Participation Officer

Working closely with our Participation Manager as part of Children’s Participation Team, you will help to ensure that young people’s voices are heard within the Council , feeding back to senior leaders to improve the services the Council provides. This role will also facilitate young people’s engagement with the Council services.

The feedback provided by young people enacts real change within the Council and the local community. Most recently, one panel led the successful campaign for ‘Care Leaver’ to be recognised as a protected characteristic in South Gloucestershire.

• It will be your responsibility to organise children and young people’s participation groups facilitating discussions surrounding issues regarding specific groups, such as children in care and care leavers, and general groups.
• From these discussions, you will collate responses and disseminate feedback to senior leaders within the council in a variety of forms such as written reports, presentations, or direct feedback from the young people themselves.
• Regularly, you will conduct research and analysis of national policy and charities, informing how we can improve our services for children and young people.
• You will develop strong working relationships with young people and social care teams to ensure the effective running of the participation groups, alongside good relationships with partner organisations to secure their involvement in achieving objectives.
• Alongside this work, you will also assist with the development of policy and processes such as the renumeration policy for young people.

• We require you to have relevant knowledge and experience of working in a public sector organisation undertaking community engagement, service user engagement / participation in youth, social care or similar services.
• It is essential that you have experience of planning and facilitating youth engagement and participation activities.
• You must have a proven ability to conduct surveys including the associated analysis, report writing and presentation.
• Due to the nature of this role, you must have excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to develop strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders.

Please note that due to the nature of this role it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained for this post.  

How a career at South Gloucestershire Council is different  

• We value our staff as individuals, investing in their careers and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our training and development offer, which helps make the greatest long-term difference in work. 
• What’s special here is the strength of the team ethos, the support and the training.  

• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Ensuring all our staff are given right skills, knowledge and support to recognise and respond effectively to potential abuse or neglect.

• As part of our benefits package you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts , including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities

• We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.   

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here. 

• We're building and shaping communities which people are proud of   
• We're working with the most vulnerable in our community to help them achieve what they want in life   
• We're investing in our schools to ensure every child and young person in South Gloucestershire achieves their full potential.   

We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference.   

We’re making a difference, be part of it    

Click the link for the full job description Participation Officer CS06 SGC0436 People Quality Assurance Strategic Safeguarding Commissioning NOV