Child protection jobs

We are looking to recruit Self-Employed Mental Health Advocates to work in the following areas:

Warrington - WA2 8TR

Atherton - M46 9NT

Luton - LU4 0LU

This is a self-employed position and you will be paid a sessional rate. 

Our Service

NYAS provides mental health advocacy to individuals within mental health settings throughout the UK.

Our service provides independent advocacy to people within mental health hospitals and community-based settings. We support individuals to ensure their voice is heard regarding their care and treatment and that they are aware of their rights.

This also includes representing them during various meetings such as ward rounds and at multi-disciplinary team meetings.  This role requires you to produce written reports to ensure that the views of patients are fully represented.

We work with adults and children and young people:

Warrington - WA2 8TR - Adults

Atherton - M46 9NT - Adults

Luton - LU4 0LU – Young People

DO YOU HAVE:

Direct experience of working with children/young people or vulnerable adults in a social care or mental health setting.
Experience and understanding of child protection/vulnerable adult safeguarding procedures
Ability to maintain professionalism at all times
An understanding of the importance of listening to children/young people and vulnerable adults without bias or prejudice.
Ability to communicate in an effective way.
Ability to record concise case notes and produce good quality reports

You will need to evidence your skills using specific examples in your application meeting the criteria in the person specification.

Safeguarding and Training

You will be required to complete annual safeguarding and compliance training including, Personal Safety, Data Protection, Information Security, Safeguarding and Equality and Diversity.

You will be able to subscribe to an e-learning platform provided by NYAS. The platform will provide you with the opportunity to undertake a number of other professional courses that you can complete in your own time to maintain your own CPD.

In accordance with UK immigration law, NYAS is required to ensure that all prospective candidates have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom. Therefore, proof of eligibility to work in the UK will be required as part of the recruitment process.

NYAS operates robust safe procedures to ensure the protection of the children, young people and adults at risk we work with. To comply with NYAS’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy candidates will be subject to an enhanced DBS check, references and a Digital Risk Assessment.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early once we receive a high number of applications.

About NYAS

As an established leading rights-based charity, NYAS (National Youth Advocacy Service) is well positioned to ensure that children, young people, and adults across England and Wales are fully respected, represented, and supported in expressing their views and having their rights upheld.

We work with care-experienced children, young people, and adults who are often reliant on statutory services suffering the negative impact of the cuts in public expenditure. Our combination of social care and legal services places us in a unique position to ensure that they receive the services they need and that their voices are heard.

We are an equal opportunities employer, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment which means NYAS welcomes applications from all individuals regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, or any other protected characteristic.

NYAS is proud to share that we are a Disability Confident Employer, and we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for our vacancies.

Work with us to help change lives.

The role

Job Title: Youth & Community Engagement Officer

Part Time:          8- 12 days per month

Salary: £28-30,000 pro rata

Reporting to: Operations Director

Job Purpose:

 This role will lead the development and delivery of Allergy UK’s youth engagement initiative. We are beginning several exciting new projects focused on engaging young people who live with allergy and providing opportunities for them to have a voice and support them in raising awareness of the issues that affect their life. We are seeking young people’s participation and co-production in all activities we develop to support their needs. The role of Youth Engagement Officer will be to engage with young people across the UK, to ensure that they have the opportunities and support to shape and influence Allergy UK’s programmes and activities for young people living with allergy.

The Youth & Community Engagement Officer will engage with children and young people across the UK to ensure they are meaningfully involved and supported to influence Allergy UK’s services, campaigns and resources. This includes creating safe, inclusive spaces where young people and parents and carers feel listened to and empowered to share their experiences.

The successful individual will develop youth opportunities that build confidence, skills and life chances, while supporting children and young people living with allergy to overcome the social, emotional and practical barriers they may face. A key part of the role will be working collaboratively with parents and carers to ensure their voice inform decision making and design.

As a Youth & Community Engagement Officer, you will have experience of working positively with children, young people and families, and have a proactive, organised and confident approach.

Strong organisation skills and initiative are essential as you will be the lead Allergy UK’s youth provision.

You will coordinate a range of activities on-line and in-person engagement sessions, blogs, podcasts, learning opportunities and digital activities all rooted in co-production principles. You will work as part of a wider team to engage children, young people and parents and carers, to amplify unheard voices and stories, and help drive positive change for families living with allergy.

The post is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund until September 2028. As a grant- funded role, the postholder will be responsible for the effective delivery, monitoring and evaluation of agreed grant outcome and KPI’s, ensuring full compliance with funder requirements and reporting deadlines.

Your main responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Key Accountabilities:

· Design, develop and deliver youth-led and family-centred services across three core areas:

o Continue to design and deliver youth-led services with the existing 18–25 youth group for people living with allergies

o Recruit, , launch and establish a new youth group for 13–17-year-olds living with allergies

o Recruit, launch and establish a support and engagement group for parents and carers of children and young people living with allergies

· Plan, project manage and deliver engaging co-production projects, building positive, trusted relationships with children, young people and parents and carers, and promoting meaningful participation.

· Create opportunities for young people to have a strong and influential voice, supporting them to engage in Allergy UK’s awareness- raising and public affairs activity to influence policy, improve services and drive change.

· Establish, develop and lead the Allergy UK Youth Forum, ensuring it is representative, inclusive and impactful.

· Support and develop young people to become champions and ambassadors for Allergy UK, building confidence, leadership skills and advocacy capability.

· Work collaboratively with a wide range of organisations including but not exclusively schools, local government, health and youth services and voluntary sector organisations.

· Develop and deliver training and development resources to support young people’s skills, understanding and personal development.

· Ensure all required documentation is completed accurately, secularly, and within agreed timescales, in line with contractual, safeguarding and reporting requirements

· Work closely with the Operations Director and wider staff team, providing insight and advice on issues affecting children, young people and families living with allergy.

· Develop and embed effective youth engagement procedures and best practice, ensuring a consistent, safe and inclusive approach across all activities..

· Take responsible for the health and safety including risk assessments and reviews for all youth and family engagement activities, ensuring safety and wellbeing of participants.

· Act as a key role holder for safeguarding, ensuring that the safety and wellbeing of children, young people and vulnerable adults is central to all youth and family engagement activity. This includes promoting a strong safeguarding culture, adhering to Allergy UK’s safeguarding policies and procedures, identifying and escalating safeguarding concerns appropriately, completing and contributing to risk assessments, and working closely with designated safeguarding leads and relevant staff to ensure safe, inclusive and compliant practice at all times.

· Maintain accurate and confidential records, ensuring the secure and compliant recording of sensitive data on Allergy UK’s Salesforce database in line with data protection requirements.

Person Specification

This role involves regular contact with children, young people and potentially vulnerable adults. The successful candidate will be required to undergo an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, in accordance with organisational safeguarding policies.

Essential:

 Education & Qualifications

 Degree or equivalent and demonstrable/relevant work experience.

Essential Experience

 · Minimum of 3 years’ experience working with young people

· Experience of directly engaging children and young people (ideally across different age groups, e.g. 13–25)

· Experience of developing and delivering engaging youth engagement opportunities, following best practice, and adopting methods of co-production

· Experience of planning, delivering and evaluating projects or programmes

· Coordinating online and inperson activities (e.g. groups, workshops, forums, events)

· Managing multiple workstreams and meeting deadline

· Experience working independently while contributing to a wider team

· Practical experience of working in a safeguarding‑aware environment

Desirable Experience

 · Experience of working with or supporting parents and carers, particularly in health, disability or community contexts

 The purpose of this job description is to focus attention on the most important aspects of the jobholders role. It is not intended to be a complete list of duties: therefore, it is to be expected that the day-to-day performance of the job will include tasks not listed above. The list of duties for which the jobholder is responsible may reasonably be varied or added at the discretion of the charity.

What you will bring

Essential Skills and Knowledge

 · Knowledge of safeguarding responsibilities relating to:

o Children and young people

o Vulnerable adults

· Experience of recognising, recording and escalating safeguarding concerns in line with local and national guidance.

· Experience of recording accurate information on a CRM system, ideally Salesforce, ensuring timely and GDPR-compliant data entry.

· Experience of monitoring, evaluation and reporting against grant-funded KPIs.

· A Demonstrable experience of working directly with young people in a youth engagement/participation role.

· Demonstrate experience in the development and delivery of strategies to successfully engage, interact and promote development with young people.

· Experience in planning and delivering youth sessions and activities.

· Experience of working with a range of stakeholders and representing the views of young people.

· Experience of writing reports and meeting conflicting deadlines.

· Experience of managing people, resources, or projects.

· Skills and Knowledge Ability to engage with young people.

· Ability to work independently.

· Ability to motivate others and work as part of a team.

· To ensure young people feel safe and are safeguarded, by ensuring cross partnership and local safeguarding policies and procedures are adhered to.

· Understanding of the issues facing young people.

· Understanding and commitment to equal opportunities policies.

· Evidence of challenging discrimination or implementing equal opportunities with young people.

· Knowledge and understanding of relevant legislation, especially regarding children’s rights, promoting inclusion.

· Proficient in Microsoft Office, including Microsoft Teams, Salesforce (or similar CRM) and Zoom

· Able to work flexibly to meet requirements of the role.

Desirable

· Understanding of allergy

· An understanding of the charity sector and the work of volunteers.

Behavioural Competencies

 Relating & Networking Working with People

Adhering to principles and values Persuading and influencing Formulating strategies & Concepts Planning & Organising

Attitudes

· A positive individual who can guide, inspire and motivate team members

· Decisive and determined

· Ability to think on your feet and adapt quickly when needed

· Ability to manage a large and varied workload, prioritising to meet competing deadlines

· Empathetic and sensitive

· A passionate commitment to delivering the charity’s vision, mission and values

· Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion

Save the Children UK is looking for an Innovative Finance Manager to join our Innovation Hive, developing and scaling innovative finance solutions - including impact investment and inclusive insurance - that mobilise capital and drive sustainable impact for children globally. This is a unique opportunity to help shape and deliver new approaches to funding that can unlock transformational change at scale.

About Us

Save the Children UK believes every child deserves a future. In the UK and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm.  When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave.  We ensure children's unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.

About the Team

The Innovation Hive is a team focused on delivering transformative, systemic change for children. As ODA funding declines globally, our goal is to expand our toolkit —including mobilising private capital to deliver impact for children at scale.

We operate as a surge team supporting SCUK's priorities in innovative and blended finance, including child-lens investing, carbon credits and inclusive insurance. These approaches complement existing programmatic work, maximising the impact of current and new resources and increasing funding towards our mission.

Our purpose is clear: to transform, build and champion new growth opportunities and business models, moving at pace and collaborating inside and outside of our organisation to do this. 

About the role

The Innovative Finance Manager role is central to advancing innovative finance initiatives that create transformative outcomes for children.

You will lead the design, shaping and execution of a portfolio of innovative finance projects—such as child-lens impact investment and inclusive insurance—across the Save the Children Movement, supported by the Innovation Hive. This includes designing and structuring financing mechanisms, developing proposals, and coordinating partners.

The role combines strategic leadership, venture development and execution, with a strong emphasis on mobilising capital, building partnerships, and developing scalable solutions that can influence systems and markets. You will play a key role in originating and structuring new opportunities, supporting their progression from early-stage concept through to implementation and scale, while ensuring alignment with organisational priorities and impact objectives.

Working across geographies, with a focus on Latin America and Africa, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams, internal stakeholders, and external partners to deliver high-impact programmes. With impact on children as your guiding star, you will also monitor emerging trends and opportunities in innovative finance to inform strategic decision-making.

You will also contribute to strengthening organisational capability in innovative finance, supporting knowledge sharing, mentoring colleagues, and embedding best practice across Save the Children UK.

In this role, you will:

• Lead the origination design and structuring of high-impact innovative finance projects that advance child-focused impact, such as blended finance, insurance, carbon finance and impact investment funds.
• Exercise strong judgement and autonomy in prioritising opportunities, shaping initiatives, and influencing decision-making on programme design, resource allocation, and strategic direction.
• Develop compelling proposals, concept notes and investment cases that unlock funding and advance scalable innovative finance solutions. Lead market scanning, research and strategic analysis and originate opportunities in priority areas and across geographies particularly in Latin America and Africa.
• Integrate impact management frameworks into projects you lead, ensuring all initiatives are data-driven, aligned with Save the Children's impact objectives, and deliver measurable outcomes for children.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of tools, resources, frameworks and support mechanisms that enhance the delivery of innovative finance projects.
• Build and manage strategic partnerships with internal teams, country offices, and external stakeholders including investors, foundations and development finance institutions, to grow pipeline and enable delivery
• Represent Save the Children in external forums and contribute to contribute to thought leadership and insights on innovative finance for children, strengthening the organisation's position in innovative finance 

About you

To be successful, it is important that you have/are:

• Demonstrated experience in leading the design, execution, and management of innovative finance models such as impact investment, carbon credits and inclusive insurance. 
• Ability to understand how these can be applied to advance scalable and sustainable impact for children.
• Ability to understand how to integrate IMM frameworks into projects.
• Demonstrated experience in analysing and interpreting data, and presenting information in a compelling way.
• Demonstrated experience in market research and analysis, communicating the potential impact in a clear and compelling way, and applying learnings to drive strategy and project development.
• Experience or ability to work with teams across geographies and sectors, collaborating with internal teams, external partners, and stakeholders from diverse sectors.
• Confidence presenting to partners, donors or investors.
• A team player, someone who is open and who is able and willing to deliver beyond their personal brief.
• Resilience, enthusiasm, energy and drive with a commitment to Save the Children's vision and values.
• A commercial and entrepreneurial mindset.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and able to navigate uncertainty and complexity, remaining organised and focused in fast-changing environments.
• Fluent in Spanish (ideally but not essential)
• Ideally experience or understanding of human centred design, agile and lean methodologies, in order to deliver impactful innovations that meet user needs.
• Ideally experience or ability to manage knowledge systems that support innovation projects

Please note: To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.

Location & Ways of Working:

The majority of our roles can be performed remotely in the UK, but at times you will be required to come to your contracted office (usually between 2–4 days per month, depending on the needs of your role, team, or service). For many roles, this is likely to be the minimum required to deliver impact.

This will be discussed and agreed with your manager / team and we encourage candidates to discuss our ways of working in more detail at interview stage.

Please note: travel costs to your contracted office will be at your own expense. 

Flexible Working - We are happy to discuss flexible working options at interview.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: 

Save the Children UK believes in a world that is fair, inclusive and equitable where all children have the opportunity to change their world. We apply this to our workforce and we are committed to developing and supporting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organisation where all employees have a sense of belonging and feel that they can be "Free to Be Me". We are not looking for just one type of person - we want to recruit people who can add fresh perspectives, innovative ideas or challenge that disrupts the risk of group think. 

We are especially interested in people whose childhood experiences - of life on a low income, of migration, of being in a racialised community, of the care system, of being LGBT+ or in an LGBT+ family or living with (or with someone with) a disability - help us to see things we might otherwise miss. Whatever your story is we want to hear it because we know that different voices, ideas, perspectives and knowledge, working together will enable us to better the lives of children around the world. This is the reason why we are all here. 

About the Role

We are looking for someone who is passionate about supporting young people who will be a key member of RF’s programme team. It’s an opportunity to develop skills, gain new experience and support RF across programme coordination, outreach and engagement and impact. You will play a key role in helping to plan, deliver, promote and evaluate the programme, making sure everything runs smoothly and ensuring RF young people have a great experience.

Key Contributions

Programme Coordination:

• Supporting the day-to-day coordination of RF’s programme and maintaining programme systems and processes including databases and spreadsheets
• Attending drop-in sessions and holiday activities to support the young people. Term time drop ins take place Wednesdays 5-7pm. Holiday drop-in sessions take place at different times. (Evening work will be time taken back in lieu)
• Acting as lead coordinator for RF’s mentoring programme

Outreach and Engagement:

• Supporting the Programme & Outreach Manager around communication with schools, hospitals and other stakeholders to build partnerships that promote growth of young people, including supporting to deliver assemblies, hold meetings and other external visits as required
• Acting as a confident and reliable point of contact for young people at RF, building positive, trusted relationships to encourage active participation on the programme
• Supporting with tracking and reporting the progress of each young person throughout their 3-year journey

Marketing & Communications:

• Developing and coordinating programme communications including social media content and marketing materials
• Collecting and writing stories and testimonials from the young people and their families to share impact
• Updating the website and digital content

General:

• Ad hoc projects as necessary
• Building effective, productive and collaborative working relationships with everyone at RF and external partners
• Adhering to RF’s policies and procedures at all times
• Attending and engage in team and external meetings

About You

You will be a self-starter with a passion to work with young people; proactive, organised and have excellent communication skills; and creative, knowing how to create engaging marketing and social media content.

You may already have experience in the charity sector, in youth work, or another related field, but most importantly you will have experience in project planning and coordination and really enjoyed it or are keen to build skills in this area and feel you would be good at it.

Your Skills & Experience

You will have:

• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written)
• The ability to work unsupervised and able to prioritise own work
• Strong organisational skills
• The ability to multitask
• Good attention to detail
• Experience using Microsoft 365 packages (Word and Excel)
• Creative skills with experience using Canva
• The ability to thrive in a small but busy charity
• A willingness to learn
• An enhanced DBS check or willingness to apply for one

We're eager to meet people that believe in our mission and can contribute to our team in a variety of ways - not just candidates who check all the boxes. Even if you don't feel that you meet every single requirement, we still encourage you to apply.

What we can offer

Salary: £26,000 - £29,000 depending on experience

Standard benefits:

25 days holiday, plus public holidays

Pension

Additional benefits:

Birthday leave

Extra leave at Christmas

Team socials

Cycle to work scheme

Professional training and development opportunities

Employee Assistance Programme

Time off in lieu for irregular hours worked

How to apply

Please upload a tailored CV which includes two referees and a supporting statement.

For your supporting statement, please provide evidence to demonstrate that you have the knowledge, experience, skills and attributes for this position. You should tell us why you want to work for RF and what you think you would bring to the team. This should last no more than 2 pages.

Deadline for applications - Monday 18 May 2026, 10am

Shortlisted candidates notified - wc 18 May 2026

1st round interviews (online) - wc 25 May 2026

2nd round interviews (in person) - 3 or 4 June 2026

Start date - July 2026 (exact date to be agreed with successful candidate)

We are committed to safeguarding at RF.  Successful candidates will need to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the role, including references and Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

We are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion and we welcome applications from anyone regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sexuality, religion, socio-economic background or any other difference.

Youth Outreach Practitioner – Glasgow  

Salary: Up to £32k 

Hours: Full time 

Location: Glasgow  

Contract: Permanent  

WE STAND FOR CHILDREN, THEIR CHILDHOODS AND THEIR FUTURES - WILL YOU? 

Around the world hundreds of thousands of children struggle to survive on the streets. In many countries, they have become an accepted issue in society, deprived of access to the most basic services and they experience extreme harm before and during their time on the streets.

Wherever they may be in the world, they face violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. 

Founded in 1996, Railway Children has dedicated over a quarter of a century to developing outstanding practice and services for street connected children. With projects in the UK, India and Tanzania, we aim to reach these children as soon as they are in danger and intervene before an abuser can.  As we embark on our new strategy to 2030, we have ambitious plans to ensure no child is left behind, wherever we work. 

The role 
We are looking for a Youth Outreach Practitioner for our Glasgow team and are keen to receive applications from those living in and around the City of Glasgow.  You’ll be part of a dynamic team delivering Railway Children’s programme in the UK, in partnership with British Transport Police (BTP).  

As a Youth Outreach Practitioner, you’ll play a key role in keeping children safe from harm by engaging in patrols to identify and safeguard young people (aged 10-17) at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation, county lines, missing from home, homelessness or family breakdown.  

You will also work closely with our Youth Practitioner, supporting a number of young people who have been identified or referred for 1-1 direct support.

Both aspects of the role will involve working directly with young people and their families to reduce risks, as well as building strong relationships other social care, Police, third sector agencies and local services in the area.  

Your base would be near to Glasgow Central Station with regular travel between the station and working in the boroughs of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Glasgow and Renfrewshire. This role involves some evenings and weekend hours.   

About you 

You will have experience of successfully engaging and supporting young people and families as well as working in an outreach or similar setting, in a creative and engaging way with young people with a range of needs and vulnerabilities.   

A relevant qualification in an appropriate discipline in working with children and families, community or youth work or equivalent experience is desirable. Alongside this relevant training in safeguarding and/or issues relevant to vulnerable young people and families is essential.

You will need to have experience of providing front line support to safeguard some of the most vulnerable young people in the UK.

Experience of developing productive relationships/partnerships with a variety of organisations such as 3rd sector group, local services and statutory services such a social care to support the needs of vulnerable young people and families is a must.

A full person specification can be found in the job pack.  

For further information about this post and working for Railway Children, including how to apply, please visit our website.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates with a diverse range of backgrounds and lived experience. 

Railway Children is committed to safeguarding anyone who comes into contact with us and implements a range of policies to ensure only those suitable to work with vulnerable groups are employed. 

Closing Date: Sunday 10th May at 5pm 

1st interviews are scheduled to take place on Thursday 21st May 2026

2nd interviews are scheduled to take place on Tuesday 2nd June 2026 

Youth Outreach Practitioner – South Yorkshire  

Salary: Up to £32k 

Hours: Full time 

Location: Sheffield or Doncaster

Contract: Permanent 

WE STAND FOR CHILDREN, THEIR CHILDHOODS AND THEIR FUTURES - WILL YOU? 

Around the world hundreds of thousands of children struggle to survive on the streets. In many countries, they have become an accepted issue in society, deprived of access to the most basic services and they experience extreme harm before and during their time on the streets.

Wherever they may be in the world, they face violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. 

Founded in 1996, Railway Children has dedicated over a quarter of a century to developing outstanding practice and services for street connected children. With projects in the UK, India and Tanzania, we aim to reach these children as soon as they are in danger and intervene before an abuser can.  As we embark on our new strategy to 2030, we have ambitious plans to ensure no child is left behind, wherever we work. 

The role 
We are looking for a Youth Outreach Practitioner for our South Yorkshire team and are keen to receive applications from those living in and around Sheffield or Doncaster.  You’ll be part of a dynamic team delivering Railway Children’s programme in the UK, in partnership with British Transport Police (BTP).  

As a Youth Outreach Practitioner, you’ll play a key role in keeping children safe from harm by engaging in patrols to identify and safeguard young people (aged 10-17) at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation, county lines, missing from home, homelessness or family breakdown.  

You will also work closely with our Youth Practitioner, supporting a number of young people who have been identified or referred for 1-1 direct support.

Both aspects of the role will involve working directly with young people and their families to reduce risks, as well as building strong relationships other social care, Police, third sector agencies and local services in the area.  

Your base would be at Sheffield or Doncaster Railway Station with regular travel between these stations plus Barnsley and Rotherham stations and working across these boroughs. This role does involve working regular unsociable hours including evenings and weekends.   

 About you 

You will have experience of successfully engaging and supporting young people and families as well as working in an outreach or similar setting, in a creative and engaging way with young people with a range of needs and vulnerabilities.    

A relevant qualification in an appropriate discipline in working with children and families, community or youth work or equivalent experience is desirable. Alongside this relevant training in safeguarding and/or issues relevant to vulnerable young people and families is essential.    

You will need to have experience of providing front line support to safeguard some of the most vulnerable young people in the UK.   

Experience of developing productive relationships/partnerships with a variety of organisations such as 3rd sector group, local services and statutory services such a social care to support the needs of vulnerable young people and families is a must.   

A full person specification can be found in the job pack.  

For further information about this post and working for Railway Children, including how to apply, please visit our website.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates with a diverse range of backgrounds and lived experience. 

Railway Children is committed to safeguarding anyone who comes into contact with us and implements a range of policies to ensure only those suitable to work with vulnerable groups are employed. 

Closing Date: Sunday 10th May at 5pm 
 
1st interviews are scheduled to take place on Wednesday 20th May 2026 
2nd interviews are scheduled to take place on Tuesday 2nd June 2026 

Context

Childhood First enables children and young people to recover from early life abuse and relational trauma, to enjoy life and to achieve their potential. We do this through the provision of specialist therapeutic residential care and treatment, together with family and network support.

Greenfields House is a specialist residential children’s home providing a programme of care, treatment and education for up to ten children aged between 5 and 13 years.

Role Description

The role of the Placement and Family Support Worker is to directly support, maintain and develop the network around the child, liaising, building relationships and communicating between multiple agencies and multi-disciplinary roles, these include, the local authority, social workers, family members, carers and significant others and the child in placement.

Within the community, the role is closely linked with each child in placement and will closely work with the Community Director and the senior management team to ensure that it meets the therapeutic and educational needs and interests of each child. This will necessarily include working closely with professionals and developing their expertise in a psychoanalytic-systemic approach to care, education and treatment.

Responsibilities include:

• Ensure that plans for the process of assessment, co-ordination and delivery of placement and family support and transition plans are developed and managed on a day-to-day basis to agreed standards.
• Co-ordinate and facilitate contact arrangements, linking with networks and families in a manner which is integrated with the community’s existing relationship and contribute to and develop its professional effectiveness.
• Contribute to the holistic assessment of needs of children, families and networks.
• Devise and develop tailored packages of support based on assessment.

We would like to hear from you if you have a Level 3 qualification or substantial work experience related to social care, social work, family support or early help. The ideal candidate will also have experience working with children, adolescents and families and have knowledge of parenting skills.

Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave plus public holidays (pro rata)
• Health benefit package and life assurance
• Up to 6% pension contributions

Closing date: Friday, 15 May 2026

Interview Date: Tuesday, 19 May 2026

To apply Please submit your CV with a covering letter describing your suitability for this role or complete the application questions below.

Childhood First is committed to safeguarding children. We follow safer recruitment guidelines and all appointments will be subject to a satisfactory Enhanced DBS and references.

Location: MSSC National Support Centre, London SE1 7JY (Hybrid)

Contract: Full-time, permanent

Salary: £49,000 gross per annum

Closing Date: 3 May 2026

Are you a Safeguarding Manager looking for a new opportunity?

The Marine Society & Sea Cadets (MSSC) is the leading maritime charity for youth development and lifelong learning. We are a vibrant and growing charity inspiring young people to achieve their potential through challenge and nautical adventure, while also enabling seafarers and maritime professionals to realise their potential through learning and career development.

Thousands of young people take part in Sea Cadets activity every week. We want to reach thousands more. We have a strong vision and are on the cusp of rolling out a new multi-year growth strategy to meet the growing demand for what we provide for young people. We aim to equip them to achieve their potential and thrive in a rapidly changing world. We are immensely proud of the breadth, quality and safety of activities we offer to young people.

We are currently looking for a Safeguarding Manager to join our team.

About the role

We are currently seeking to appoint a Safeguarding Manager who will be responsible for overseeing the day to day operational safeguarding functions for our charity. You will manage a team of Safeguarding Officers to ensure that an effective and robust safeguarding service is provided.  The post holder will provide professional advice and support on safeguarding matters to staff and volunteers, as well as liaising and meeting with external bodies, and occasionally delivering training.

You will have experience of the voluntary youth or community sector as a direct practitioner, and knowledge of Early Help and statutory guidance relating to safeguarding children and adults at risk. You will also have experience of managing a team where safeguarding is the main focus area of your work. 

Our safeguarding team operates centrally in London where we are responsible for providing support, advice and guidance to our volunteers relating on all safeguarding matters across the UK. Our Safeguarding Officers act as our lead professionals in managing safeguarding casework in line with our policy, procedures, national guidance and in line with our statutory duty.

Whilst this is a Monday- Friday full time position, a flexible approach to work and working patterns is a must, as is the ability to work effectively and respond appropriately in challenging circumstances.

Responsibilities

· Operational delivery

· Line management of the Safeguarding team

· Service development

Requirements

· A relevant professional qualification for example: Youth Work, Education, Early Years or demonstrable equivalent work experience.

· Detailed understanding of Early Help and legislation affecting safeguarding, regulatory requirements and best practice in relation to youth participation and inclusion.

· Knowledge and understanding of current issues and trends in safeguarding, child protection and work with children and young people.

· Management experience including responsibility for managing safeguarding, child protection, review or risk assessment and complaints and being the key decision maker.

· Experience of managing a team with an understanding of the impact and issues involved in safeguarding and child protection.

For further information, please download the Recruitment Pack. If you are interested in this role, please apply now!

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave per annum, pro rata for part time employees, increasing with length of service
• Hybrid working for many roles
• Volunteering Leave
• Life assurance (4x salary)
• Private medical insurance
• Generous pension (employer contribution up to 10%)
• Cycle to work scheme
• Access to the Marine Society Digital Library
• Wellbeing portal and EAP with 121 counselling
• Employee development: We are investing in our employees' development and have an annual calendar of learning and development opportunities, designed to support employees to develop into their roles and stretch them to achieve their full potential.

Additional Information

MSSC positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates from all backgrounds. Equity, diversity, and inclusion really matters to us, so we can best serve our beneficiaries from every community. We work to ensure a fair and consistent recruitment process and aim to be a charity where diversity of experience, identity and skills are valued and welcomed. MSSC is an equal opportunities employer.

We recognise our responsibilities to safeguard and protect the young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We do all we can to promote their health, safety and wellbeing, and we expect our staff to share this commitment and work in line with safeguarding policy, the MSSC’s values and ethos of inclusivity. We adhere to safer recruitment practices and therefore employment is subject to detailed pre-employment checks for successful candidates, including references and criminal disclosure checks and the completion of a disclosure questionnaire.

All successful applicants are required to attend safeguarding training and undergo pre-employment checks including a criminal record check.

Camberwell with delivery across all London Boroughs

Ref CFC-261

Are you a proactive, compassionate and collaborative individual with a proven record of successfully engaging with challenging families and young people? Do you have lived, personal experience of the Criminal Justice System and/or care system?

If so, join St Giles Trust as our Children and Families Caseworker where, as part of our London Edge-of-Care
(L-EDGE) project, you will provide specialist support to children and young people who are experiencing complex disadvantage and are at risk of entering the care system.

About St Giles Trust

An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes and the right support they need.  Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as an offending background, homelessness, addictions and gang involvement, hold the key to positive change in others.

London Edge-of-Care (L-EDGE) is a 36-month project which aims to create positive outcomes for up 60 children and young people a year who are at risk and on the edge of being taken into local authority care. The project focuses on intervening before any formal care proceedings have taken place and provides a whole family approach.

About this key role

As a Children & Families Caseworker, you will deliver intensive, trauma-informed and whole-family support to children and young people at risk of entering care. This will involve carrying out comprehensive needs assessments, risk assessments and safety planning, and working alongside families to develop and review action plans that address practical, emotional and safeguarding needs.

This is a highly relational, outreach-based role, requiring regular travel across London Boroughs. You will work closely with Children’s Social Care and other statutory and voluntary sector services to deliver coordinated, effective support. You will also play a key role in identifying risk, including child criminal and sexual exploitation, and ensuring appropriate safeguarding responses are in place.

What we are looking for

• To have lived, personal experience of the Criminal Justice System and/or care system.
• Experience of working with socially excluded children, young people and adults and of providing advice and guidance and/or mentoring to them.
• Experience of successfully engaging with challenging families and young people, e.g. those who have complex needs, people who are reluctant to discuss their needs and people who are angry and confused.
• Understanding of the UK care system and the challenges faced by those who enter it.
• Knowledge of gangs, knife crime and patterns of offending in London.
•  Knowledge of safeguarding, child protection and risk management practice
•  Understanding of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and child sexual exploitation (CSE)
• Strong IT skills, including case recording systems and standard Microsoft applications

Please note: this role requires an Enhanced DBS check with child barred list.

In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, access to clinical supervision, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, season ticket loan and much more.

We are an equity and inclusion confident employer. We welcome all applications, and we particularly encourage applications from people of the global majority (black, brown, multi- heritage) and those who identify as disabled, neuroexpansive, neurodiverse, with any protected characteristics and/or social barriers or challenges. We value the empowering and informative impact that all lived experiences and diversity of thought can offer the organisation.

St Giles will guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria set out in the Job Description for the vacancy.

If you have any queries, or require further support, please contact us. 

Closing date: 11 May 2026 at 9am. Interview date: w/c on 18 May 202

Starting salary of £ 27, 929 ( day time role) or £ 30, 227  ( waking night time role) with potential to rise incrementally to £ 31, 449 based on annual performance

Contract type: Full time, Permanent

Specific Hours: 40 hours per week shift work including weekends, bank holidays and occasional sleep-ins 

• Day Shifts: work between 8:00 am and 10:30 pm
• Waking Night Shifts: work between 10:00 pm and 8:00 am

Overtime / bank holidays paid time-and-a-half and 2 weekends off per month

Location: Ealing, W13 or Balham, SW12

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 caring  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.  We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do.  We provide positive and life-changing support experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home. Our offering in underpinned by therapeutic expertise and young people in our care also benefit from extensive life-skills and participation opportunities as well and learning support regarding their education.

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 offer more than a job in social care— we offer a real career pathway. You’ll have the chance to build your skills, grow your knowledge, and make a lasting difference to young people’s lives, as well as your own.

When you join us, you’ll receive a tailored development plan designed around your goals. Whether you want to move into a different service, progress into a leadership role, or just explore your current role further, we’ll support you every step of the way.  If you want to learn more about St Christopher’s Academy, please click here

Our development programme, St Christopher’s Academy, is built to help you reach your full potential — and the results speak for themselves:
84% of our Team Leaders, Deputies, and Managers are promoted internally.

About the Role

As a Support Worker in a  Children’s Home, you will provide direct support and care for our young people, who have complex emotional and mental health difficulties (such as trauma and loss),and can struggle to regulate their emotions. Working within a therapeutic framework, you will develop a direct programme of work aimed at developing authentic relationships with our children and young people (aged between 12 and17 years old), you will also have responsibility for making sure our those in our care are safe, providing support, liaison with other external professionals and completion of support documents to record information.

If applying for the Waking Night role, you will have the additional support of an on-call manager should there be any emergencies. Further to this, you will be involved in monthly team meetings and receive monthly one-to-one supervision with your manager.

Applicants should have

• Minimum of 1 year of experience working and supporting Young People in residential, semi-independent, Fostering settings or Youth work centres, caring for Children and Young People with emotional behavioural difficulties, neurodivergent or SEND, etc.
• Willingness to achieve the Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare within 2 years as per Children’s Homes Regulations 2015 (England)
• Genuine commitment to working with and supporting children and Young People to achieve their full potential; with the ability to build and promote trusted relationships while maintaining professional boundaries.
• An understanding of the issues facing children and Young People and a basic understanding of safeguarding Regulations and Procedures.
• The ability to cope effectively with challenging behaviour.
• Good communication and team working skills.
• Flexibility to work shifts, including weekends and bank holidays, and if applicable, sleep-in’s.
• Commitment to undertake any mandatory training (outside of working hours) and continuous learning to ensure a high level of service.
• Creativity, enthusiasm and energy to inspire and encourage young people to achieve their goals.

What you should expect from us

• Competitive salary with potential to rise based on performance.
• 4 weeks full induction and training program (paid).
• Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services, Tailored career development plan through our “St Christopher’s Academy”.
• Industry leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children’s right and participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health and social pedagogy.
• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years’ service, plus Bank Holidays, pro-rata.
• 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 both in store and online.
• Discretionary funded training programs for you to explore and attain new and relevant skills.
• Employee awards based on performance and length of service.

Recruitment Process

At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements. 

Your application form must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification. 

Please note that application forms with no supporting statement will be automaticaly rejected.

CVs will not be accepted.

Application Process:

1. Application: Complete our online application form and include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification. 
2. Online Situational Test: After submitting your application, you will be asked to complete an online situational test. The results of this test will help inform the shortlisting process. 
3. Interview: Shortlisted candidates attend a face-to-face interview at our Putney office.
4. Second Stage: Successful candidates will visit the home they applied to.

We advise to apply as soon as possible as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Please note:

• This post has a minimum age restriction of 21 year for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and supported accommodation Homes in line with the Equality Act ‘occupational requirement’.
• It is illegal to apply for any role that involves working with children and young people under the age of 18, if you know you are barred from working with children.
• All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit a Self-Declaration and Disclosure form which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked.

Barnardo's is seeking an empathetic and child led individual who can work within a dynamic and fast-paced environment using their strong organisational, communication and time management skills to support children in the secure estate.

This part-time position (Independent Children's Rights and Advocacy Worker – Project Worker 2) is based within HMYOI Parc, which accommodates children aged between 15-18 years, who are in custody, either sentenced or on remand.  Barnardo's refers to Young Offender Institutions (YOI) and Secure Training Centres (STC) as the ‘Secure Estate'.

Barnardo's is commissioned by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to provide an Independent Children's Rights and Advocacy (ICRAS) Service to children accommodated in a secure setting. The service is known to children as Barnardo's: Your Rights, Your Voice, and currently works within  four Young Offender Institutes and  one Secure Training Centre. The ICRAS service is child led and independent of the secure estate; our service is delivered within HMYOI Parc to ensure children can freely access support for a range of issues linked to their needs, rights & experiences of custody, resettlement, and safeguarding.  As such this is a child-facing service, and at times involves lone working in the establishments, so we are seeking someone who can see the child, not the offence.

We hold ‘voice' at the heart of all we do, therefore we feel the role is best described by someone who is currently working in this sector: “The role is an Independent Children's Rights and Advocacy role, which means it is our job to empower the children we work with and help them to understand that what they think, what they feel and what they want, really matters. We can speak on behalf of children to ensure their voice is heard and we also have the opportunity to help them to find the tools and confidence to raise their voices for themselves.  Advocacy and Children's Rights support is particularly crucial in the secure estate because children are away from home, family and natural advocates, and also because children in secure estate are some of the most vulnerable children in society; they have often faced considerable adversity, disadvantage and discrimination prior to arriving into custody and they might not, therefore, be equipped with the skills needed to articulate their concerns. Through the work you do with a child such as  simply helping them make contact with friends or family on the outside, to helping them with concerns they may have in relation todiscrimination, resettlement or safeguarding issues, you  may be the one person telling them that  they matter for the very first time.”

The position (Independent Children's Rights and Advocacy Worker – Project Worker 2) is line managed by a Team Manager, reporting to an off-site manager. The post holder will need to be able to work autonomously, working to the requirements of the contract and the regime of the YOI. The secure estate is a highly structured environment; as a Barnardo's service we deliver independent advocacy and support for a range of issues, whilst still having to follow and adhere to this structure.

This role includes lone working in this challenging secure environment. It is, therefore, critical that the successful candidate can follow guidance and policy and is able to take proactive and individual responsibility to understand and access the service support mechanisms.  This role requires the worker to be onsite for their contracted hours, working remotely only for occasional training or meetings. The advocacy team work on a rota system with set hours each week, which includes weekends and bank holidays. Applicants should also be aware, that due to the nature of working within secure estate, the vetting and induction process can take several months to complete.

When completing your application please refer to your skills, knowledge and experience in relation to the Additional Information, Person Specification and Job Description document. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described, including advocacy and safeguarding.  

This is a part-time vacancy with 18.5 hours available per week.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

We have a fantastic development opportunity to join our Children’s Homes in West London. We are looking for candidates with the aspiration to develop their careers with us and become Registered Managers through our Leadership Passport and Management Training offer.

Starting salary of £35,796 as Deputy Manager, and up to £51,000 as Registered Manager.

We are proud that 80% of our Registered Managers are internal promotions. Take your career to next level with our comprehensive in-house training and funded Level 5 qualifications.

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

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. If you want to learn more about St Christopher’s Academy, please visit our website.

Visit our website to check out our staff stories to see how you can develop your career with us

The successful candidate will have:

• Two years’ recent experience of working with children/young people who are at risk in a residential or community based setting.
• Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Residential Childcare or equivalent; and a commitment to complete Level 5 diploma in Leadership and Management in residential care within 2 years of starting.
• Ability to develop appropriate one-to-one relationships with young people and employ mentoring skills that empower young people to achieve their goals.
• Numeracy skills to manage budgets efficiently and contribute to the budgetary process.
• An understanding of the regulatory framework relevant to the provision of residential services for children and young people.
• Awareness of issues facing young people such as bullying, gangs and exploitation and how these impact on behaviour.
• Ability to work shifts including weekends and bank holidays and undertake sleep-ins.
• Ability and willingness to be part of an on call rota overseeing multiple Homes.

About the Role

As Deputy Manager, you will lead and support a professional team of staff committed to transforming young lives and creating positive outcomes. You will be supported by a Registered Manager, Team Leaders, and the team of residential staff.

Key aspect of the role:

• To assist the manager in safeguarding and ensuring every child and young person receives high quality care as measured by Ofsted in the social care common inspection framework.
• To assist the manager in the management of the home, including the staff, external relationships, the budget, the resources and fabric of the building.

In return we offer:

• Starting salary of £35,796 per annum.
• Real opportunities to develop your career and become a Registered Manager.
• 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 committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements.

Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christopher's will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to starting.

Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification. For the full Job Description and Person Specification please visit our website. CV’s will not be accepted.

For more information or assistance during the application process, please contact us via our website.

This post has a minimum age restriction of 21 year for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and supported accommodation Homes in line with the Equality Act ‘occupational requirement’.

It is illegal to apply for any role that involves working with children and young people under the age of 18, if you know you are barred from working with children.

All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit a Self-Declaration and Disclosure form which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked.

30 hours per week / £30,150 per annum pro rata / fixed term until 31 March 2028 / working four days a week, working pattern to be discussed at interview.

The role involves frequent travel across Surrey to schools and joining colleagues at key meetings, with occasional travel further afield. Therefore, a full UK driving licence and access to a car are essential.

YMCA DownsLink Group is the leading charity for children and young people across Sussex and Surrey. We offer safe homes, mental health support and trusted advice.

We believe that every child and young person has the right to be safe, heard and to shape their own future. We work alongside them to make that happen.

We are here for children and young people, many of whom face multiple challenges and need our support.

Our Values - we do what’s right, we work with heart, and we build real connections – guide us in all our actions.

YMCA WiSE (What is Sexual Exploitation) is our specialist project supporting children and young people across Sussex and Surrey who are affected by, or at risk of, exploitation. Through education, awareness‑raising and empowerment, we help young people understand healthy relationships, recognise harmful behaviours, and build safety and resilience.

Unlike statutory services, WiSE has a youth focussed offer that is voluntary to engage in. Our team understand young people, lived experience and trauma, and how this shapes their understanding of the world.

We have an exciting opportunity to join the WiSE team as an Early Intervention CSE Worker. In this role, you will deliver preventative and early intervention work across Surrey, supporting young people, schools, and professional networks to recognise and respond to the risks of sexual exploitation and harmful sexual behaviours.

Key responsibilities are:

• Deliver a programme of targeted group sessions aimed at preventing sexual exploitation and addressing emerging harmful sexual behaviours (complementing the universal and enhanced RSE offer delivered by the Sex Ed Forum).
• Build professional relationships with Surrey education providers, arranging and delivering group sessions across a range of settings.
• Maintain accurate case notes and monitoring data, contributing to timely reporting for the service and funders.
• Work collaboratively with key partners including Children’s Services, Public Health, Police, LSCB, the Sex Ed Forum, and Community Safety teams.
• Support the development and delivery of awareness‑raising campaigns targeting young people, parents and carers, professionals, and the wider community.
• Work closely with WiSE staff and wider professionals to identify young people at higher risk and refer them to WiSE project workers for specialist intervention.

We recognise the emotional weight of this work and prioritise a reflective, supportive environment for all team members. To ensure you feel supported and able to deliver high‑quality practice, you will receive regular line management supervision focused on wellbeing and supportive weekly team meetings.

If you are enthusiastic about this opportunity but don’t meet every single requirement, we still encourage you to apply. Your skills and experiences may be more transferable than you think, and you could be exactly the person we’re looking for.

Qualifications, experience and knowledge:

• Qualification in Youth Work/Social Work or equivalent, or comparable experience working with vulnerable young people
• Proven experience in safeguarding young children
• Experience providing casework support young people aged 10 to 25 years old
• Group work experience with young people
• Safeguarding children and young people at risk of serious harm
• Delivering and risk assessing outreach work with young people
• Knowledge of risks posed to vulnerable young people through sexual exploitation and harmful sexual behaviour

CLOSING DATE: Sunday 10 May 2026 at midnight. 

PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to provide work permits or visa sponsorship for this role, so applicants must already have the right to live and work in the UK independently.

An inclusive workplace We are committed to policies and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion and to supporting our people to make sure our culture is consistent with this commitment. 

Accessibility If you require assistance or have questions regarding the application process, please do contact us.

YMCA DLG requires all staff and volunteers to be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and to respond proactively to safeguarding concerns. 

Successful applicants will undergo a thorough background screening process, conducted by an accredited third-party provider. This includes an Enhanced DBS check (with Children’s and Adults’ Barred Lists) as well as comprehensive reference and activity check.

Barnardo's is seeking an empathetic and child led individual who can work within a dynamic and fast-paced environment using their strong organisational, communication and time management skills to support children in the secure estate.

This part-time position (Children's Rights and Advocacy Worker – Project Worker 2) is based within Oakhill Secure Training Centre, which accommodates children aged between 12-18 years, who are in custody, either sentenced or on remand.  Barnardo's refers to Young Offender Institutions (YOI) and Secure Training Centres (STC) as the ‘Secure Estate'.

Barnardo's is commissioned by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to provide an Independent Children's Rights and Advocacy (ICRAS) Service to children accommodated in a secure setting. The service is known to children as Barnardo's: Your Rights, Your Voice, and currently works within  four Young Offender Institutes,  one Secure Training Centre and one  Secure Children's home. The ICRAS service is child led and independent of the secure estate; our service is delivered within Oakhill STC to ensure children can freely access support for a range of issues linked to their needs, rights & experiences of custody, resettlement, and safeguarding.  As such this is a child-facing service, and at times involves lone working in the establishments, so we are seeking someone who can see the child, not the offence.

We hold ‘voice' at the heart of all we do, therefore we feel the role is best described by someone who is currently working in this sector: “The role is a Children's Rights and Advocacy role, which means it is our job to empower the children we work with and help them to understand that what they think, what they feel and what they want, really matters. We can speak on behalf of children to ensure their voice is heard and we also have the opportunity to help them to find the tools and confidence to raise their voices for themselves.  Advocacy and Children's Rights support is particularly crucial in the secure estate because children are away from home, family and champions, and also because children in secure estate are some of the most vulnerable children in society; they have often faced considerable adversity, disadvantage and discrimination prior to arriving into custody and they might not, therefore, be equipped with the skills needed to articulate their concerns. Through the work you do with a child such as  simply helping them make contact with friends or family on the outside, to helping them with concerns they may have in relation todiscrimination, resettlement or safeguarding issues, you  may be the one person telling them that  they matter for the very first time.”

The position (Children's Rights and Advocacy Worker – Project Worker 2) is line managed by a Team Manager, reporting to an off-site manager. The post holder will need to be able to work autonomously, working to the requirements of the contract and the regime of the STC. The secure estate is a highly structured environment; as a Barnardo's service we deliver independent advocacy and support for a range of issues, whilst still having to follow and adhere to this structure.

This role includes lone working in this challenging secure environment. It is, therefore, critical that the successful candidate can follow guidance and policy and is able to take proactive and individual responsibility to understand and access the service support mechanisms.  This role requires the worker to be onsite for their contracted hours, working remotely only for occasional training or meetings. The advocacy team work on a rota system with set hours each week, which includes weekends and bank holidays. Applicants should also be aware, that due to the nature of working within secure estate, the vetting and induction process can take several months to complete.

When completing your application please refer to your skills, knowledge and experience in relation to the Additional Information, Person Specification and Job Description document. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described, including advocacy and safeguarding.  

This is a part-time vacancy with 25.5 hours available per week.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values.  We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people. 

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay. 

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours.  More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.