Practitioner jobs

Responsible to: Youth Services Manager

Hours: Full time 37 hours (Job share considered)

Salary: £27,500

Based: Hybrid (Bedford + one day per week in Q:alliance Head Office, Milton Keynes)

Contract: Fixed term for 2 years, with possibility of extension (subject to funding)

Closing Date: 18th February 2026 at 23:59

Interview Date: Tuesday 3rd March

Context

Q:alliance provides support, information, and representation for LGBTQ+ young people in Bedford, drawing on our wider experience delivering established services across Milton Keynes for the last 50 years.

We have detailed knowledge of the issues and challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals and organisations locally, and it is our goal to create more safe spaces and resources to ensure the LGBTQ+ community in Bedford is visible, well represented, and supported.

Scope

This is a newly created role within our Bedford services, delivering Q:alliance’s established youth support model developed in Milton Keynes and shaping pathways and support that respond to local need in Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire.

You will manage a one-to-one caseload of support for LGBTQ+ young people, while building relationships with schools and developing a collaborative schools’ network informed by young people’s insights. You will also develop and deliver LGBTQ+ inclusion training for teachers, education staff, and youth workers. This work will contribute to safe, affirming environments that strengthen resilience, wellbeing, and mental health.

You will work closely with the Youth Services Manager and youth teams across our service areas, building on existing Q:alliance provision in Bedford, where a dedicated youth team already leads on LGBTQ+ youth group delivery.

The role includes outreach across Bedfordshire’s urban and rural communities, supporting young people who may experience increased isolation due to limited access to LGBTQ+-affirming spaces.

You will work collaboratively with the Youth Services Manager to agree outreach and engagement targets, contributing to effective monitoring and reporting systems to ensure robust evidence of impact.

What you’ll bring to the team

This role is a key opportunity for Q:alliance to grow our work in Bedford, build local relationships, and better understand and respond to the needs of LGBTQ+ young people across the area. You will play a central role in shaping a new service, reaching young people who may not yet be connected to support, and helping both staff and the board of trustees develop a strong, place-based understanding of LGBTQ+ youth experiences in Bedford.

You will act as a first point of contact for schools, colleges, and youth settings in Bedford, building trusted relationships and establishing a collaborative network of school and college leads. You will share insights gathered through this work with the wider Q:alliance team, helping to strengthen our responses to local need and inform the development and sustainability of services, including future funding.

You will help ensure continuity of support between schools, our support spaces and Q:alliance’s wider youth service provision.

Main Responsibilities

· Networking – Support teachers, education staff and youth workers to access resources, implement inclusive learning environments and provide support for LGBTQ+ young people in their settings. Develop a network of school representatives to provide peer-support on shifting needs, priorities, and situations in a local and national context.

· Data capture and intelligence - Support Q;alliance’s commitment to sustaining a contemporary data and monitoring mechanism, guaranteeing we can deliver thorough evaluations of our services and competent feedback to our funders and stakeholders on the efficacy of our work. Analyse local intelligence directly from LGBTQ+ youth communities and use this to co-produce plans with young people to ensure our youth services are engaging and meeting needs.

· Support, information and empowerment – develop and implement resources for 1:1 education and resilience work with LGBTQ+ young people, provide support and advocacy for young people, ensuring effective signposting to relevant services and collaboration with parents, guardians, teachers and education staff where appropriate.

· Innovation – work with the Youth Services Manager, school representatives and young people to innovate a schools accreditation system that will acknowledge and cultivate schools’ competence to provide safe spaces and support for LGBTQ+ young people.

· Stakeholder and community engagement – Forge and support enduring relationships with key partners, strengthening our commitment to building an alliance of cross-sector compassionate advocates for the LGBTQ+ community in its diverse forms.

· Education – Plan, develop and deliver positive and engaging classroom workshops and school assemblies to a wide range of young people, ensuring key messages are inclusive of diverse perspectives, including those from black and minoritized communities.

· Training - Develop and deliver training for teachers, education staff and youth workers with the aim of improving the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ youth communities and the capacity of those with the power to assist in this endeavour.

Skills and Experience

Expertise

· Experience working with and supporting young people

· Experience of developing and sustaining a network

· Ability to deliver innovative education and training packages, delivery, and evaluation

· Knowledge of the challenges affecting young LGBTQ+ people

· Knowledge of issues affecting young people’s mental health and the skills required to build resilience

· Excellent planning, organisation and administrative skills

· Expertise in safeguarding young people, ensuring welfare of all by following policy and procedures in relation to recognising, recording, and responding to safeguarding concerns and liaising with the Designated Safeguarding Lead

· Ability to observe strict confidentiality at all times with respect to matters concerning young people and the schools, colleges and youth settings in which you support through your role in the developing network

· Capable to respond to a young person in crisis, signposting to appropriate resources and support.

Communication

· A high standard of written English, including an ability to write thorough reports, make referrals to partner agencies, maintain outreach files, and record minutes of forum meetings

· An engaging and charismatic public speaking style with the ability to adapt delivery style dependent on context and audience

· Ability to adopt a positive constructive language style when talking to young people 1:1

· Confidence to communicate with relatives, guardians, social workers and related professionals or advocates of young people

· Knowledge of social media and a recognition of the role it plays in young people’s lives

Behaviours

· Skills in forming constructive working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels

· Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of professional boundaries when working with young people and the importance of consistency

· Passionate about equality, the rights of LGBTQ+ people and neurodiversity.

· Evident desire to improve service delivery using co-production initiatives with young people

· An ability to listen with empathy and act compassionately

· Competence to work on own initiative and demonstrate innovation and creative problem solving

· Model conduct essential for successful teams, such as reliability, honesty and courage

Desirable

· Qualifications in youth work, teaching or mental health support

· LGBTQ+ lived experience

Other

· Full driving license and use of own vehicle

· Ability to work flexibly, with occasional evening and weekend working

· Commitment to further personal development and training

· Please note: Enhanced DBS is required for this role

The LGBTQ+ Youth Outreach Practitioner will have responsibility for the following documents.

· Contact Evaluation forms/data capture

· Monthly Outreach Report

· Resource library pertaining to our work with young people

· Network minutes (schools forum)

Apply via our website and complete an application form

• Are you a skilled and curious practitioner who has experience working with young women and girls?
• Can you support young women to achieve their own best hopes and develop their independence and agency?
• Do you want to work for an ambitious, values-driven charity that believes young women are the experts on their own lives?

Abianda is a London-based charity that works with young women and girls affected by criminal exploitation and violence, and the professionals who support them. We exist to ensure young women are no longer hidden in our communities and can live free from harm and abuse. We aim to bring about a culture shift in how services are delivered to young women and girls, so that they can access support that works for them when they need it.

Abianda is seeking an experienced and collaborative Young Women and Girls Practitioner (1:1) to work with young women and girls aged 13-25 affected by criminal exploitation and violence as part of our flagship service, the Star Project.

As the Young Women and Girls Practitioner (1:1), you will take young women and girls through a tailored programme of activities, supporting skills development and critical thinking. You will work with young women and girls over a period of approximately 6 months, or up to 24 sessions. You can read more about the service on our website.

If you have experience of delivering one-to-one sessions with young women and girls affected by criminal exploitation and want to support them to navigate systems, spaces and relationships safely and healthily, and advocate for their rights and needs, then we’d love to hear from you.
 

Job Details:

• Salary: £30,756 per annum, plus pension (reviewed annually)

• Full-time, 35 hours (however we are currently on a 31.5 hour-week trial that will likely be extended)

• One-year fixed-term contract

• 25 days holiday per annum, plus bank holidays

• Flexible working - hybrid working including from our office in London N5, from home and travel around London with the possibility of UK travel

• Reporting to Abianda’s Head of Programmes - Borough Provision

• Abianda provides a generous benefits and training and development budget for all employees​

You can read the full job description attached. 

How to apply:

To apply, please send your CV and a supporting statement (max. 1,000 words) detailing why you want to work for us and how you meet the skills and experiences listed in the person specification via CharityJob. Please note, if you would prefer, you can submit your application via video or voice recording (no longer than 5 minutes) or a PowerPoint presentation (no longer than 5 slides).

Please also download and our equal opportunities form (this is optional).

Early applications are encouraged and we may close the job vacancy if we receive sufficient applications. Applications will be received and reviewed on a rolling basis. ​The deadline for completed applications is 11.59pm Wednesday 11 February.

Interviews will be held on 24 and 25 February at our office in London, N5 2EF. Please let us know when you submit your application if you are not available on either of these dates.

Abianda is a Disability Confident employer. We aim to offer a disabled candidate who meets all of the essential requirements of the role an interview. 

If you would like to have an informal conversation about the role, please contact our Head of Operations Sam at sam[at]abianda[dot]com. Sam is not on the recruitment panel.

All applicants are requested to complete a criminal record self-disclosure form at interview stage. We value the lived experience of our applicants and all disclosures will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Please note

• Due to the work we do, Abianda's roles are subject to an Occupational Requirement on the grounds of the protected characteristic of sex. We are a women’s-only employer, and as such, this position is exempt under Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010. For the avoidance of doubt, all women including trans women are welcome to apply for and hold such roles, as are non-binary people if the applicant believes that their lived experience aligns with that of women and girls.

• We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community and people from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds.

• We encourage applications from people from all walks of life, including those who may have had exposure to similar experiences that young women across London are facing.

Permanent contract

Sessional Hours

Location: London Borough of Newham

Salary: £15.49 Per hour (sessional rate)

Hours: 0 Hour contract, sessional hours, working flexibly

Please note the number of hours for this position cannot be defined in advance therefore these hours will be arranged as and when required. Likely hours are afternoons/evenings and some weekend work available.

The Children's Society has been helping children and young people in this country for over 140 years. We run local services that support children when they are at their most vulnerable and in desperate need of help. We're there for children, every step of the way.

The Children's Society are investing in a new young people's wellbeing hub in the London Borough of Newham. This is an exciting and unique opportunity to shape a service as part of The Children's Society's mission to reverse the decline of children's wellbeing by 2030.

We believe support should be provided at the earliest possible opportunity, before young people reach crisis point. The service will be set up as a hub, with opportunities to expand to other delivery sites (spokes) and will be designed so that young people do not need an appointment to access support.

The service will work with young people holistically, offering a combination of information, advice, signposting, targeted activities, and therapeutic interventions that respond to young people's individual needs, so that they can regain and maintain their wellbeing.

As part of a service design process, we've been working collaboratively with professionals, young people, communities, and others in Newham to develop solutions that respond directly to children's needs.

KEY SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

In order to be successful in this role, you must have:

-Excellent understanding of the emotional health and wellbeing needs of children and young people in the local community, informed by current research and evidence bases.

-Experience of working in a trauma-informed and inclusive way. Including working holistically to see, support and respond to young people's 'whole selves'.

-Knowledge and experience of delivering brief interventions / therapeutic interventions (e.g. Solution Focused Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy).

INFO ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S SOCIETY

The Children's Society runs over 100 local services that help thousands of young people who desperately need our support, and we campaign to get laws and policies changed to make children's lives happier and safer.

Every day we're changing the lives of children in this country for the better - and with your help, tomorrow we can be there for even more.

The Children's Society is committed to safeguarding and protecting the children and young people that we work with. As such, all posts are subject to a safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks. We ensure that we have a range of policies and procedures in place which promote safeguarding and safer working practices across our services.

Therefore, candidates applying for work in our Youth Impact domain will be required to complete an “Employment history_template” document prior to interview. The fully completed document should be loaded by the candidate at the point of uploading your CV.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 4th February 2026.

Interviews dates TBC

IN1

Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner - Children’s Home - Croydon

Location: Children's Homes, Croydon.

Contract Type: Permanent/ Part time/15 hours a week.

Salary: Equivalent of £ 40,000 per annum for full-time (40 hours per week). Part-time role of 15 hours per week will be paid pro rata at £ 15,000 per annum.

Specific Hours: Flexible (Mondays to Fridays).

Looking for fantastic career progression, excellent training and therapeutic support? Join our committed and professional team and make a difference to young people living in residential care, where no two days are the same!

About Us

Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe, loved and happy, to achieve their potential and have a bright future.

St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people. We are proud of our history of providing fostering, children's homes and innovative leaving care services across the UK & Isle of Man.  We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do.  We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home.

We are an equal-opportunity employer keen to develop an inclusive workforce where people feel they belong.We hope to attract applications from under- represented groups, including people from different cultures, nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, disabilities, religions, faith, sex, orientation, childcare responsibilities, and gender-diverse identities.

St Christopher’s Academy

At St Christopher`s we can provide more than just a care job. We can offer you a career where you can develop your skills and knowledge while making a difference to young people’s lives.

When you join St Christopher’s, we will set you up in your career with a tailored development plan. Whether you want to move across to a different service, become a Manager or just explore further your current role, we will support you to map out your career trajectory and help you achieve your professional ambitions. 

We are proud that 84% of all our Team Leaders, Deputies and Managers are internal promotions.

About the role

As a Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner, you will play a key role in supporting and guiding our staff teams to deliver high-quality, person-centred behaviour support for the children in our care. You will carry out functional assessments, develop tailored PBS plans, and deliver both direct and indirect interventions to ensure each child’s individual needs are met. In addition, you will provide advice, coaching, and training to staff and carers, working collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to promote consistent, safe, and effective support.

Applicants should have

• A higher-level qualification (university degree) in a relevant field such as Psychology, or a Health and Social Care vocational qualification.
• Do you have a recognised qualification/training in Positive Behaviour Support (PBS), or be willing to undertake this training.
• Strong knowledge of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) theory and its practical application.
• An understanding of current best practices and guidelines for managing challenging behaviour, including approaches that promote restraint reduction.
• A basic understanding of safeguarding regulations and procedures.
• Previous experience supporting children and young people to reach their full potential.
• Proven experience working with children with learning disabilities, autism, and complex behavioural needs.
• Experience implementing physical interventions appropriately and safely and using PBS in practice.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with experience of working within multidisciplinary teams.
• The ability to respond professionally and effectively to challenging behaviour.
• A genuine commitment to supporting children and young people, with the ability to build trusting relationships while maintaining professional boundaries.
• Strong teamwork skills, flexibility, creativity, enthusiasm, and energy to inspire and encourage young people to achieve their goals.
• Flexibility to work outside office hours where applicable.
• A commitment to undertaking mandatory training (via e-learning or in-person courses) and to ongoing continuous professional development.
• Willingness to attend regular supervision.

What you should expect from us

• Competitive Salary.
• A friendly working environment, a fun, open and honest culture.
• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years’ service, plus Bank Holidays, pro-rata.
• Industry leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children’s right and participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health and social pedagogy.
• Contributory pension scheme, enhanced maternity and company sick scheme.
• UK Life Assurance (Death in service) to the value of 3 times your annual salary.
• BUPA employee assistance programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Bluelight card; discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK.
• Discretionary funded training programs.
• Employee awards based on performance and length of service.
• Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services.

Recruitment Process

At St Christopher’s, we are fully committed to safeguarding all children and young people in our care. As part of the recruitment process, you will be required to complete an online application form so we can gather the information needed to meet legislative, best practice, and vetting requirements. Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; however, if this is not the case, St Christopher’s will carry out a DBS check prior to your start date.

Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria outlined in the Person Specification. CVs will not be accepted.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview at our Head Office in Putney, SW London.

Please note:

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
• This post carries a minimum age requirement of 21 for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and supported accommodation settings, in line with the Equality Act’s occupational requirement provisions.
• It is illegal to apply for any role involving work with children or young people under 18 if you are barred from working with children.
• All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be required to complete a Self-Declaration and Disclosure form, which must be returned before an interview can be scheduled.

Qualified Low Intensity Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) – NHS Pathfinder Partnership

GMRC is a registered charity working with adult women who are victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse, providing independent, specialist support and promoting and representing their rights and needs.

The post-holder will be based at GMRC but work alongside TRC and MASH women’s services and work within the pathfinder partnership, across all partner organisations, providing high quality, evidence based, low intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) based interventions using a guided self-help model, to clients with who have experienced sexual trauma but also have additional mental health needs. The post holder will work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and should be committed to equal opportunities.

Key responsibilities:

- Work within the Pathfinder partnership consultation model to identify potential survivors who might benefit from a low intensity psychological intervention.

- Undertake client-centred conversations and assessments which identifies areas where the person wishes to see change and or recovery and makes an accurate assessment of risk to self and others.

- Provide a range of information and support for evidence based, low intensity psychological interventions whilst working within a flexible and person-centred model of care.

- Work closely with other members of the team ensuring appropriate interventions are considered and identify where a transfer of care to an HSP or another pathfinder team member might be required.

- Prepare and present clinical information for all clients on their caseload to clinical case management supervisors within the service on an agreed and scheduled basis, in order to ensure safe practice and the clinical governance obligations of the worker, supervisor and service are delivered.

Benefits:
- Flexible working TBC

- Generous annual leave (30 days a year exc. BH)

- Pension contributions

- Reasonable travel expenses

- Free on-site parking

#wellbeing #wellbeing practitioner #psychological wellbeing #psychological wellbeing practitioner #wellbeing #mental health #mental health practitioner #mental health wellbeing #mental wellbeing

We’re looking for a PWP or Low Intensity Psychological Worker who will support survivors and their loved ones with evidence-based low intensity interventions.

You’ll play a key role in supporting clients, managing communications, and assisting with volunteers. You will work closely with our Community Development and Criminal Justice Services Practitioners to ensure survivors have access to proper support. All staff have a Thematic Leadership area to expand the organisation’s knowledge in areas impacting male survivors and their loved ones.

You’ll be a qualified and experienced practitioner working with trauma with a background of mental health and engagement. We’re especially keen to hear from people with experience in working with men, sexual harms and their loved ones, but we value transferable skills too. If you’re passionate about creating a society where no male survivor is left behind, this could be the role for you.

Why Join Us?

• A competitive salary.
• Annual leave package with incremental rises plus bank holidays.
• Company sick pay.
• Birthday annual leave.
• Monthly clinical supervision.
• Pension contribution.
• A range of discount and benefit programmes.

** Please Note, all Job Descriptions are currently pending review **