Youth Engagement Officer

**Location**:Home based/hybrid London office

**Length of Contract**:18 months fixed term contract

**About Careers & Enterprise**
We are the national body for careers education in England, delivering support to schools and colleges to deliver modern, 21st century careers education.

The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is a great place to work. We operate within a fast-paced and collaborative environment. We are brought together by one thing: our passion to ensure young people get the best possible start in life and are supported to find their best next step.

Do you want to be part of a mission-driven team focused on transforming young people’s lives? If so, we’d love to hear from you

**Role summary**

This new role has an exciting remit to develop practice, to innovate in youth voice practice, to lead on the operational delivery of the Youth Advisory Group and support with the strategic direction of this work. Reporting directly to the Education Manager responsible for youth voice, but also working effectively across the directorate and across the company, you will manage the delivery of various aspects of our operations including, but not limited to:

- **Effective project management - **to ensure that CEC’s YAG has the greatest impact possible, you will work with colleagues from across the business, including at times the Careers Hub Network and put in place the right tools and processes for effective delivery of all elements of the youth voice. This may include establishing and managing relationships across teams, efficient reporting procedures and may extend to other areas of CEC’s ever evolving programme of work.
- **Innovate and design -** CEC’s work, and the careers education landscape, is continually evolving. Responding to changing needs of the company, skills of the YAG members and proactively planning for project pivots, will be essential to success in this role.

You will look for creative ways to strengthen youth voice across the company.
The Youth Engagement Officer will support the ongoing delivery of our Youth Advisory Group to ensure that young people bring their lived experience to meaningfully and authentically shape our work: from shaping our priorities and projects, through to supporting us to guide policy makers.

**Key Responsibilities**
**Co-ordination and support of the Youth Advisory Group**
- Coordinate and support the management of our Youth Advisory Group, including online and in-person youth-led activities with staff.
- Develop trust and good working relationships with young people to deliver pastoral care across programmes This includes 1:1 wellbeing support for young people.
- Coordinate and support the planning of recruitment, onboarding and induction for new cohorts of young people.
- Support with programme data collection for reporting purposes to Board.
- Be a point of contact for young people and guardians and arrange meetings, letters of engagement, and renumeration for young people as needed.
- Support the wellbeing and welfare of young people through rigorous safeguarding and data management practices and processes, including responsibility for safeguarding of young people at in-person and online sessions and events where necessary.

**Work across the Careers & Enterprise Company to support youth voice initiatives**
- Work closely with the Education Manager and wider teams to support delivery of high-quality, non-tokenistic youth participation across the organisation.
- Support with external opportunities for young people. Work closely with the Education Manager to share opportunities and brief and prepare young people.
- Generally, support the wider Youth Engagement.

**Wider support to the Education Development Team**
- Supporting projects (new and mature) as required across the wider team, helping to develop and maintain project management processes
- Providing support for events and their administration
- Supporting the development of other advisory groups linked to the Education Development Team
- Support the wider team with administrative tasks as and when appropriate to ensure the smooth running of team meetings, planning days and project delivery.

**Essential criteria**
- Demonstrable experience of youth engagement co-ordination, projects and youth led events.
- Experience of running similar programmes.
- Good knowledge of safeguarding and welfare practices and processes for young people.
- Demonstrable experience of safeguarding responsibilities with young people between 14 and 25 years.
- Experience of supporting young people with SEND or accessibility needs.
- Experience of developing and delivering multiple projects and/or project workstreams.
- Experience of delivering youth led events.
- Knowledge and understanding of the Careers Hub Network and careers education policy.
- Experience of budget management and progress/accountability reporting.
- A commitment to implementing meaningful youth voice practices.

**Desirable**
- Safeguarding