Learner Support Mentor in Leeds

Central YMCA is the world's first YMCA and a national charity with a proud heritage of creating opportunities for people to thrive. Today, we are dedicated to transforming lives through education, skills and employability, helping young people and adults gain the confidence, qualifications and experience they need to build brighter futures.

As an independent training provider, we deliver high-quality study programmes, apprenticeships and vocational training in partnership with employers, equipping learners with the skills and knowledge to succeed in work while supporting employers to develop a skilled workforce. Everything we do is driven by our charitable purpose. We work to break down barriers to learning, raise aspirations and create opportunities for individuals, while delivering high-quality, sustainable programmes that make a lasting difference to learners, employers and the communities we serve.

If you're passionate about creating opportunities through education and want to make a meaningful impact every day, we'd love to hear from you.

Why join Central YMCA?

• Dedicated weekly administration day with the opportunity to work remotely.
• Smaller class sizes, enabling you to build positive relationships with learners and provide personalised support.
• A supportive and collaborative curriculum team that values innovation and wellbeing.
• Access to funded professional development.
• Generous annual leave, plus access to a range of employee wellbeing benefits.
• The opportunity to make a genuine difference to young people's futures through high-quality vocational education.

What we offer

• 30 days annual leave pro-rata + bank holidays
• Extra annual paid leave for your birthday, a mental health day, and up to 5 volunteering days
• 4% Contributory Pension Scheme
• Life Insurance
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - a wide range of free and confidential services for you and your immediate family (including counselling sessions)
• Charity Employee Discount Scheme

Our Commitment to Equality

Central YMCA is open to applications from all backgrounds. We are committed to equity, acceptance, and inclusion, and provide everyone who works with us the opportunity to reach their potential. Our doors are open to all and if you connect with our mission, vision, and values, we welcome you to come and be part of our team.

About You

You will have excellent communication skills and great rapport building ability. You will be highly organised, with demonstrated planning and time-management skills supported by good IT skills. You will also have:

• Proven experience working with young people
• Advice and Guidance Level 3 or above and/or a relevant learning support qualification
• Maths and English qualifications at level 2 or above
• Ability to resolve conflict positively and make objective judgements
• Experience of managing challenging behaviour
• Experience of mentoring/coaching young people and/or adults to achieve education and training success.

About the Role

This role would perfectly suit someone who has experience of working with young people or who is looking to share their knowledge and experiences with the next generation in order to support them to achieve their life goals. This is a full time role working 40 hours per week. In this role you will be working in the Leeds Centre's supporting teaching staff and YMCA learners. You will work both independently and as part of a wider team and will be able to:

• Create a range of effective mechanisms to build relationships with referral agencies, schools, local authorities & external partners to support with recruitment
• Develop and maintain an extensive network and source opportunities in order to attract learners and provide progression routes into further education or apprenticeships
• Provide pastoral and tutorial support within the framework of support designed by the organisation to support individual learner support, progress and achievement.
• Provide timely interventions which direct and support learners to improve their attendance, behaviour, success, and progression.

People are at the heart of everything we do. If you're passionate about creating opportunities through education and want to be part of an organisation where your work makes a meaningful difference every day, we'd love to hear from you.

Reasonable adjustments: Central YMCA is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you are shortlisted for interview and require any reasonable adjustments or additional support at any stage of the recruitment process, please let the Hiring Manager know when you are invited to interview. This will help us put appropriate arrangements in place to ensure you can participate fully in the selection process.

Safeguarding responsibilities: This role will involve daily contact with learners, and you will be engaging in regulated activity relevant to children. All staff have a responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people, and/or vulnerable adults for whom you are responsible and with whom you come into contact. The Charity's Safeguarding Policy is available from Central YMCA website.

Regulated activity: This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Charity is therefore permitted to ask shortlisted applicants to declare all convictions and cautions (including those which are "spent" unless they are "protected" under the DBS filtering rules) to assess their suitability to work with children. Should you be shortlisted, you will be required to complete a disclosure form prior to interview.

Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of our pre-employment checks. These include an enhanced DBS check, satisfactory references, a satisfactory prohibition from teaching check (where applicable), verification of your right to work and identity, and original qualification certificates relevant to the role.