Participation Development Worker - Off The Record

at  Bath and North East Somerset Council

WHO WE ARE

Off the Record Bath & North East Somerset (OTR) is a mental health and wellbeing charity that gives local young people a safe space to be heard and be themselves. We provide a range of free services for young people, including counselling, listening support, youth participation, advocacy, support for care leavers and a LGBTQ+ focused youth group.
You’ll be joining the team at an exciting time as we focus our efforts on reaching more young people to join our Participation groups, including reaching more young people of colour, young people from areas of socio-economic deprivation, and young people in the care of BANES but who are placed out-of-area.
Equity, diversity, and inclusion are at the heart of what we value as an organisation. OTR is committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability or any other status protected by law.

YOUR ATTRIBUTES

We are looking for someone who is experienced and confident in working with young people from a variety of backgrounds. You will understand the complexities of young people’s lives and you will be sensitive and responsive to the diverse range of need. You will be able to act on your own initiative to help young people see through their ideas and able to grow and develop projects or campaigns independently whilst ensuring that young people have the opportunity to lead.
Your enthusiasm and personality are as important to us as your experience to date. If you can’t tick off every point in the job description below but feel you have the right transferable skills to succeed in the post, please do still apply.
If you would like an informal, confidential conversation about the role before applying, please email office@offtherecord-banes.co.uk to arrange a time for a chat with Charlotte Egmore James, the Participation Service Lead (PSL).

WORKING PATTERN AND LOCATION

This role is based at our office in central Bath, which is very close to Bath Spa train station and Bath central bus station. The post holder will be based in a shared office with access to meeting rooms.
There is opportunity to work from home when agreed with your line manager, and we operate a flexible working policy which allows your hours to be spread throughout the day/week in agreement with your line manager.
The post holder will be expected to be able to travel throughout the authority and beyond to meet service users, professionals, and to attend meetings and training activities associated with the position. Mileage allowance or public transport costs will be payable for these types of travel.
The job will require working outside of core office hours, some evenings, including the occasional weekend.

Terms and Conditions

• Contract: Permanent with a probationary period of 6 months
• Paid leave entitlement: 25 days plus 2 discretionary days and all English public holidays, plus up to 5 extra days to recognise continuous service. This entitlement is pro-rated for part-time employees.
• Two days’ paid volunteering leave to enable you to support causes that matter to you (FTE)
• Pension scheme
• Death-in-service benefit
• Training and development opportunities for all our staff

The job description is a general outline of the job duties and responsibilities and may be amended as OTR develops.
The post holder may be required to undertake other additional duties that may be reasonably required from time to time.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

As a Development Worker for the Participation team, you will work closely with the Participation Service Lead (PSL) to plan, deliver, and evaluate our services that allow for young people to have a say on the decisions that impact their lives. You’ll be supporting children and young people (CYP) to consult their peers, influence key professionals and take action to make change and to ensure their voices are heard.

We have five Participation groups, that along with the Service Lead you’ll be supporting and developing [click the links to find out more]:

• Youth Forum you will facilitate the Youth Forum; empowering the young people to take on social action projects on the things they care about
• Junior In Care Council/Senior In Care Council/Care Experienced Council -You will co-facilitate and promote the In Care Council (ICC) groups that support the needs of different age groups of children and young people in care (aged 5-17), and the Care Experienced Council of young adults (aged 18-25). This promotion will include CYP placed out of area and will address the needs of CYP who are Black, or from other minority ethnic backgrounds, or who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
• Your Off The Record (Your OTR) - A group of young people aged 18-28 who take the lead on shaping and improving Off the Record.

KEY DUTIES

• Develop and lead the Youth Forum group
• Support and co -facilitate delivery of the Junior In Care, Senior In Care and Care experienced council.
• Support the PSL in publicising and promoting opportunities for young people to get involved in the design, development, and evaluation of services they access.
• Develop and maintain effective communication with young people to facilitate their involvement in a wide range of participation activities to enable them to get their voices heard and influence change.
• Support the PSL in ensuring services are responsive to the needs of young people and that safeguarding, equal opportunities and health and safety issues (e.g. risk assessments) are identified and addressed effectively.
• Support the PSL to develop effective partnerships with relevant agencies to support and encourage children and young people’s involvement and widening participation throughout B&NES.
• Support the PSL in developing methods to evaluate and monitor growth in life skills, personal development opportunities and the wellbeing of young people involved in participation.
• Contribute to the effective implementation of the organisation’s overall objectives and policies.
• Attend fortnightly Participation meetings to ensure the development of the service and focus on task such as devising new systems, collaborations, promotion etc.