Youth Engagement Officer
£22,000 full time per annum (pro rata)
14 hours per week – 15 months (subject to future funding)
Are you a great communicator with excellent attention to detail?
Do you want to be part of a vibrant team?
Are you up for a challenge?
If you have answered yes to all of the above, please read on...
Background
CommUNITY Barnet (CB) is Barnet’s community and voluntary services council. It is responsible for leading and inspiring the local voluntary and community sector. We work to unlock the capacity of local people and communities who want to contribute to Barnet being a good place to live, work and study.
CommUNITY Barnet currently supports over 800 voluntary and community organisations who deliver a range of specialist services to some of our most vulnerable or marginalised communities. CommUNITY Barnet’s role is to empower organisations by working with them so that they can deliver high quality, cost-effective services.
CommUNITY Barnet incorporates the Barnet Volunteer Service, Health Watch Barnet, Brent and Newham, Young People and Families Team and our Young People and Families Network. We also deliver bespoke support to organisations working with children and young people Development Team dedicated to empower and enhance the capabilities of local communities.
What are we looking for?
The successful candidate need to be confident and outgoing, excellent telephone manner, an effective team member and capable of working on your own initiative. You must have excellent communication skills and be able to with young people and adults alike. We are looking for someone who is proactive, and able to build and maintain positive and productive working relationships.
Evening and school holiday working will be required when running young people’s meetings and hosting member events, so a degree of flexibility will be needed.
Job Brief
The list below is a summary of some of the projects and work that the substantive post holder
Youth Engagement Officer – January 2017 – December 2018
Contract for 14hours pw or equivalent pm to be worked as and when the work requires
Barnet Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB)
The Barnet Safeguarding Children Board has responsibility for the health, safety and well-being of young people in Barnet. Their job is to ensure that all young people can flourish, whatever their challenges are. It is made up of professionals from health, the Council, Police and voluntary sector amongst others.
The Youth Engagement Officer will need to support the BSCB in relation to children and young people’s views and integrating it into their priorities and business plan.
Youth Shield
Youth Shield is Barnet’s Junior Safeguarding Children’s Board and works alongside the BSCB (Barnet Safeguarding Children’s Board). The Board focuses on main priorities for children and young people in the borough. Currently these include E-safety, Mental Health and Domestic Violence. Youth Shield links in with these themes to discover young people’s views, questions and experiences and feeds them back the BSCB.
The Youth Engagement Officer will need to support the work of Youth shield including arranging meetings, supporting youth led developments, maintaining meeting records, linking with the BSCB chair and submitting regular reports to BSCB, sending a video question from young people at each BSCB meeting and co-ordinating 3 youth conferences on the themed priorities which are youth led.
Healthy Relationships Project
This is a project which was developed by Youth Shield after a survey they ran for young people in 2011 where they discovered that people were unsure about healthy and unhealthy relationships and wanted more information.
They developed workshops to give young people a chance to discuss and learn about healthy relationships, controlling behaviour and the early warning signs of abuse.
Young people aged 16-25 are trained up to become youth trainers so they can deliver sessions to young people aged 12-18.
The Youth Engagement Officer will need to support the youth trainers before during and after sessions, help develop, promote and do administration for the training courses, liaise with schools and youth centres and ensure evaluation forms are entered onto the system and apply for funding.
Strategic work
To liaise with the Voice of the Child team and strategic officers within LBB in relation to participation; Barnet youth Board, UK YP, Anti bullying group. To act a lead representative with council, health and national participation strategic groups on behalf of Barnet VCS
Healthwatch Barnet Youth
Healthwatch Barnet Youth supports young people to find out young people’s views and to support young people to have their say on health matters, providing a link between young people and Healthwatch Barnet.
This is done through focus groups which need to be coordinated and recorded.
Main Purpose of the role
· To facilitate and support the workings of Youth Shield (junior safeguarding board for 13 – 25 year olds)
· Coordinate Healthy Relationships Peer to Peer training projects
· To coordinate Healthwatch Barnet Youth to find out views and experiences of young people around health
· To support the BSCB in relation to children and young people’s views
· To work as part of the Young People and Families Team and help coordinate Network Meetings
· Design and deliver Healthy Relationships training
· Develop strategic links around youth participation with the various strategic groups and partners
· Provide vision and direction with regard to the development of Youth Shield and the Healthy Relationships projects
· Provide support for the voluntary sector in regards to youth participation
· Manage relevant budgets?
· Apply for funding where necessary
Other responsibilities
· Develop and implement accessible, exciting and innovative ways of consulting with the whole range of Barnet’s children and young people and their families
· Effecting change at strategic level
· Provide evidence-based data to establish that children’s voices have had a direct impact on services
· Act as an advocate for effective consultation with children and young people, and for the participation of children and young people as key stakeholders in the development of children's and young people’s services
· Be mindful of and address issues of children’s safety in line with Community Barnet’s Safeguarding policies and procedures issues at all times
· Preserve confidentiality of information in respect of records maintained and tasks undertaken and in accordance with data protection legislation.
· Contribute to the overall evaluation of Community Barnet’s Children's Team and identify ways of including children and young people in evaluating local services
· Identify additional sources of funding available to develop the participation of children, young people and their families
· Manage sessional workers and any others contracted to work on the Participation Project
· Undertake all administrative and organisational tasks as necessary, including recording monitoring information and other records relating to all aspects of the Participation Project in line with organisational guidance
· Maintain and develop own professional practice and knowledge, including attending meetings to support the wider participation agenda.
· Have a strong commitment to equal opportunities and customer care.
· Promote and protect the professional reputation of Community Barnet at all times.
Management and Support
The Youth Engagement Officer will be line managed by the Youth Development Manager.
Development needs will be identified through regular one to one’s and performance appraisals.
Person Specification
Attributes, Knowledge and Experience
Essential Criteria / EvidenceExperience of effective project management and supervision that provides positive outcomes within given timescales and within budget / Application
Interview
Experience of working with children and young people within a voluntary sector agency along with understanding of the voluntary sector / Application
Interview
Experience of developing excellent working relationships with and between a wide range of services in the children and / or young people’s sector both voluntary and statutory / Application
Interview
Experience of providing effective management and timely supervision to volunteers / Application
Interview
Ability to forward plan, work independently and maintain accurate records of work delivered and production of reports / Application
Interview
Experience of implementing policies and procedures and an awareness of local safeguarding requirements / Application
Interview
Ability to effectively communicate and work with hard to reach young people (BAMER background, NEET etc) including excellent customer service skills / Application
Interview
Strong problem solving and negotiation skills / Application
Interview
Excellent command of English and ability to verbally communicate with people of different backgrounds within a variety of settings / Application
Sound IT skills, in the use of applications, understanding and managing systems and the ability to train others / Application
Ability to work as part of a team / Application
Interview
Willingness to carry out evening and occasional weekend work / Application
Willingness to travel and work in different sites across the Borough / Application
To possess or willingness to obtain a DBS check / Application
Desirable Criteria
Clean Driving Licence / Application
Summary Terms and Conditions
Job Title: Youth Engagement Officer
Salary: £22,000 per annum (pro rata)
Probation Period: Three months
Hours: 14 hours per week
The post holder will be expected to attend occasional evening meetings for which time off in lieu will be given.
Responsible To: Youth Development Manager
Responsible For: N/A
Expenses: Staff may claim travel expenses, at the agreed rate, for journeys which are necessary in the course of their work. Claims for additional expenses will be reimbursed in accordance of our expense policy.
Annual Leave: 28 days per annum pro rata, excluding bank holidays
Pension Payments: After satisfactory completion of the probationary period, CommUNITY Barnet makes an affordable (maximum 6%) pension contribution into a stakeholder or personal pension scheme.
Based at: CommUNITY Barnet, 1st Floor, Barnet House, 1255 High Road, London, N20 0EJ
Other Conditions: To act in accordance with CommUNITY Barnet policies and standards, in particular our Equal Opportunities, Health & Safety and Confidentiality Policies