviours and supporting young people to improve their lives and reduce the impact of youth crime on the community.
In this role, you will:
Lead and develop Youth Justice and prevention services that support children and young people involved in, or at risk of, offending behaviour.
Manage, motivate and develop a team of professional practitioners, creating a positive culture of learning, wellbeing and high performance.
Ensure children receive safe, effective and trauma-informed support tailored to their individual needs.
Oversee assessments, plans and interventions, helping to protect young people from risks such as exploitation, self-harm and criminal involvement.
Champion Child First and restorative approaches, ensuring young people’s voices are heard and shape the support they receive.
Drive service quality, innovation and continuous improvement, maintaining high standards and inspection readiness.
Work collaboratively with partners including Police, Probation, Health, Education, Social Care and SEND services to achieve the best outcomes for children.
Chair and contribute to multi-agency panels and forums, helping to make informed decisions that keep children safe and support positive change.
Contribute to strategic planning, service development and partnership working across Somerset’s Youth Justice network.
Promote equality, diversity and inclusion, ensuring every child, young person and family feels respected, valued and supported.
What we’re looking for – knowledge, experience & skills
Educated to Degree level or equivalent qualification such as NVQ Level 6 in a relevant thematic area (such as youth justice, social work, probation, teaching, psychotherapy, psychology, youth work, health professions, education, domestic abuse, family work)
and
have significant experience working with families with multiple and complex needs whilst maintaining an outcomes focus, preferably within the youth justice context.
have evidence of a commitment to on-going professional development in their specialist field and to the principles of evidenced based practice.
Additional Information
Permanent contract. 37 Hours a week.
There is flexibility around core working hours to account for some weekend working, court duty and the occasional requirement for out of hours support for your staff team. Primary core hours are Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5pm.
The post will require travel and locality working across the county, especially within the Yeovil/South Somerset area.
30 day’s annual leave (additional to bank holidays)
This post requires a criminal background check via the Disclosure procedure.
Regretfully, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. We are only able to proceed with candidates who already have the right to work in the UK without the need for visa sponsorship
For an informal chat about the role please contact:
Sarah Perry, Operations Manager West, Prevention & Youth Justice. Email:
[email protected]
Sam Fahey, Head of Service Prevention & Youth Justice. Email
[email protected]
Please note, candidates will be reviewed on a regular basis and invited to interview accordingly. The advert may close at any time if we have a successful applicant.
Job Description: RP131 Youth Justice Team Manager
1180/SR
