Participation Officer

The Children and Young People's Engagement and Participation Officer will provide a crucial role within North Somerset in engaging with children and young people to ensure their voices are heard within North Somerset Council. The postholder will empower and support children and young people in improving the services they receive through ensuring their participation in service design and delivery.

Responsibilities

• Advise and support specific projects and service areas across the directorate in devising inclusive and robust engagement, consultation and co-production activity which enables the smooth running of change processes arising from reviews, reorganisations, legislative or policy changes.
• Liaise with partner organisations, colleagues, and stakeholder groups to ensure engagement, consultation, and co-production processes are joined up and shared where appropriate.
• Oversee and advise on the quality and content of materials, events, and other activities provided to engage, consult or co-produce services in the directorate.
• Plan and deliver specific projects or sub-projects as part of the wider transformation activity within the directorate.
• Draft and present written reports on the outcomes of engagement, consultation and co-production activity to service managers, the directorate leadership team or council committees as required.
• Support the development and delivery of policies and strategies around engagement, consultation, and co-production, ensuring they reflect best practice and statutory responsibilities at all times.
• Provide professional advice, support and guidance to a team of mentors.
• Undertake surveys with children and young people, analyse the data and produce reports on the outcomes of these processes.
• Make recommendations for how co-production can be further developed.
• Communicate effectively with service users, representative groups, multi-agency partners and colleagues, both verbally and in writing.
• Produce reports for specific stakeholders regarding the planning, delivery and outcomes of engagement, consultation, and co-production processes.
• Observe information sharing protocols and record keeping policies.
• Support the wider work of the Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Team, undertaking other project-related duties commensurate with the grade of the post.
• Organise and facilitate the children in care council Ambitious Voice.
• Promote and increase the membership of the children in care council and with the Head of Service Corporate Parenting and Children in Care team manager.
• Organise and facilitate the care leavers forum Unite.
• Promote and increase the membership of the care leavers forum and with the Head of Service Corporate Parenting and Care Leavers Team Manager.
• Represent North Somerset at National Events such as the Care Leavers Benchmarking Forum and support young people to attend these forums and have their say.
• Meet with Senior Managers and the Director for Children Services to represent the views of children and young people.
• Represent the views of children and young people to Elected Members and Senior Managers in decision-making forums.
• Support children and young people to attend decision-making forums and share their views.
• Lead in organising and facilitating one-off activity events for children and young people.
• Organise and facilitate the young person's interviewing panel for positions such as social workers, team managers etc within Children's Services.
• Support and empower young people to take part in training events where appropriate for social workers, family support workers, foster carers and others where young people wish to influence and shape the practice of others through contributing to these events.
• Advocate on behalf of young people so that the services they receive meet their needs and are designed in partnership with them.

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3 Child Care/ Youth Work Award or equivalent.
• Considerable experience in working with children, young people and families.
• Participation in post-qualifying/education training is essential.
• Experience in representing the views of children and young people or advocacy for children and young people.
• A knowledge of the Children’s Act and Every Child Matters.
• Awareness and commitment to good practice in Equal Opportunities.
• Knowledge of Child Protection Policy and Procedures.
• Knowledge of health and safety requirements.
• Good standard of written English.
• Ability to keep accurate, evidence-based records in accordance with departmental policy.
• IT skills.
• Skills in advocacy for children and young people.
• Direct Work Methods with children and young people.
• Ability to think and practice creatively.
• Ability to work positively with others.
• Ability to advocate for children and young people and empower them to participate in decision-making forums.
• Patient and flexible.
• Able to build warm, positive and professional relationships with children and young people.
• Ability to engage professionally with representatives from Children’s Services to represent the views of children and young people.
• Able to work on own initiative and as part of a team.
• Effective communication and organisational skills.
• Ability to cope with conflicting demands.
• Commitment to personal and professional development.

Disability Confident: A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer.