Youth Worker

The Community Youth Project

JOB TITLE: Part time Youth Worker

PLACE OF WORK: Martock

CONTRACT: Permanent

HOURS OF WORK: Two evening per week - 14 hours per week

REPORTS TO: Project manager

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: Voluntary Youth Leaders, Volunteers

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES: Subs and Tuck

Main Purpose of the Job

The Community Youth Project is an independent Charitable Incorporated Organisation charity which provides youth work services to communities within South Somerset. The organisation is run by a voluntary group of Trustees and a Management Group and is supported by a paid part time Project Manager.

The Youth Worker will be line managed by the Project manager.

As a whole, the project aims to increase the quality and choice of opportunities for young people across their communities by delivering an excellent programme that:

- meets the needs of the young people of age 8 - 18 years within each CYP community;
- increases the number of young people participating regularly in out-of-school education and leisure opportunities;
- Involved young people in decision making, design and delivery of youth programme and encourages participation within the local community
- enhances the range and quality of opportunities available for young people;
- develops and supports volunteers to work with young people.

To achieve this, the Youth Worker in Martock will work closely with the Project manager, Community representatives, local organisations, schools and local residents.

Duties, Responsibilities and Accountabilities

1. Work with young people and local communities in order to identify young people's interests and needs and to ensure they are addressed within available resources.

2.Building effective transformational relationships with young people.

3. Leading on the planning, delivery and evaluation of open access youth work sessions that inspire and stimulate young people, meeting their needs and ensuring young people have access to a programme of activities that empower and enable young people to reach their full potential

4. Initiate and work with partner agencies and local communities as required in order to maximise the opportunities available for young people.

5. Lead, create, structure and evaluate a comprehensive series of youth and community programmes and opportunities to meet the interests and needs of young people aged 8 -17 years within available resources.

6. Lead and co-ordinate the annual planning and delivery of local holiday activity programmes in conjunction with local schools and voluntary organisations.

7. Support the work of the youth parish council enabling young people's engagement in community events and social action

8. Enable young people to be actively involved in decision making.

9. Ensure that all youth work is conducted in accordance with a consistent set of policies and procedures that meet statutory requirements and best practice guidance, including Safeguarding, Equality and Diversity and Data Protection.

10. Ensure that all risk assessments and safety inspections are carried out and appropriate records kept for all activities in relation to young people.

11. Plan, facilitate and monitor a programme of training to recruit and retain a high quality network of volunteers and young volunteers.

12. Facilitate the development of a co-ordinated programme to provide young people with the opportunity to become leaders.

13. Record the output and outcomes of work and programmes for the purposes of monitoring and evaluation and ensure that monitoring and evaluation of youth work takes place.

14. Prepare reports for the six month and end of year SLA review meetings and where required attend Town or Parish Council and other community panel meetings.

15. Such other duties as may be required and delegated, commensurate with the responsibilities of this post.

These duties and responsibilities are likely to evolve as the project develops.

External and Internal Contacts

Local residents, village hall committee, parents, Councillors, Parish and Town Clerk’s,

Personal Development

The post holder is expected to have a commitment to on-going personal development for current and future role requirements and also to better assist the determination of the needs of young people. This includes regular supervision sessions, an annual appraisal and uptake of in-service training opportunities.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

The post holder will provide advisory and practical support to community volunteers and occasionally project staff, and will be expected to demonstrate compliance in the implementation of CYP policies and procedures. The post holder will be expected to deliver in relation to the annual Service level agreement.

The post requires a creative approach to the development and delivery of opportunities for young people, including determining the appropriate mechanisms or procedures to facilitate their successful delivery in a way that will engage youn