Mentoring Lead

ABOUT TRAIN

TRAIN began as a detached youth work charity, and that foundation still shapes who we are. While our programmes have grown and diversified, we remain committed to working with young people who are often under-served. This includes those who may be facing complex challenges, feeling disconnected from school or support services, or struggling to find their place in the community. Our work is built on trust, consistency and respect, ensuring young people feel seen, valued and able to thrive.

Our vision: every young person should have the opportunities, tools and support they need to create a positive future.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As Didcot Mentoring Lead, you'll focus on early intervention for young people. You'll have the opportunity to help young people with goal-setting, healthy relationships, emotional regulation, educational engagement and making positive choices.

It will be your responsibility to develop and deliver consistent and nurturing mentoring provision across all of the secondary schools in Didcot and the primary schools in and around Didcot, providing young people with the much-needed 1:1 and group support which you will be able to tailor to their individual needs.

You'll ensure that our mentoring provision continues to evolve to meet young people's ever-changing needs. You will build a meaningful rapport with young people through an approach grounded in the principles of informal education, voluntary engagement and consistency.

Building excellent relationships with our schools and stakeholders is a crucial part of this role, utilising and expanding the existing network already in place, and providing them with reliability, consistency and a high level of professional ability to support the young people who need it most.

You'll be comfortable engaging with young people in our other varied settings as required. This includes spending time in the community on outreach and detached work, and assisting with delivery at our open-access youth clubs, holiday programme, trips and more.

It will be part of your role to ensure you create welcoming, inclusive spaces where young people feel seen, heard and supported.

You'll report directly to our Youth Work Manager and help ensure young people remain at the centre of all we do. We're happy to consider applicants wishing to work either four or five days a week.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

●        Salary: £29,542 - £32,578 FTE, depending on experience. This range is based on a 37.5-hour week, pro rata for part-time hours. We welcome applicants who may not feel they meet every point of the person specification.

●        Contract: Permanent

●        Contractual hours: 30-37.5 per week. Most mentoring delivery takes place during the school day. We also ask all staff to have some involvement in our community provision, so this role includes at least one later evening per week (until 6.30pm).

●        Annual leave: 25 days plus bank holidays

●        Pension: 3% employer contribution

●        Professional development: Tailored programme to suit your experience, ambitions and the requirements of the role.

●        Wellbeing: Full membership of an employee assistance programme with mental health and wellbeing support. Clinical supervision is available to our staff team as required.

●        Culture: Supportive, collaborative team with regular team meetings and shared learning.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

●        Deliver 1:1 and group mentoring, modelling high standards of inclusive, empowering and trauma-informed practice.

●        Forge and maintain excellent professional relationships with all schools in Didcot and TRAIN's stakeholders, including voluntary sector organisations and statutory services, building on the network already in place.

●        Hold responsibility for the recruitment, planning, delivery and evaluation of the mentoring provision across all schools in Didcot, ensuring it is young-person centred and responds to the needs and aspirations of local young people.

●        Ensure the mentoring offer is responsive to young people's ever-changing needs, developing with them, and that your practice is well-informed and up to date.

●        Contribute to promoting a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion within the team and across all aspects of youth provision.

●        Create and strengthen opportunities for meaningful youth voice in your mentoring sessions and programmes.

●        Ensure compliance with safeguarding policies, and report any safeguarding concerns or disclosures to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

●        Contribute to our wider youth work offer, including youth clubs, detached/outreach, holiday programmes and trips, as required.

●        Monitor, evaluate and report on outcomes and performance indicators in line with funder and organisational requirements.

●        Ensure delivery is compliant with TRAIN's policies and procedures.

●        There may be an opportunity for this role to grow, contributing to the recruitment, training and oversight of the mentoring team.

ABOUT YOU

Essential qualities

●        Committed to TRAIN's mission, vision and values.

●        Passionate about seeing under-served young people thrive and fulfil their potential.

●        A collaborative team member, willing to support others and share learning.

●        Commitment to personal development and reflective practice.

●        The ability to build rapport with young people, colleagues and partners.

●        Confident in delivering mentoring in both a 1:1 and group capacity.

●        Organised and self-motivated, able to manage priorities in a busy environment.

●        Able to manage conflict and respond effectively to challenging behaviour.

●        Full UK driving licence and access to your own vehicle.

●        Safeguarding training and experience.

●        Experience of working directly with young people, particularly those facing disadvantage or marginalisation.

●        Knowledge of psycho-educational concepts and frameworks.

●        Satisfactory Enhanced DBS check (required prior to starting).

●        Willing to work some ad-hoc flexible hours.

Desirable qualities

●        Recognised psychology, mentoring or youth work qualification, or other evidence of continuous professional development.

●        Experience of working in school settings or in partnership with education professionals.

●        Experience in mentoring programme recruitment, programme design, delivery and evaluation.

●        Confident in delivering open-access youth work.

●        Trained in positive handling and de-escalation techniques.

●        First aid qualification.

●        Understanding of health and safety and risk management in both school and youth work settings.

Equal opportunities

TRAIN is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, including those underrepresented in the youth work sector. We welcome diversity in age, ethnicity, faith, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and lived experience. If there are any adjustments we can make to support your application or interview process, please let us know.

Safer recruitment

TRAIN follows safer recruitment practice. We're committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people, and this appointment is subject to relevant background checks, including an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.

Recruitment timeline

●        Applications open: Monday 31 August

●        Applications close: Monday 21 September (midnight)

●        Shortlisted candidates notified: Tuesday 22 September

●        Interviews: Tuesday 29 September