Summer play worker jobs

About Katherine Low Settlement   

Katherine Low Settlement is a busy, local charity that has been serving Battersea and the wider Wandsworth community since 1924. We are dedicated to building stronger communities and enable people to challenge and find ways out of poverty and isolation.   

We run a range of our own community services to support local older people and children, young people, and their families from refugee communities. We campaign for social change. We incubate and support other charities and social businesses to thrive. Each week we work with 30+ charities and community groups supporting more than 1,000 people. 

About the Role

The Lead Youth Worker plays a key role in shaping, coordinating and delivering high-quality youth provision within the Future Foundations programme at KLS. Reporting to the Head of Future Foundations, this role combines hands-on youth work with leadership, coordination and safeguarding responsibility, ensuring that children and young people are supported through safe, inclusive and engaging activities that promote their personal, social and educational development.

You will lead on the planning, delivery and evaluation of homework clubs, youth activities, trips and holiday programmes, while line-managing and supporting two Youth Workers and supervising interns and volunteers. You will work closely with families, schools, community partners and colleagues across KLS to provide joined-up, responsive support for young people. This is a people-centred leadership role requiring strong safeguarding practice, excellent organisational skills, and the ability to build trusting relationships. You will champion youth voice, promote positive behaviour and inclusion, and contribute to continuous improvement through reflection, data and learning.

Interviews are expected to take place during the week commencing 3 August 2026.

Key Responsibilities 

Youth Club & Holiday Programme 

• Lead the planning, delivery and evaluation of the youth club for newly arrived young people, within Future Foundations, ensuring sessions are safe, inclusive, engaging and developmentally appropriate. 

• Develop session plans and programmes that support young people’s learning, wellbeing and confidence, using participatory and youth-led approaches. 

• Lead the delivery of the weekly youth club, including wellbeing activities, workshops and targeted interventions for newly arrived young people. 

• Lead the planning, coordination and delivery of school holiday provision, including half-term, Easter and summer programmes, ensuring appropriate staffing, safeguarding and risk management arrangements are in place. 

• Work closely with the youth caseworker to encourage engagement and participation of young people at Southfields Academy International Department with the youth club. 

Safeguarding, Behaviour & Inclusion 

• Ensure all practice aligns with safeguarding policies and supports young people’s personal, social and educational development. 

• Maintain accurate safeguarding records, risk assessments and incident reports. 

• Lead on behaviour management and restorative approaches, supporting staff, volunteers and young people to resolve issues constructively

• Deliver safeguarding briefings and provide ongoing guidance and support to volunteers and interns. 

• Promote a culture of safety, inclusion, respect and positive behaviour across all activities. 

People Management & Support 

• Line-manage and support two youth workers through regular supervision, mentoring, appraisal and performance management. 

• Support with supervising interns, including managing timetables, providing guidance and coordinating with KLS colleagues. 

• Work with the Head of Volunteering and youth team to recruit, support, train and develop volunteers and interns, ensuring they understand their responsibilities and contribute safely and confidently to activities 

• Coordinate workloads across the youth team, ensuring staff, volunteers and interns are appropriately supported, work safely and maintain consistent standards of practice.

Youth, Family & Community Engagement 

• Build strong, trusting relationships with young people and their families, ensuring clear communication and inclusive engagement. 

• Liaise with families/carers to share information about activities, expectations and support needs. 

• Build and maintain effective relationships with local youth organisations, schools and partner agencies. 

• Represent KLS at relevant meetings, forums and community events. 

• Refer young people and families to internal casework, advice or external services as appropriate. 

Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting 

• Support the Head of Future Foundations with monitoring outcomes, collecting feedback and using data to improve programme quality. 

• Maintain accurate records, including registers, consent forms and monitoring data. 

• Contribute to internal and external reporting, including funder and trustee reports. 

• Contribute evidence, case studies and monitoring information to funding applications, reports and evaluation processes. 

• Ensure the voices, experiences and ideas of young people inform programme development, decision-making and evaluation. 

Resources, Budgets & Planning 

• Monitor expenditure and manage resources, equipment and activity budgets in line with agreed financial procedures. 

• Ensure effective use of resources and value for money across youth provision. 

• Support the planning of annual programmes of activity in collaboration with colleagues, young people and families. 

Collaboration & Organisational Contribution 

• Work closely with colleagues across Future Foundations to provide high-quality, joined-up support. 

• Coordinate the School Years Working Group, supporting colleagues to share learning, collaborate effectively and deliver consistent, high-quality programmes across Future Foundations.

• Communicate effectively across teams to enhance service delivery and organisational learning. 

• Participate in supervision, appraisals, training and reflective practice. 

• Work in line with KLS’s values, policies and procedures at all times. 

Person Specification 

Essential Experience 

• Experience of working with refugee communities and/or children and young people and/or other vulnerable groups, with a strong focus on placing participants’ needs at the centre of service planning and delivery. 

• Experience of planning, delivering and contributing to reporting for projects within the voluntary or community sector (preferably with refugee or sanctuary-seeking communities). 

• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain high professional standards. 

• Experience of working sensitively with young people affected by mental health challenges and past trauma, with an empathetic, non-judgemental approach and the ability to build supportive but appropriately boundaried relationships. 

• Up-to-date knowledge of best practice in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and the ability to apply this in practice. 

• Confident IT skills, including use of the Microsoft Office suite, email, internet-based tools and social media. 

• Commitment to KLS’s mission, vision and values. 

• Passion for social justice, education and championing the strengths of families from refugee and sanctuary-seeking communities. 

Desirable Experience 

• Demonstrable experience of managing and supporting volunteers. 

• A recognised qualification in youth work, teaching or a related field. 

• Experience of monitoring and evaluating projects, including collecting evidence of impact and contributing to reports for funders. 

• Ability to communicate in another language, particularly Arabic, Somali, Farsi, Amharic and/or Tigrinya. 

• Knowledge of Battersea, Wandsworth or similar local communities. 

Other Requirements

• Willingness to work evenings - Monday or Tuesday evenings are a requirement and occasional Wednesday and Thursday evenings 

• Enhanced DBS check required (to be undertaken upon appointment) 

• Participate in regular supervision and annual appraisals; help to identify your own job related development and training needs. 

• Always work with anti-discriminatory, empowering practice, ensuring everyone is treated with dignity and respect. 

• Adhere to Katherine Low Settlement’s code of confidentiality, safeguarding and equal opportunities policies.

• Undertake your role in a professional manner and maintain a high-quality standard of work in accordance with the aims, values and ethos of KLS. 

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to engage effectively with young people, families, colleagues and partner organisations. 

• Ability to motivate, support and encourage young people to build confidence, skills and aspirations. 

• Ability to work effectively as part of a small team, while also working independently, using initiative. 

Further Information  

• Katherine Low Settlement is committed to equal opportunities.

• All offers to work at Katherine Low Settlement are subject to two satisfactory references, which is standard KLS policy applicable to all roles. KLS also ask for an enhanced DBS check.

• You will adhere to matters of confidentiality concerning this role and the KLS team.

• An induction is given to new staff, which includes sharing our policies and procedures relevant to this post.

• There is a 6-month probation period for this role.