Youth Support Worker

**Role**:Youth Support Worker

**Organisation Name**: Swan Youth Project

**Responsible to**: Assistant Project Manager

**Salary**: TBA

**Location**: Based in Downham Market but may work out of other locations

**Type/Hours**:36 hours (full time)

**Closing Date**:12pm 01/09/2025

**The Organisation**:
Swan Youth Project has been created to offer educational, social and emotional support to young people between the ages of 8 - 24 years of age, including supporting emerging and low-level health needs.
This is achieved by engaging through the provision of Open Access Youth Groups and targeted activity which will enable young people to overcome disadvantages to be inspired and to have the confidence to participate in society.

As a youth project, we work to create appropriate settings that facilitate the growth and development of the children and young people from our area.

We work in partnership with children and young people as they seek to meet their personal, social, emotional, cultural, spiritual, political and physical needs.

Swan Youth Project is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. References will be requested from most recent employer plus one other.

**Role Purpose**:
Our Youth Worker will organize the planning and delivery of youth work programmes and deliver quality face to face youth work sessions with and alongside the staff team. You will also deliver 1:1 support for mild/emerging mental health to young people referred in to this service. Through these programmes, you'll help young people (some of whom are at risk of becoming involved in anti-social behaviour) to explore and understand their ideas, values and beliefs, building their confidence and life skills so that they can make a successful transition to adulthood.

This role will work in our flagship Open Access sessions, where we see around 120 young people every week. We work with a Trauma Informed Approach to understand and appropriately support a wide range of young people in these youth groups.

You will act as Key Worker for our Young Carers, supporting and listening to them in dedicated sessions and Open Access. You will link with their families and provide bespoke information and signposting where needed.

Youth work relies on voluntary engagement with young people, so you'll need to build relationships based on trust in order to support and empower them.

You will plan, implement, monitor and evaluate your work for each project and area of work you are responsible for which is in line with the outputs and outcomes in our funding agreements

**Key Responsibilities**

**Relationships with Young People**
- Develop positive and appropriate relationships with the young people who you are working with
- Develop materials and session plans which will maximize the opportunities to understand what the young people’s needs are and meet these through the project programme
- To liaise with young people’s parents/carers if appropriate, consulting with the young people throughout this process
- To support Open Access sessions by modelling good practice and procedures for all young people to aspire to
- Deliver the ‘Bike Project’ to young people who are harder to engage with. Creating a safe and boundaried space to allow young people to learn and access support
- Assess the needs of young people to correctly plan and deliver programmes related to areas such as health, fitness, smoking, drugs, gangs, violence, relationships and bullying
- Develop relationships with young people based on respect and trust, ensuring they have a safe place to develop their identity and place in society
- Establish boundaries and challenge inappropriate behaviour
- Plan and deliver effective, targeted support for young people aged 8 - 18 on a 1:1 basis
- Support young people in different settings, including outreach work and local schools
- Work in partnership with families and other key people in the young person's life, as well as with professionals from other organisations involved with young people such as social care, health, police, education, youth offending teams and local authorities, in order to build a strong support network
- Attend and contribute to multi-agency meetings, bringing together practitioners from different sectors as part of a 'team around the family' (TAF) approach

**General**
- To undertake training and attend team meetings and staff supervision. Develop effective and positive relationships with other agencies that are working with the young people
- Oversee the Hygiene Bank, making sure young people all have access to this service and that it is appropriately stocked and managed
- Attend regular training and development opportunities to maintain an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding, health and safety, and local policy developments
- Undertake administrative tasks, maintain effective recording systems and respond to queries
- Pr