Role Summary & Benefits

Full Time 37 hours per week (Monday – Friday)

Based at County Hall, Exeter, Topsham Road, Exeter

Are you an experienced practitioner who is looking for a new challenge? Are you passionate about making a difference to the lives of children and young people? Then we would love to hear from you!

An exciting opportunity has arisen for dynamic, motivated and committed individual to join Devon County Council’s Specialist Links Team, which supports children and young people who are exposed to harm outside the home.

About the Service

The Links Team is a level 3 targeted prevention service which works to increase safety and reduce risk and harm for young people and some young adults who:

• Have gone missing from home (any form of home).
• Are at risk of being exploited.
• Are involved in increasing anti-social behaviour (ASB) and offending which may increase vulnerability to exploitation and/or exposure to youth violence.

The service takes a strengths-based approach to creating safety and reducing risks in the places and spaces where children and young people are at risk outside of the home.

About the Role

As a Links Intervention Practitioner you will provide targeted support to children and young people who go missing, or are at risk of exploitation and harm outside the home. This includes taking a whole family approach to support the child in their family context. You will lead or contribute to assessment and intervention in the extrafamilial contexts where young people are at risk. You will undertake Return Home Conversations following missing episodes to determine if further support is required, directly providing early intervention support to prevent further episodes of missing, prevention of harm outside of the home and through working collaboratively with family and other professionals to divert the young person away from further missing episodes and disrupt harmful networks.

The role covers the localities of East Devon and Exeter, however there will be occasions when the practitioner are required to cover and travel to other parts of the county.

About You

We are looking for a skilled Links Intervention Practitioner who has a strong understanding of safeguarding and contextual safeguarding, and knowledge of the protection of children and young people who are exposed to risk within the community.

You will have experience of working directly with children, adolescents and families and will have an understanding of the issues affecting them and the reasons why they go missing.

You will be emotionally resilient with the confidence to work under pressure and will have a proven ability to develop trusting relationships with young people and their parents/carers from a range of backgrounds, whom we may find it challenging to connect with, whilst always maintaining professional boundaries.

You will possess a wide range of skills and knowledge, including:

• Excellent communication, engagement and risk assessment skills and will be able to develop meaningful plans for intervention which keep children and young people safe from harm.
• The ability to work with groups of young people and be confident to deliver preventative interventions within a range of settings such as schools.
• Can manage your time effectively, maintaining accurate records and preferably have experience of lone working arrangements.
• Experience of multi-agency working and able to develop and maintain strong relationships with professionals from a range of agencies including the Police, education and health.
• Fulfil the Local Authority’s statutory responsibility to offer Return Home Conversations to young people who have been reported missing.
• An understanding of Devon County Council’s safeguarding procedures and your responsibilities when working with vulnerable young people and their families.

The successful candidate will need to able to travel across their locality and to wider areas of the county when required, including areas where there may be no, or limited public transport. Therefore, the postholder will need to have the ability to travel according to the needs of the job, with reasonable adjustments, if required, according to the Equality Act.

If you are interested in working for an organisation that seeks to improve the outcomes of Children, Young people, and families we would be delighted to hear from you.

What you’ll get in return

In return for the vital contribution that you make, we have some fantastic employee benefits available, including:

• Generous annual leave, & the ability to purchase additional annual leave.
• Free onsite parking.
• 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, including working from home.
• Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Discounts at over 900 national & local high street retailers through our benefits platform.
• Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice scheme.

Interview Date: 22/09/2026

For an informal discussion about this role, please email either Nick Meller (Links Team Manager) nick.meller@devon.gov.uk or Ellie Veasey (Links Practice Supervisor) ellie.veasey@devon.gov.uk

For more information about Working for Devon please visit our Working for Devon page.

How to apply 

Please ensure when completing your application form that you provide a supporting statement which demonstrates how you meet the essential and desirable criteria as described in the person specification of the job description. Applications may not be taken forwards if the supporting statement is not adequately completed.

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.

Please click Apply Now to see further information.

• 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.
• For details on the use of AI in applications and Devon County Council’s use of AI in Recruitment please see Use of AI in Our Recruitment Processes – Working for Devon | Devon County Council
• 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.
• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
• This role requires the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.
• Personal data we collect from you will be processed in accordance with the Applicant privacy notice.
• For more information about Working for Devon please visit our Working for Devon page.
• We cannot consider visa sponsorship at this time. UK Right to Work is required. For further guidance on right to work in the UK, please visit: Work in the UK – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
• This role requires a DBS disclosure.

Key Responsibilities