Role overview

New Horizon Youth Centre runs a busy day centre from Monday to Friday. Open from 10.30am – 4pm every day to young people, we provide basic needs to young people experiencing homelessness, such as breakfast and lunch, clothes, toiletries, showers, laundry facilities and Wi-Fi.

This role is part of the NHYC Youth Work Team. The Youth Work Team plans and delivers a range of Youth Work opportunities for young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. This includes jobs, education and training, arts, sports, men’s and women’s sessions, youth participation and activities.

The Women’s Worker role is based at the centre a minimum of 3 days per week, working with young people face-to-face. During the week, you will support all young people and youth work team with the day-to-day running of the service, ensuring that young people can access basic needs as well as directly delivering or supporting youth work activities and life skills workshops in our day centre.

The Youth Worker (Women’s Worker) role has a specific focus supporting young women in our service experiencing multiple disadvantage. This role will specifically lead on facilitating and delivering our weekly Women’s and Non-Binary Space as well as take the lead in managing a complex casework with young women, many of whom are affected by violence, homelessness, mental health and substance misuse.

Key details

• Contract type and hours: 9 month contract - maternity cover. Full time, 35 hours a week Monday-Friday
• Salary: £31,200 - £34,736 (pro rata)
• Location: This role will be based at our day centre: 68 Chalton Street, Camden, NW1 1JR.
• Application deadline: 9am Monday 9 September

How to apply

• Read through all the information on this page
• When you are ready, complete our application form below:
  • Complete the diversity and adjustment questions
  • Upload your CV. This must not include your name in the document or in the file name, or any contact details or references. This must be no more than 2 pages.
  • Submit your supporting statement into the box marked 'cover letter'. This must be no more than 2 A4 pages, or 1500 words, and must not contain your name, address or contact details. We recommend drafting it in a different document and copying and pasting when you are ready to submit.

Key objectives:

• To maintain and develop a network of relationships with external agencies and specialists (especially those from the VAWG sector) to expand and broaden our workshop and activities offer to young people.
• To contribute to the daily running of the day centre delivering a holistic and trauma informed service to young people aged 16 to 24 who are facing homelessness.
• As part of the Youth Work Team, support the delivery and development of an engaging and multi-faceted life skills programme.
• To lead on delivery of services for young women at the centre, including leading and facilitating our weekly Women’s and Non-Binary Space and leading our Complex Women’s Casework.

Reporting to: Service Manager (Day Centre) and Head of Youth Work

Main tasks and responsibilities

Young people services

To support young people accessing the day centre services. This will include:

1. Working within the Youth Work Team to ensure young people receive a high-quality service from the point of initial registration to move-on into accommodation and beyond.
2. Planning and delivering a range of 1-1 and group work sessions which respond to the needs of diverse groups of young people, and listening to young people’s views, ideas, and feedback.
3. Leading on and developing and delivering specific gender-informed workshops and services for young women who access the centre, including planning and facilitating a regular Women’s and Non-Binary Space.
4. Working on a 1-1 basis with a caselist of young women with multiple and complex needs, which will include completing risk assessments, goal setting, safety planning, safeguarding referrals (e.g. MARAC), refuge and specialist accommodation referrals, advocacy, identifying appropriate external referrals (e.g. health referrals, VAWG sector) and signposting.
5. Developing and managing appropriate external partnerships, especially with partners in the VAWG sector, including sourcing programmes, events, referral pathways, and activities in the community which support young women.
6. Providing expert coaching and guidance to young people, monitoring and evaluating their progress, as well as providing key working services.
7. Completing initial registrations, conducting assessments with young people accessing the service to identify young people’s skills, needs and personal goals.
8. Providing advocacy, advice and guidance, referring all young people to appropriate opportunities and specialist services.
9. Continued use of feedback and showing a commitment to a service that is sensitive and responsive to young people’s needs.
10. Ensuring the programme meets the standards required by external assessors and funders.
11. Ensuring risk management and assessment procedures are followed at all times.
12. Contributing to the daily running of the drop-in centre, including attending daily Handovers, and ensuring that Health and Safety issues are addressed at all times.
13. Attending Reflective Practice, Staff Meetings, Youth Work Team meetings and away days.
14. Taking a proactive approach to dealing with complex cases.
15. Participating in the training and supervision of volunteers, students and locum workers and actively promoting a learning and development environment.

Sharing best practice

To proactively share best practice with internal and external stakeholders to maximise the impact of the work of NHYC. This will include:

1. Seeking out and responding to opportunities with specialists and agencies who might offer resources, funding, or individual services relevant to the needs of young people e.g., health services, other youth work settings, VAWG sector, Local Authorities, Social Services, the Jobcentre, and other voluntary sector agencies.
2. Contributing to research and innovation projects that ensure NHYC remains a leading organisation within the sector.
3. Promoting and representing NHYC at relevant forums, meetings, and events.

Information Management

To produce and maintain accurate and useful information in a range of formats in order to promote effective service delivery and evaluation. This will include:

1. Recording all contacts with young people appropriately and maintaining all relevant files and recording systems up to date.
2. Producing written reports in a variety of formats to meet the requirements of New Horizon, external service providers and funders.
3. Inputting and extracting information from monitoring systems, and other accounting and database systems. Utilising word processing software for the production of reports.
4. Being self-servicing in day-to-day administration and following team and NHYC’s administrative procedures.

Reviewing Personal Performance and Development Needs

To be proactive in reviewing and evaluating own performance and identifying and acting upon areas for improvement. This will include:

1. Continuously reviewing own working practices in line with young people feedback and current best practice.
2. Reviewing and evaluating own performance to identify strengths and areas for development. Identifying own learning/development needs and opportunities.
3. Undertaking development and training opportunities and being responsible for obtaining maximum benefit through review, reflection, and practice.

Other

To contribute positively and constructively to the development of the teams, service and NHYC. This will include:

1. Covering for other members of the team as necessary.
2. Following NHYC’s policies, procedures, and performance expectations.
3. Undertaking as required any other duties compatible with the level and nature of the post and/or reasonably required by the Head of Services, Director of Operations or CEO.

Person specification

We are looking for an individual who can demonstrate the following competencies to a high level and want to use these to the full in their work.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience

1. Experience working with young people in similar settings such as day centres, youth centres, accommodation, or other sites of youth work.
2. Experience planning and facilitating engaging sessions with young people on both a 1-1 and group/workshop basis, which support young people to develop confidence, self-awareness, experience new opportunities and have fun.
3. Demonstrable experience supporting vulnerable women from diverse backgrounds and delivering services, referrals and support tailored to their needs.
4. Experience of managing a case list of vulnerable people including maintaining and updating records, completing risk assessments, creating action plans and making relevant referrals to services.
5. A good working knowledge and understanding of the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector, gender-based services, and pathways/referrals which support women.
6. An understanding of the kinds of behaviour young people, and especially young women, might demonstrate. Ability to understand this behaviour in a trauma-informed way and developing strategies for managing behaviour.
7. Experience creating and maintaining external partnerships to achieve organisational aims and objectives.
8. The ability to multitask in a pressured environment.
9. A working knowledge of and commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
10. Experience and knowledge around safeguarding policy and procedures for children and vulnerable adults.
11. Experience of using IT systems (including knowledge of databases) to support the achievement of personal and collective work goals.

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience

We’d love to hear from you if you also have these desirable skills and experiences, but don’t worry if you don’t. These are the extras we’d really like!

1. An understanding of the issues, barriers, and challenges which young people and/or young women experiencing homelessness might be facing, especially at the point of accessing help and support.
2. Up-to date working knowledge of Local and National Government policies relating to employment, education, benefits, housing, healthcare, sexual health, and young people.
3. Knowledge or experience working to performance indicators, including monitoring and reporting on service outputs/outcomes, tracking, analysing performance information, and identifying corrective action.

Additional job requirements

1. Willingness and ability to work outside of normal office hours on occasion (within New Horizon’s flexible working hour’s arrangements) and over the Christmas period.
2. Willingness to work flexibly in response to changing organisational requirements.
3. Willingness to work from different sites including our day centre in Camden.

Timescales and how to apply

Dates

• Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 9 September
• Shortlisted candidates will be informed: by Thursday 12 September
• Interviews: Thursday 19 September

Application process

1. Complete the application form below including our diversity and adjustment questions.
2. Upload your CV setting out your career history, education or qualifications, and other key responsibilities or achievements. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME OR INITIALS IN THE DOCUMENT FILE NAME.
3. Write a Cover Letter (supporting statement), no more than 1500 words - approx. 2 sides of A4 - highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the ESSENTIAL criteria listed on the Person Specification, and any additional relevant desirable points you wish to share. This is an important part of your application so must be completed. We recommend you work on this in another text file (such as Word) and copy and paste it into this box when you are ready to submit.

We do not consider incomplete applications.

You will be notified if you have not been shortlisted. However, we are unfortunately unable to provide each individual application with feedback.

If you have any questions or would like to arrange a call to discuss the role, please feel free to email us at recruitment@nhyouthcentre.org.uk or call 0207 388 5560.

Click here to see the job pack in PDF format or the job pack in Word format.