Youth Mentor in Valence

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 outreach role covering East London, including Barking, Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Newham. You’ll work across four secondary schools (three in Dagenham and one in Newham), supporting around 40 young people aged 11–16.

You’ll deliver up to 10 one-to-one sessions a day (around 30 minutes each), typically working with each young person for at least 12 weeks. Sessions might focus on attendance, behaviour, home life, emotional wellbeing, bullying, gang tensions or simply building trust. Sometimes that looks like structured mentoring. Sometimes it’s a conversation over a quick game to help them open up.

You’ll:

• Build strong, trusted relationships with young people
• Encourage safer choices and improved school engagement
• Follow up on absences and promote accountability
• Deliver school workshops (alongside a colleague)
• Run after-school clubs 1–2 times per week
• Take part in one fully paid residential each year
• Work closely with parents, schools and safeguarding leads
• Attend multi-agency meetings where required
• Maintain detailed reports and accurate funder records

This is a safeguarding-heavy environment. You’ll be supporting young people affected by issues such as knife crime, exploitation, bullying, care experience, EHCP needs and mental health challenges.

The reality of this role is:

• High intensity
• Emotionally demanding
• Documentation-heavy
• Focused on some of the most vulnerable young people in East London

But it’s also:

• Deeply relational
• Impact-driven
• Structured with clear progression opportunities
• Backed by a proper induction and ongoing training

You’ll receive a two-week induction plus ongoing development including safeguarding and mental health training. There’s a clear progression pathway over 12 months linked to consistent performance.

About you: You might have a Youth Work qualification (Level 3 minimum), be working towards a degree, or bring strong lived experience and the ability to connect authentically with tough young people.

What matters most:

• You can build real bonds (without being overly formal)
• You’re resilient and confident around challenging behaviour
• You understand safeguarding responsibilities
• You’re organised and comfortable with IT and paperwork

If you’ve got additional interests you can use to engage young people — sport, music, fitness, media, creative arts — even better. This is a genuine opportunity to change lives while developing your own career in youth services.

Please apply via this advert – everyone receives a response. If for any reason you haven’t heard back, call the office and we’ll action it straight away. If your CV isn’t quite the right fit, we’ll let you know how to get feedback from a real person. If you’d like an informal chat, feel free to call the office and ask for Lawrence (number on the Red 5 People website). Interviews are ASAP.