Youth Worker

Our client, a well-established youth charity, is looking for a committed Youth Worker to support young people at risk of school exclusion, struggling with their mental health, or vulnerable to serious youth violence.

This is a community-based role covering East London, including Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge.

Salary: £28,860 per annum

You'll work with young people in secondary schools and on local estates, helping them make safer choices, improve their school engagement and build positive futures.

The role

You'll deliver one-to-one mentoring, positive activities, after-school programmes and holiday activities to young people who may be struggling with attendance, behaviour, emotional wellbeing or other challenges. You'll build trusted relationships, encourage engagement and help young people remain in education.

You’ll:

• Build strong, trusted relationships with young people
• Deliver one-to-one mentoring and support
• Encourage safer choices and improved school attendance, behaviour and achievement
• Carry out detached youth work within local communities and on estates
• Deliver youth clubs, workshops, positive activities and holiday programmes
• Support occasional residentials
• Work closely with parents, schools and other professionals
• Provide information, advice and guidance to young people
• Manage safeguarding concerns and follow child protection procedures
• Maintain accurate records, reviews and evidence for funder requirements
• Help young people develop the confidence and skills to progress from participating in programmes to helping deliver activities themselves

This is a safeguarding-focused environment. You'll be supporting young people who may be experiencing mental health challenges, disengagement from education, challenging behaviour or risks associated with serious youth violence.

The reality

This role is:

• Emotionally demanding
• Relationship-focused
• Active and community-based
• A mix of one-to-one mentoring, group activities and paperwork
• Focused on young people who may be reluctant to engage or need consistent support

But it's also:

• Meaningful, with the opportunity to make a real difference
• Varied, with school-based mentoring, detached youth work and positive activities
• Collaborative, involving schools, families and other professionals
• An opportunity to develop your skills through ongoing training and professional development

About you

You’ll need a minimum Level 3 qualification in Youth Work or an equivalent qualification, alongside Level 2 English and Maths. You’ll also need at least two years’ experience working with challenging young people in a full-time, paid capacity.

Ideally, you’ll have experience supporting young people affected by mental health challenges or at risk of serious youth violence, managing safeguarding incidents, carrying out detached youth work and delivering youth clubs or positive activities.

What matters most

• You can build trust and engage young people who may be disaffected or reluctant to participate
• You can manage challenging situations and understand safeguarding responsibilities
• You're confident working independently and as part of a team
• You can build positive relationships with secondary schools, parents and other professionals
• You're organised, resilient and comfortable managing records, IT systems and competing priorities
• You have excellent communication skills, reliable timekeeping and a flexible approach
• If you have additional interests you could use to engage young people — such as sport, music, film or creative activities — even better.

This is a genuine opportunity to help vulnerable young people make positive changes while developing your own career in youth services.

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