At YMCA DownsLink Group, our mission 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 What is Sexual Exploitation (WiSE) is our child sexual exploitation project which works with children and young people across Sussex and Surrey. Our primary focus of work is supporting young people affected by exploitation through raising awareness, education and empowerment.
We have an exciting opportunity to join the WiSE team as a Male Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Practitioner. This role involves providing specialist support, working across Sussex and Surrey to provide case work support and group interventions to boys and young men at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation, as well as those exhibiting harmful sexual behaviour. You will deliver outreach sessions in various settings, collaborate with professionals to support interventions leading to prosecutions, and provide training on boys/young men and sexual exploitation.
Due to the sensitive nature of the client group and in order to ensure that the young people feel safe, supported and understood, there is a genuine occupational requirement for the post holder to be male, as permitted under the Equality Act 2010.
A full driving licence and access to a car are essential due to the wide geographic area covered by the service. You will be required to visit head office in Hove once a week for an anchor day. The other days will be across Sussex and Surrey in the community
In delivering the role, the key responsibilities are:
- Carry a caseload of boys and young men identified as exhibiting harmful sexual behaviours and/or being sexually exploited
- Work collaboratively with other professionals to provide intensive and holistic support
- Maintain detailed case notes and contribute to reports
- Facilitate group work interventions in schools, accommodation projects and youth groups
- Deliver detached sessions in various settings to engage at-risk boys and young men
- Provide expertise and increase awareness of harmful sexual behaviour and sexual exploitation
- Contribute to WiSE Child Exploitation training and awareness campaigns
About You – 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 are looking for.
Experience and Knowledge:
- Proven experience in safeguarding young children
- Experience providing casework support to boys and young men
- 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
- Significant knowledge and understanding of boys and young men and their lives
Qualifications:
- Qualification in Youth Work/Social Work or equivalent, or comparable experience working with vulnerable young people.
CLOSING DATE: Sunday 4 January at midnight. We reserve the right to close this advert early if a successful candidate is found, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Successful candidates will already have the right to live and work in the UK without restrictions. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role
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 are required to undertake an Enhanced DBS (including the Children’s and Adults’ barred lists) check, along with a reference and background check carried out by a third-party service provider.
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 are required to undertake an Enhanced DBS (including the Children’s and Adults’ barred lists) check, along with a reference and background check carried out by a third-party service provider.
Our mission is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be.

The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
37.5 hours per week / £27,770 per annum / fixed term contract (paternity cover) until 4 August 2026 / working across Monday to Friday 9am-5pm, office based in Worthing, delivering Transitional Services in the community across Horsham, Crawley, Burgess Hill and Worthing.
It is essential that you hold a current UK driving license and have a car for this role (expenses for mileage paid at 45p per mile, excluding home to work journey).
At YMCA DownsLink Group, our mission 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.
West Sussex Transitional Housing provides homes for young people in a range of settings across the county. Services provide a low level of support for young people who already have a basic level of daily living skills and can keep themselves safe without daily supervision.Services are staffed Monday to Friday 9 to 5, with some services having on site staff and others visiting staff; all services are supported by a mobile night team who carry out regular safety and security checks. The aim of the service is to enable and empower young people to move on to independent accommodation and articulate and start to achieve their aspirations and ambitions.
We adopt a trauma informed and psychologically informed approach to supporting our residents to help them build essential life skills, identify their goals and support residents into independent accommodation. We have a dedicated team of Support Workers, Night Workers and additional Bank Workers who provide support, guidance, and signposting around areas such as housing, budgeting, living skills, jobs and relationship building.
We are looking for a Supported Housing Support Worker to join our team, who will hold a caseload of residents and meet with them weekly to build a support plan. Main areas of responsibilities are:
Housing:
- Coach young people to manage their occupancy agreement and adhere to house rules, in preparation for independent living
- Promote a credit culture, encouraging young people to keep up to date with all payments for rent
- Maintain up-to-date knowledge of housing and welfare benefits for young people and be well-informed on significant changes to housing law
- Deal effectively with non-compliance issues, such as non-payment of rent or damage to room, using restorative practices and working collaboratively with the rest of the team
Coaching and Engagement:
- Coach young people so they can articulate their aspirations and ambitions and take the lead in acquiring the skills they need to live independent and fulfilling lives
- Ensure young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their own personal development, to engage with the services on offer and build strong networks and connections within the local community
- Ensure consistent standards of safeguarding and Trauma Informed Practice when supporting young people, observing our safeguarding procedures, and keeping yourself and residents safe by respecting professional boundaries
- Maintain client records on In-Form (client database) detailing the young person’s journey in relation to their strengths and needs, any risks, and any outcomes (to monitor service performance)
General:
- Work as part of a team, on a rota shift pattern, ensuring young people at the service have non-judgemental, objective, and supportive staff during the day/evening, along with taking responsibility for personal safety during periods of lone working
- Contribute to a great working environment, with a calm, yet assertive manner, being able to handle potentially difficult situations
- Participate in relevant continuing professional development and utilise Reflective Practice Supervision as part of leading psychologically informed practice
There will be times when lone working will be a requirement for this role, but you will get to know the team and service, along with an induction and training prior to starting on a rota. Please download the job profile for full role details.
If you are enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience does not align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway and demonstrate how your experience is transferrable. You may be just the right candidate.
This is a dynamic and varied role; you will be passionate about being involved in the support and growth of young people.
Experience and Knowledge:
- Experience relating to housing, support work, and/or working with young people at risk
- Experience of working proactively with a caseload of young people with multiple and complex needs to enable them to achieve independent living
- Knowledge of statutory and voluntary resources available to young people with multiple and complex needs
- Knowledge of good safeguarding procedures in relation to young people and the ability to maintain effective professional boundaries
- Demonstrated confidence and competence in recording notes/actions in service log, incident forms and health and safety check lists
Skills and Abilities:
- Ability to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing for appropriate recording of a resident’s progression, and to evidence outcomes achieved
- Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with all stakeholders, including signposting and advocating for clients as necessary
- Ability to work autonomously, and use own initiative, as well as being part of a team
- Clear verbal and written communication skills, good IT, and keyboard skills
- Ability to de-escalate volatile situations and manage challenging behaviour appropriately
CLOSING DATE: Sunday 4 January 2025 at midnight. If we identify a strong candidate, we may invite them to interview ahead of the closing date.
We are not able to support a work permit or offer a visa sponsorship for this role. Candidates 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 are required to undertake an Enhanced DBS (including the Children’s and Adults’ barred lists) check, along with a reference and background check carried out by a third-party service provider.
Our mission is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be.

The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.