Missing Practitioner

**About The Role**:
The Harbour Team are excited to be expanding our missing service across Dorset for children and young people who have been reported missing from home or care. We are looking for caring, committed and positive individuals to join our supportive team, working directly within the local community and families in their homes. We pride ourselves on providing Return Home Interviews at the earliest opportunity, so we can build trust and develop meaningful relationships. You will manage a small caseload of children and young people where you’ll play a key role providing a range of interventions to keep them safe.

We are committed to meeting all children and young people following their return home, using restorative and therapeutic strategies, to explore what life is like for them, to reduce risk and to better understand their experiences.

We are passionate about finding creative and solution-focused outcomes that are co-designed, with the child and young person at the centre of everything we do. Are you dedicated to ensuring that children and young people can express themselves clearly, to participate fully in planning and the delivery of services, so that their voices can be heard at all stages? Then we would like to hear from you

**What you will be doing**

To Work flexibly across the week, evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays to conduct Return Home Interviews (RHI) with children and young people who have been reported missing from home or care.

To oversee a small caseload of children and young people on the edge of care or in care requiring placement stability support.

You will have the ability to professionally nurture our children and young people and be passionate and aspirational in your support and care.

To complete RHI’s within specific timescales, so we can deliver a statutory service to children and young people who have been reported missing. This will include face to face meetings with young people and their families, the completion of the required paperwork and the associated reporting to necessary professionals.

Find creative ways to engage children and young people who are hesitant to participate with RHI’s. This might include, but is not limited to, using different printed materials, therapeutic interventions or outdoor activities that promote pro-social behaviours.

Make referrals to or signpost children and young people to other services within the locality framework. This might include, but is not limited to, Youth Justice Service, education services, support groups, sexual health services, CAMHS, Careers/NEET support and community activities.

In addition you will:

- Ensure accurate, timely recordings on the children and young peoples individual files, analysing and reflecting on their progress.
- Maintain a chronology of all significant events for children and young people.
- Follow relevant Social Care procedures and liaise with relevant professional groups.
- Develop professional, honest relationships with parents, children and young people.
- Contribute to the targets required to reduce the number of children in care, children on child protection plans, children on child in need plans and first-time entrants into the youth justice system.
- Be a source of advice to colleagues and partners about exploitation/missing related issues.
- Support with the formation and gathering of performance data, documents and analysis as requested.
- Attend such staff meetings, briefings and training as required by the Missing team.

**About you**

We are looking for individuals who:

- Are caring, motivated, fun and have a lot of enthusiasm.
- Are passionate and thoughtful about the type of care you provide and the opportunities you create.
- Have the ability to form connections with children and young people and develop positive relationships.
- Can learn and use different approaches to care and follow individual care plans.
- Are curious about what a child might need and finding creative solutions to meet these needs.
- Are willing to achieve the skills and knowledge to develop your practice.
- Want to improve the lives and opportunities of children and young people who are disabled and their families.
- Can demonstrate resilience within your work and work effectively with your team.

**Further Information**:
This post requires significant travel. You must have a vehicle (or transport we deem suitable) available for use as needed.

See our policy on safeguarding children and young people.
- We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We offer an interview to everyone who declares a disability and meets the essential criteria for the role.

We also look for applicants who share our commitment to our behaviours. We will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.

We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide