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-based role covering East London, including Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge.
Salary: £28,860 per annum
You’ll work with young people in secondary schools and on local estates, helping them make safer choices, improve their school engagement and build positive futures.
The role
You’ll deliver one-to-one mentoring, positive activities, after-school programmes and holiday activities to young people who may be struggling with attendance, behaviour, emotional wellbeing or other challenges. You’ll build trusted relationships, encourage engagement and help young people remain in education.
You’ll:
Build strong, trusted relationships with young people
Deliver one-to-one mentoring and support
Encourage safer choices and improved school attendance, behaviour and achievement
Carry out detached youth work within local communities and on estates
Deliver youth clubs, workshops, positive activities and holiday programmes
Support occasional residentials
Work closely with parents, schools and other professionals
Provide information, advice and guidance to young people
Manage safeguarding concerns and follow child protection procedures
Maintain accurate records, reviews and evidence for funder requirements
Help young people develop the confidence and skills to progress from participating in programmes to helping deliver activities themselves
This is a safeguarding-focused environment. You’ll be supporting young people who may be experiencing mental health challenges, disengagement from education, challenging behaviour or risks associated with serious youth violence.
The reality
This role is:
Emotionally demanding
Relationship-focused
Active and community-based
A mix of one-to-one mentoring, group activities and paperwork
Focused on young people who may be reluctant to engage or need consistent support
But it’s also:
Meaningful, with the opportunity to make a real difference
Varied, with school-based mentoring, detached youth work and positive activities
Collaborative, involving schools, families and other professionals
An opportunity to develop your skills through ongoing training and professional development
About you
You’ll need a minimum Level 3 qualification in Youth Work or an equivalent qualification, alongside Level 2 English and Maths. You’ll also need at least two years’ experience working with challenging young people in a full-time, paid capacity.
Ideally, you’ll have experience supporting young people affected by mental health challenges or at risk of serious youth violence, managing safeguarding incidents, carrying out detached youth work and delivering youth clubs or positive activities.
What matters most:
You can build trust and engage young people who may be disaffected or reluctant to participate
You can manage challenging situations and understand safeguarding responsibilities
You’re confident working independently and as part of a team
You can build positive relationships with secondary schools, parents and other professionals
You’re organised, resilient and comfortable managing records, IT systems and competing priorities
You have excellent communication skills, reliable timekeeping and a flexible approach
If you have additional interests you could use to engage young people — such as sport, music, film or creative activities — even better.
This is a genuine opportunity to help vulnerable young people make positive changes while developing your own career in youth services.
To Apply
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