Social Worker - Specialist Adolescent & Child Exploitation - Children & Families
- Exeter, East Devon
- Full Time
- £39,862 - £47,181 per annum
Make an impact where it matters most – Specialist Adolescent & Child Exploitation Social Worker
About Us
Our Children & Families Service works within a complex and highly meaningful space, where we walk alongside adolescents at pivotal moments in their lives. Through restorative, relationship‑based practice, we support young people who may be at risk of harm both within and beyond their home, working in partnership with families, communities, and multi‑agency networks to create safer futures. We recognise that adolescence is a critical stage of development. For those on the edge of care or vulnerable to exploitation, risk is often shaped by relationships, environments, and lived experience. Our role is to remain alongside them with curiosity, consistency, and compassion; strengthening connection, disrupting harm, and creating opportunities for change.
About the Role
As a Specialist Adolescent & Child Exploitation Social Worker, you will work with young people who are at risk of harm outside the home, including exploitation, missing episodes, peer group influences, and family breakdown. This is a skilled safeguarding role requiring professional confidence, relational depth, and strong analytical thinking. You will balance care and challenge, building trust with young people while working assertively to reduce risk and disrupt harmful influences.
You will:
- Build strong, consistent, trauma‑informed relationships with young people, ensuring their voice shapes all assessment and planning
- Undertake holistic and contextually informed assessments, recognising the interplay between family, community, and peer influences
- Work restoratively with families to strengthen relationships, increase safety, and reduce the likelihood of care entry
- Identify, assess, and respond to extra‑familial harm and exploitation, using professional curiosity and evidence‑informed practice
- Use your statutory knowledge and professional judgement to lead safeguarding interventions and decision‑making
- Work proactively with partners to identify risk early, coordinate responses, and disrupt exploitation
- Develop creative, child‑centred safety plans that build resilience and strengthen protective networks
- Maintain clear, high‑quality recordings and analysis, supporting effective planning and outcomes
Your work will be central to improving safety, strengthening relationships, and promoting long‑term stability for some of Devon’s most vulnerable young people.
The Journey You Will Support
In this role, you will walk alongside young people and their families through a journey of change:
- Early Identification: Recognising emerging risks, building engagement, and offering timely support
- Escalating Risk: Responding with curiosity and coordination to risks outside the home, including exploitation
- Edge of Care: Working intensively with families to prevent breakdown and strengthen sustainable relationships
- Disruption and Intervention: Collaborating with partners to reduce harm, challenge exploitation, and increase safety
- Stability and Hope: Supporting young people to reconnect with positive networks, rebuild trust, and move toward safer futures
Throughout, you will hold both risk and resilience; ensuring young people feel seen, heard, and supported while safety remains paramount.
About You
You are a reflective, resilient, and relational practitioner, committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of adolescents.
You will bring:
- A strong understanding of adolescent development, trauma, exploitation, and contextual safeguarding
- The ability to build authentic, trusting relationships with young people and their families
- Confidence in risk assessment, analysis, and dynamic safety planning
- Experience working with young people at risk of harm outside the home or on the edge of care
- The ability to work collaboratively across multi‑agency safeguarding systems
- A commitment to trauma‑informed, restorative, and child‑centred practice
- Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England
- Completion of ASYE and a commitment to continuous professional development
What’s in it for you?
In return for the vital contribution that you make, we offer some fantastic employee benefits, including:
- Retention payment of £2,000 per annum pro rata.
- Generous annual leave, and the ability to purchase additional annual leave.
- Ongoing learning and development opportunities through our Social Work Academy.
- Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee well-being services.
- We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible
- Discounts at over 900 national & local high street retailers through our benefits platform
- Free onsite parking.
- Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
For more information about Working for Devon please visit our Working for Devon page.
We welcome applications from internationally trained and qualified candidates who are now residing in the UK and interested in joining our team.
If you are looking to move to Devon, subject to qualifying conditions, we offer a generous relocation allowance. There has never been a better time to make the move!
For any queries or an informal discussion about this role, please contact Emma Youngs on 01392 383000, or email emma.youngs@devon.gov.uk
Applications close on 28 June 2026.
Kindly note that interviews will be conducted at various stages of our recruitment campaign. We strongly encourage you to submit your application early to avoid disappointment as it is possible that the advert may close early.
Internal Applicants, please note: If you are an existing DCC employee, please use your iTrent Employee Self Service (ESS) details to log in and apply.
We welcome applications from candidates seeking a secondment. Please ensure you have approval from your current line manager before applying.
Additional Information
- This role requires a DBS disclosure.
- This role requires the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.
- DCC embraces the positive benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to providing an environment that is inclusive and safe. We welcome applications from people who share our commitment to stop discrimination, challenge inequality and promote diversity across Devon. More information can be found on our Equality and Diversity webpages.
- Happy to Talk Flexible Working The Council offers flexible working arrangements in terms of when and where people work e.g. hybrid working, part-time, condensed hours etc.
REQ009879 – Children’s Social Care
Interview Date: TBC
Click here to see the Job Description