Senior Youth Worker, YVAP in London

Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities! We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

Are you an experienced and dedicated youth worker, ready to work with young people to create change in Lewisham? Have you experience working in a range of environments with young people taking the lead? In Lewisham we have a history of young people being involved in decision making and democratic processes to ensure their voices, opinions and experience are recognised and valued. This is an opportunity to maintain and expand how young people in Lewisham can participate in civic life, develop critical thinking, build community and improve services.

The role is to lead the work of the YVAP (Youth Voice Action and Participation) team, across different environments, including schools, youth clubs and the voluntary and community sector. Working collaboratively to develop, deliver and evaluate innovative and creative youth participation and leadership activities with and for young people. Crucial to this is to develop trusted relationships and engage with young people who are often unheard so they have opportunities to participate and make a difference. You will develop and maintain effective and productive partnerships with a range of internal and external agencies in order to create these opportunities. With young people you will plan, implement and evaluate projects and activities to meet their interests and needs, maintain accurate records and manage a small team.

What’s in it for you? Excellent training and development opportunities, plus a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday allowance
• Local Government Pension scheme
• Flexible working and family friendly policies
• Season ticket and bicycle loans
• A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
• Supportive staff networks

You will enjoy working with young people and supporting them to take leadership positions and participate in the local community and decision making, developing trusted relationships. You will have experience and knowledge of relevant youth work practice, safeguarding and the issues affecting young people in a diverse inner city community. You will need experience of leading informal education workshops and training with and for young people in schools and the wider community. You will understand the importance of collaborating and working across sectors to develop opportunities for young people and advocate for their participation. You will be an enthusiastic self-starter, able to manage multiple demands on your time, be a good team player and have experience of managing a small team to maximise the opportunities for young people. You will have an eye for accuracy and be flexible to ensure the quality and consistency needed to administer and develop a fast moving area of work with a high profile within the borough.

The job will have an office base in Catford but the expectation is for the role to work across the borough linking in to schools and youth clubs, anywhere young people are. It will include working from home when not engaging with young people or partners.

Special conditions: A relevant professional qualification (e.g., JNC-recognised Youth Work qualification or teaching/training qualification). Evening and weekend working is required for this job. The job is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Diversity: Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process.