37 hours per week / £32,565 per annum / fixed-term until 31 March 2027 / working Monday - Thursday 9.00-1700, Friday 9.00-16.30.
At YMCA DownsLink Group,is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be. We do this by providing a safe home, building life skills and self-confidence, and supporting emotional wellbeing and mental health.
Our Values - we do what’s right, we work with heart, and we build real connections - guide and shape how we show up for children and young people we support and for each other.
YMCA works to prevent and disrupt the sexual exploitation of children and young people aged 5-25 across East Sussex, Brighton and Hove, and Surrey.
We are a specialist team of passionate, dedicated professionals who support each other to work in this challenging area.
We deliver trauma informed, consent-based work with young people, schools, statutory services and Sussex Police. The WiSE SOLAH ("safer online at home") project focuses on one-to-one interventions as well as group work, training for professionals and creation of resources to challenge the risk presented from the online space.
We have an exciting opportunity to join the WiSE team as a Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Practitioner - SOLAH. We are looking for someone who is passionate about safeguarding children and young people, working creatively around promoting healthy relationships, online safety whilst creating safe spaces for children and young people to be heard.
You will provide early intervention support to children and young people 5-25 years who have been identified as being at risk of sexual or criminal exploitation.
Working primarily across Rye, Eastbourne, Robertsbridge and Hastings, you will support children and young people to stay safe online and within their communities by providing consultation, guidance and professional support to those working directly with individuals at risk of exploitation. As the role involves travel across East Sussex, you will ideally need access to a car and the ability to drive. Your work will include exploring key topics with young people such as risk, healthy and unhealthy relationships, sex and consent, negotiation and assertiveness, protective behaviours, personal boundaries, harmful sexual behaviours, gender identities, and concepts of masculinity.
Key responsibilities are:
- Manage a caseload of vulnerable young people and supporting them to stay safe and leave the influence of perpetrators
- Work with other professionals to deliver tailored care packages and provide consultation
- Maintain accurate case records and contributing to timely reports
- Liaise with Children’s Services, Sussex Police and other agencies to disrupt abuse and support prosecutions
- Deliver training and awareness-raising workshops to professionals and foster carers
- Contribute to strategic development and deputising at relevant meetings
This is a challenging role where children and young people do not always identify the level of risk they are exposed to or the abusive nature of the relationships they are in. The support of victims can be distressing and emotionally demanding for the workers, consequently 1-to-1 clinical supervision, weekly team meetings and regular line management supervision of cases and wellbeing.
If you are enthusiastic about this opportunity but don’t meet every single requirement, we still encourage you to apply. Your skills and experiences may be more transferable than you think, and you could be exactly the person we’re looking for.
Qualifications, experience and knowledge:
- Qualification in Youth Work/Social Work or equivalent, or comparable experience working with vulnerable young people
- Proven experience in safeguarding young children
- Experience providing casework support young people aged 10 to 25 years old
- Group work experience with young people
- Safeguarding children and young people at risk of serious harm
- Delivering and risk assessing outreach work with young people
- Knowledge of risks posed to vulnerable young people through sexual exploitation and harmful sexual behaviour
CLOSING DATE: Sunday 15 February 2026 at midnight.
Please note that we are unable to offer a work permit or visa sponsorship for this role; applicants must already have the right to live and work in the UK independently.
An inclusive workplace We are committed to policies and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion and to supporting our people to make sure our culture is consistent with this commitment.
Accessibility If you require assistance or have questions regarding the application process, please do contact us.
YMCA DLG requires all staff and volunteers to be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and to respond proactively to safeguarding concerns.
Successful applicants will undergo a thorough background screening process, conducted by an accredited third-party provider. This includes an Enhanced DBS check (with Children’s and Adults’ Barred Lists) as well as comprehensive reference and activity check.
Our mission is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be.

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Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Then Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!
We are looking for a Community Key Worker
Salary: £23,000 - £27,000
Location: Hertfordshire
Contract: Fixed Term until 31st March 2027
Hours p/w: 35 Hours per week
This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.
Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check. This role is also subject to Police Vetting.
About us
Advance is an award-winning and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women and girls survivors of domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending. We believe in empowering women and girls to lead safe, non-violent, equal lives so that they can flourish and contribute to the community.
We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women in their local community. We achieve this by being available to meet and support women in local settings and at our women’s centres, and by working in close partnership with other agencies.
Our values are to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.
About the role:
Are you an excellent relationship builder who can work with women and a diverse range of delivery partners to ensure that she meets her potential and successfully progresses through and beyond her probation supervision? Can you meet a women wherever she is at in her journey and work with her to create an individualised support package that gives her the best chance of breaking the cycle of offending?
Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for a feminist organisation who understand that supporting women in the criminal justice system requires a specialist and gendered approach? Do you believe in our values; to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaborate, innovate, and take accountability?
In your role as a Community Keyworker, you will be working with women involved in the Criminal Justice System; those on Probation in the Community and those women being released from Prison as part of their Post Sentence Supervision; providing some in-reach and ‘Through the Gate’ support. You will be working in a team of Community Keyworkers in your region. Each Keyworker will provide holistic one to one community support to women with a variety of needs.
About You:
To be successful as the Community Key Worker you will need the below experience and skills.
You will need to hold a UK driving licence with access to car that can be used for work purposes. A creative self-starter who will support the service and look for innovative solutions to support clients with complex needs. You are confident professional relationship builder with have good awareness of Safeguarding procedures. Strong Administration skills and understanding of compliant behaviours also, experience of supporting. With good knowledge of the criminal justice system and awareness of other support provisions within the Hampshire area.
How to apply:
Please apply with a copy of your CV and a cover letter through our careers site.
- Closing date: 8th February 2026
- Interviews will take place on a rolling basis.
*Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate
What we can offer you - Employee Benefits:
- A 35-hour working week
- An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!)
- Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home
- Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more
- Pension scheme
- Enhanced maternity/adoption provision
- Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
- Employee eye-care scheme
- Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles
- Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation
- Organisation wide away days
- Thorough induction and training
- Career development pathways
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Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have any additional needs please email our talent team and we will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.
Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities
We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay and benefits.
Safeguarding
Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers to share this commitment. We believe all individuals have the right to live their life free from violence and abuse and the right to feel and be safe. We have a suite of safeguarding policies, procedures and practice guidance, accessible to all staff, which promotes safeguarding and safer working practices across all our services and activities. When we recruit staff, we follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, this involves carrying out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks. We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.
Our vision is a world in which women and children lead safe, equal, violence-free lives so that they can flourish and actively contribute to society.



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