Youth Engagement & Partnerships Officer in London

Empower young voices, shape local democracy, and build lasting community partnerships. We're all in for young people across our borough, working alongside them to design services, influence decisions and create opportunities that leave a legacy in our community.

What you'll be doing

Every day, you will drive youth participation across the borough by managing core workstreams like the RBKC Youth Council, the Youth Participation Fund, and the Youth Participation Network. You will split your time evenly between desk-based planning and community outreach, building strong partnerships with schools, the voluntary sector, and youth organisations. Two key focus areas will be managing and expanding the Youth Participation Network and the Youth Participation Fund. This involves collaborating and partnering with parents/carers, schools, youth organisations, local businesses and voluntary sector organisations to connect young people with the services and opportunities that they need/want in the borough, or co-designing and co-producing these opportunities with young people utilising our annual Participation Fund. You will also coordinate major events, such as the Young Leaders awards celebrating hundreds of community groups, and the Young Internship Programme, which provides paid work experience across council departments. Navigating financial constraints and council approval mechanisms independently will be part of your routine, requiring you to build trusted relationships between residents, young people, and senior leaders with care and competence.

What you'll bring

You have a genuine belief that young people should help shape the decisions that affect them. You bring proven experience in working with young people, residents or communities in a professional, voluntary or lived experience capacity with a solid understanding of safeguarding policies surrounding young people, and a willingness to undergo a DBS check. An understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing young people in K&C, or the curiosity to quickly build that understanding is essential, allowing you to build trust collaboratively, manage relationships independently, and create and maintain accessible, youth-friendly programmes. You are highly organised, proficient with standard IT tools like Microsoft Office and SharePoint, and confident developing smooth, inclusive processes to manage several projects simultaneously. Above all, you possess a genuine commitment to equity and fairness, ensuring all young voices are heard and respected.

Why join us

At RBKC, we're all in - investing in our people, our communities and our future. We offer a competitive salary, dedicated training, and pathways for career progression as our wider department expands. We believe the best ideas often come from young people, and we are committed to creating an environment where colleagues are trusted to innovate, experiment and lead. This role gives you a unique opportunity to influence strategy, deliver high-profile projects, and make a visible difference for young people across the borough backed by strong support from our Lead Members. You will join a dynamically collaborative, compassionate and ambitious team at a pivotal moment, helping to drive our three-year plan forward and contribute to our goal of delivering the best youth participation service possible.

About us

Kensington and Chelsea is home to diverse communities, thriving businesses and unique local places. Everything we do is focused on supporting our residents, strengthening our approach and creating a fairer borough. As a competent and caring Council, we take pride in our work every day, ensuring our services are delivered with care and competence. We listen to our residents, act with integrity and work together to build a borough that is greener, safer and fairer for all. At RBKC, we're all in - and your role will be too, by bringing a 'get stuck in' mindset to the frontline as you coordinate outreach and projects across the borough. Whether you are working from the office or out in the field with schools and youth groups, this role requires active engagement to get things done. This work is not always smooth sailing, particularly when navigating political and financial constraints, but if you are excited by the prospect of building opportunities with young people, not simply delivering services to them, we would love to hear from you as your commitment makes your work central to our wider brand and our mission to build a fairer borough.

Working Style

You will work on a hybrid basis, spending five days a week split between the office and delivering services directly out in the community.

Interview Details & Role Requirements

Interviews will be held in person on week commencing 28th September 2026. This role requires an Enhanced DBS with adults and children's barred list. We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants. We are committed to promoting equality and respecting diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community. We are a Disability Confident Employer - committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.