JOB TITLE  :  Young Visitor Engagement Lead

REPORTS TO :  Operations Manager

SALARY : £20940.92 per annum pro rata

HOURS :  30 hours per week (Monday to Friday, including Tuesday evening)  

CONTRACT TERM :  12 month contract from date of appointment.

HOLIDAYS  :  28 days per year, pro rata

NOTICE PERIOD  :  1 month after completion of 3 month probationary period

LOCATION  :  Harbour Project, Broadgreen Community Centre, Salisbury Street, Swindon, SN1 2AN

 

JOB PURPOSE

To be the primary point of contact for all young Visitors to the Harbour Project (under 25’s), to ensure that their voices are heard and their needs are understood. To arrange, coordinate and lead activities specific to this age group with the support of volunteers and other members of staff. To be the primary point of contact with other agencies supporting young Visitors. 

 

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES

WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE

  • 40% of Harbour Visitors are under the age of 26. 52% are between the ages of 14 and 25. Some of these young people will be part of family units, and others will be on their own without the support of family. We also have Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC’s) who engage with the Harbour who are looked after by Wiltshire Council, Swindon Borough Council or other Councils who house UASC’s in Swindon. We need to ensure the needs and interests of this cohort are represented in the work that we do and in how we prioritise our resources. The primary purpose of the role of the Young Person Engagement Lead is to ensure that the voices of our young Visitors are heard and that young people are involved in the design and delivery of their projects.
  • To engage and support young Visitors and their families offering information, and connecting them into activities to improve mental well-being. 
  • To proactively connect with Young Visitors and encourage participation in and access to Harbour activities.
  • To develop a network of contacts of other agencies who also support young refugees and young people in the asylum system to establish an understanding of their specific entitlements and support needs. To sign-post young people to other agencies as appropriate. 
  • To work with existing and new volunteers, ensuring they receive appropriate training and support in order to deliver appropriate services and activities. This may include, for example, attending Age Assessments. 
  • To be a positive influence and mentor for young people, demonstrating the value of education, volunteering, physical activity, and employment.
  • To sign-post to the Operations Manager and other members of the team where additional help and support is required (such as Steps2Work or Counselling).
  • To attend Age-Assessments as an Appropriate Adult from time to time.
  • To line manage the Harbour Project Youth Lead (currently 4 hours a week).

 

LEADING ACTIVITIES

  • The role holder will be responsible for existing activities such as:
    • Children’s holiday activities
    • Youth Group
  • The role holder may also identify other activities which are of benefit to young Visitors. The role holder will either lead such activities, or work with volunteers to ensure that the activity is safe, effective and meeting the need.  This may include, for example, activities and trips during school holidays.
  • To evaluate the impact of activities designed specifically for young Visitors. This may include, for example, producing case studies, questionnaires or utilisation of other evaluation tools.

WORKING WITH OTHER AGENCIES

  • To represent the Harbour Project, as appropriate, in meetings with funders or in local or regional liaison meetings.
  • To be the primary point of contact with other agencies and organisations supporting young Visitors. To build on existing relationships and initiate new contacts with a wide variety of community, third sector and statutory partners. Organisations could include:
  • Social Work teams supporting UASC’s
  • Nurseries, Schools, Colleges, Universities and Schools Admissions teams
  • Health Visitors and Children’s Centres.
  • Youth counselling services.
  • National Citizenship Scheme.
  • Relevant SBC contacts 

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

  • To manage a budget or budgets specific to activities for young Visitors, with an understanding of sources of funding.
  • To support the CEO in identifying potential sources of funding, compiling funding applications and in submitting monitoring reports to funders.  
  • To maintain records of activities (with respect to Data Protection and Retention Policies) to allow reporting of all activities involving young Visitors.
  • To use Harbour equipment and resources for business use only.

OTHER

  • To work occasional additional hours if required (which is then taken as ‘Time off in lieu’).
  • The nature of the role will demand evening and weekend working from time to time. Overall, it is expected that the weekly hours will balance out to 30 hours a week. 
  • To work within appropriate personal boundaries to maintain a distinct professional working relationship with all young Visitors.
  • The staff team at the Harbour is very small, requiring everyone to work together and understand interdependencies between roles. This also means that people need to occasionally step in to help when things are busy, or to help cover holidays, for example. The Young Person Engagement Lead may be asked to support other activities outside the core scope of the role but considered as priority items for the organisation at that point in time. This may include, for example, supporting funding applications or preparatory work for Trustee Meetings. 

CANDIDATE SPECIFICATION – ESSENTIAL

  • Interest in the aims and activities of The Harbour Project
  • Reliable with the ability to work independently. The role holder’s primary place of work will be at the Broadgreen Community Centre, Salisbury Street, Swindon SN1 2AN. Occasional home working may be appropriate due to the nature of the work at the time. Ability to manage one’s own time with good organisational skills and high self-motivation are vital.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication & interpersonal skills, adaptable to the breadth of different stakeholders (Visitors/volunteers/ other members of staff/ Trustees/ other voluntary and statutory agencies). 
  • A good understanding and application of the principles of Safeguarding, particularly in relation to young people at the Harbour. 
  • Commitment to the confidentiality of the organisation and its Visitors.
  • I.T. skills, particularly Google Docs or equivalent.
  • Evidence of entitlement to work in the U.K.
  • Willingness to work flexible hours.
  • The successful candidate will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check.
  • Driving License and access to a vehicle.

DESIRABLE

  • Experience of working in the voluntary sector
  • Previous experience of working with Asylum Seekers and Refugees with an interest in world events impacting global migration.

Please send your CV and Covering Letter stating why you are suitable for the role to [email protected] 

Closing date for applications: Wednesday 15th November 5pm

Interview dates: Thursday 23rd November