Job Description - Caxton Youth Organisation

Employment Support Youth Worker Job Description

Job Title: Full-Time (37.5 hours) Employment support youth worker

Location: Westminster and Ripley, Surrey.

Reports to: Head of Programmes

Responsible for: this role has no line-management responsibilities.

Salary: starting from £26k pa

Hours: 1-9pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings with flexibility on Tuesday and Thursday during term-time. This role will require you to work some weekends.

The Caxton Youth Organisation:

At Caxton, we work with 11–25-year-olds with learning disabilities resident in Westminster. There is nowhere quite like Caxton Youth, that’s what the young people we work with, and their families tell us, and we passionately believe it too.

The majority of our work is delivered at our dedicated Youth Club in south Westminster. Our youth work team focus on young people’s social & emotional wellbeing, independence, employability and health & personal care. All these topics are addressed during weekly youth club sessions which take place in the evenings, and young people are supported to attend thanks to our very own Caxton minibus which collects and drops participants home across the borough. During school holidays we make use of our fantastic outdoor base in Surrey or go on residential trips, giving our members the opportunity to experience life outside London, and parents and caregivers some much needed respite.

Caxton is entering its 75th year, quite something for a small but mighty charity, and our longevity says so much about the importance of the services we provide to ensure young people with disabilities in Westminster are able to advance in their personal development, integrate into the community and lead independent and fulfilling lives wherever possible.

We are looking for someone who is friendly, a good listener, creative and organised.

Purpose of the role: To lead Caxton Youth Organisation’s Employment support programme, the aim of which is to engage 60 young people with disabilities each year, and deliver a menu of sessions and 1:1 support to develop their skills, understanding and practical experience in person-centred career planning, employment application, and workplace participation (to include communication skills, travel training, work experience, work disciplines and personal responsibility).

Main tasks:

Employment support programme:

To develop and manage the Employment support programme, seeking to empower and advance young people’s voices.
To manage and/or develop a range of activities leading to the above outcomes.
To monitor and assess the progress of each young person engaged with Employment support programme and to produce individual progress plans annually.
To support the Head of Programmes with evaluating sessions, by monitoring attendance, using outcome STAR, devising surveys and writing reports for funders. To undertake face to face work with young people through youth work sessions, one to one support and developmental group work.
To listen to, advise and support young people.
To contribute to the provision of a welcoming environment for young people, ensuring that premises are prepared, and cleaned up at the end of each session.
To support the Fundraising Manager with fundraising for further funding to support this programme of work.
To partner with local colleges and SEND schools in order to recruit new participants for the programme.
To regularly inform parents about their child’s progress on a quarterly basis
To form partnerships with employers and arrange work experience for young people, often attending with them at the beginning.

General requirements:

To contribute to the provision of a welcoming environment for young people, ensuring that premises are prepared, and cleaned up at the end of each session.
To provide for the social educational needs of young people with disabilities, through developmental youth work.
To ensure that no young person suffers discrimination in access to provision as a result of their gender, ethnic identity, sexuality, disability and/or social background.
To liaise with other workers and agencies in the area to create opportunities for Caxton’s members to achieve more.
To meet any administrative requirements of the senior management team.
To work within and according to Caxton Youth Organisation’s policies and procedures.
To encourage participation and promote responsibility among the membership.
To work in a supportive manner with the staff team, volunteers, and trainees.
To undertake training relevant to the post, as identified through supervision.

Caxton Youth Organisation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We will consider all reasonable adjustments under the terms of the Equality Act (2010) to enable an applicant with a disability (as defined under the Act) to meet the requirements of the post. We encourage applicants from underrepresented groups’.

Person Specification

Preferential Selection Criteria

Skills and Abilities	Has a Youth Work qualification preferably at degree-level (desirable) Excellent written and communication skills at all levels. Has a good understanding of different communication methods, including Makaton. Advanced use of Microsoft packages.
Experience	Experience of project delivery with young people Experience of internal monitoring and evaluation of project outputs Experience of reporting to funders (desirable)
Knowledge	Has a comprehensive understanding of safeguarding and confidentiality. A good understanding of issues surrounding young people with disabilities. Has an in-depth knowledge of the communication needs of disabled young people, specifically those on the autistic spectrum.
Personal Attributes and Other Requirements	Is able to work as part of a team and to use own initiative. Is willing to travel and to work unsociable hours, including evenings and occasional weekends. A highly motivated and energetic leader Self-starter, able to use own initiative to show insight and manage complex situations and processes between people Is dependable and professional. The ability to remain calm when working under pressure. Is willing to drive the minibus (D)

Essential Safer Recruitment Criteria

A cleared Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an enhanced level. This check is necessary as the work involves dealing with or having access to children and vulnerable adults whilst undertaking normal duties.
The candidate must be able to provide at least two relevant references prior to taking up the post.