Young people support worker jobs

Job title: Programme Officer

Reports to: UK Programme Coordinator

Contract: Permanent, full-time role (40 hours per week)

Location: Remote, North UK-based, with occasional travel within the UK

Annual salary: £28,000 per annum

Introduction

THINK EQUAL is a global education initiative with a mission to ensure that Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) becomes a mandatory subject for all children in early years settings globally. SEL is the process through which knowledge, attitudes, values and skills such as emotional intelligence, empathy, self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making are developed. 

SEL helps young people to:

• build and maintain psychological resources;

• know themselves and their emotions and to engage in positive relationships;

• make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly;

• learn self-regulation and avoid negative behaviours;

• undo gender stereotypes and be gender equal;

• have self-worth, confidence and the right to voice and agency; and

• transition into ambitious and empowered young adults.

To support educators and governments to achieve this mission, THINK EQUAL has developed a global SEL Programme for 3-6 years-olds. The Programme is constructed around narrative children’s books, lesson plans and teaching resources which provide the concrete tools educators need to teach SEL in a low-cost and adaptable format.

The THINK EQUAL Programme has a global presence across six continents and has undergone three RCT trials in contexts as varied as Colombia, Botswana and Australia. There is a growing demand from other countries for the THINK EQUAL Programme and the organisation is now strengthening its team to be able to respond to this demand.

Purpose of the Role

Working at the forefront of Think Equal’s mission to bring the ‘missing subject’ to the hearts and minds of children in the UK, the role of the UK Programmes Officer primary focus would be to ensure the successful delivery of the Think Equal programme across early years classrooms in the UK.  Working within the dynamic Global Programmes team alongside dedicated UK-focused colleagues, this role is highly motivating, and requires great organisation and communication skills as well as an enthusiastic, solution-focused attitude. This may include providing support to the Business Development team regarding potential expansion of the programme into new areas.

Responsibilities 

Programme support

• Support and coordinate the delivery of the Think Equal programme across  UK projects. This includes:

  • Plan and deliver information sessions, training sessions, launch events and other activities engaging Think Equal practitioners, both online and in person.

  • Enrol new practitioners into the Think Equal training platform as they sign up to the programme.

  • Provide general administrative and research support to the Programmes Coordinator and other staff, representing the organisation as the first point of contact and responding to queries in a timely and professional manner.

  • Process individual orders from schools and manage shipping requests on behalf of the staff team.

  • Support and communicate with TE classroom teachers and other key stakeholders - including nursery workers, primary teachers, primary heads and local authorities - to ensure fidelity and a high quality of implementation.

  • Check and regularly update stock levels, liaising with relevant stakeholders, and order new stock as required with prior confirmation from the Line Manager.

  • Effectively and efficiently update, report and analyse relevant data relating to projects.

  • Plan and lead focus groups with participating practitioners.

  • Arrange and attend occasional on-site visits to participating schools, reviewing fidelity to the Think Equal model and programme impact.

  • Collect and manage feedback from participating schools and settings, contributing to Think Equal marketing while adhering to data-sharing laws.

  • Work with the UK Team to proactively identify and resolve operational challenges. Evaluate operational systems and suggest solutions to enhance process efficiency and effectiveness

Other duties

• Liaising with the Business Development team regarding potential expansion of Think Equal in the UK.

• Supporting the UK Programme Coordinator with the relationships with Local Authorities to further expand the Think Equal programme either within the area or beyond.

• Undertake research-based tasks relating to UK programme growth, funding opportunities or project development.

• Undertake any other reasonable initiative and or activity as required to support other members of the team. 

• Participate in occasional in-person UK team meetings. 

Person Specification

Experience

Essential:

• Experience working in or with the UK education sector, ideally early years’ classrooms 

• Experience of planning and/delivering workshops or presentations. 

• Experience working to deadlines, establishing priorities in a multi-layered workload. 

• Experience in administration and data management. 

Desirable:

• Experience working with the Think Equal programme.

• Experience working for or with a Local Authority.

• Experience of Project/Programme coordination. 

Qualifications and skills

• Training competency. 

• Proficient technology skills, including a strong ability to use Microsoft (including Excel, PowerPoint and Word), as well as Google suite and Canva

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills - able to interact with different audiences and all levels of people

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Ability to establish and maintain constructive professional relationships and perform effectively as a member of a team.

• Excellent time management skills with the ability to prioritise work and meet tight deadlines.

• Aptitude for supporting the design of communications materials using programmes such as Canva and Google Slides. (Desirable)

• Ability to manage efficient administrative systems and proactively suggest improvements to unblock issues and improve processes.

Knowledge and understanding

• An understanding of the Think Equal Classroom Programme, UK education sector, including systems and frameworks in place to support staff and ensure effective learning outcomes

• Exhibit passion and excitement about the mission of the work and have a can-do attitude 

• Works with independent flair, using strong initiative alongside honouring the core values of the organisation 

• Working collaboratively within a growing organisation

• Understanding and practice of the values of inclusivity, equality and diversity

Other

• Eligible to work in the UK and based in the North of UK.

• Willingness to work flexibly to accommodate occasional duties outside of working hours (time can be reclaimed in lieu)

• In possession of, or able to secure, an enhanced DBS check

• Support the vision, values and objectives of the organisation

• Undertake training as necessary in line with the development of the post

• Willingness to travel across the UK to deliver training and attend relevant programme activities.