Summer play worker jobs

Practice Specialist (experienced social worker)

§  Salary: £46,920 or £49,980 (London based) 

§  Contract: 6 to 9-month fixed term contract

§  Working pattern: Full time, 37.5 hours a week

§  Location:  Hybrid/homeworking

§  Due to travel across London and South East, you will be based in London or Southeast. You’ll be expected to attend our London office, in Chancery Lane/Farringdon or London venue at least 2 days a month, with flexibility.

§  Closing date: 5 pm, Monday 1st December 2025

§  Interview dates: 10th and 12th December 2025

We are looking for a dynamic and highly motivated professional to join our Practice Specialist team, working within our Programme team.

Practice Specialists play a crucial role in preparing Think Ahead participants to become outstanding social workers. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced social worker to maintain links with frontline practice and practice education, with development opportunities for teaching delivery, and coaching and mentoring others. Each Practice Specialist will have responsibility for a number of Think Ahead units (groups of 4-6 participants based in the same organisation), ensuring that participants receive an outstanding practice learning experience, and that there is effective delivery of our innovative curriculum in the practice environment provided by the NHS Trusts and Local Authorities that we partner with. 

 As Practice Specialist you will:

· Manage the implementation of the programme across host organisations ensuring quality placements and that the academic and practice components are brought together effectively. This will include visiting units of participants on placement, and virtually unit meetings. 

· Support development of CSW’s through regular coaching, supervision and training.

· Establish strong relationships with all relevant key contacts across our partner NHS trust and local authorities, holding regular meetings to quality assure the programme and develop our partnerships. 

· Provide specialist professional social work expertise to the Think Ahead team bringing experience and knowledge of frontline practice.

Who we’re looking for

The ideal candidate will be an experienced social worker and practice educator, that has experience of working within mental health and has a proven record of accomplishment of developing and supporting social workers. We are also looking for someone with experience and confidence in delivering training and is willing and motivated to get involved in this evolving area of the charity. 

What we can offer you

We offer excellent employee benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement (28 days) plus additional office closure over Christmas, enhanced family-friendly leave, flexible working around our core hours of 10am to 4pm, a matched pension scheme with up to 7% employer contributions, an employee assistance programme and more. 

How to apply 

Download the candidate pack from our website.

Please provide a CV and a supporting statement (max 2 pages) outlining your fit for the role based on the person specification in the candidate pack and email these to us, together with the completed Equality and Diversity questionnaire.

We will use both the CV and the supporting statement to enable us to shortlist for interview. Unfortunately, we will not be able to consider any applications that do not address how the candidate meets the person specification in the supporting statement.

Purpose of the Job

This role is an exciting opportunity for an outstanding individual to join the UK Youth Employer Engagement team as part of the Network Delivery Department, supporting the Summer Jobs Programme. With a focus on identifying and securing employment placements and income for The Summer Jobs  Programme, the Employer Engagement Officer plays a key role in ensuring strong stewardship and a positive employer experience of the programme and partnership with UK Youth over the next 12 months.

Key Responsibilities

Employer recruitment and income generation

• Work closely with the Employer Engagement Manager to develop and implement an employer engagement strategy, integrating both local and national approaches.

• Support the development of employer sponsorship proposals, creating a menu of different engagement levels to meet income targets

• Work with the Employer Engagement Manager and the wider Corporate Partnerships Team to collaborate on UK Youth fundraising opportunities and integrate our employer ask into our wider corporate partnerships offer

• Track, monitor and report confirmed placements in specified locations.

• Input to feedback for programme funder, the Youth Endowment Fund, on corporate partnership opportunities

• Identify and engage with regional and localised contacts to assist in sourcing placements (e.g. local business networks).

• Accurately record programme donation contributions

Employer training and management

• Manage relationships with a cohort of employers throughout the programme, including:

• Securing their commitment to provide placements and funding in agreement with the programme’s terms of reference

• Ensuring they have the information and tools to succeed within the programme.

• Act as the primary point of contact at UK Youth.

Key Internal Relationships

• Collaborate closely with The Summer Jobs Project Manager to:

• Ensure consistency and accuracy of approach and information.

• Support Local Delivery Partners to build relationships with employers.

• Attend one to one meetings and appraisals with the Employer Engagement Manager

• Work in partnership with colleagues in the Communications team to enable the delivery of high-quality comms activities that support employer recruitment.

Experience we're after

• Experience of fundraising, sales or recruitment

• Experience of working in a busy and deadline-driven work environment

• Experience of managing multiple relationships

Who we are

UK Youth is a leading charity that exists to ensure all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. We work with others to ensure that the youth sector is strengthened, supported, and that provision is youth-led, evidence-informed and delivers high-quality outcomes. UK Youth plays a unique role in addressing the lack of investment in the youth sector, the lack of cross-sector understanding in how youth work makes a difference and the limited opportunities to embed effective solutions. These factors lead to mass inequality of access to youth services for young people.

Why work at UK Youth?

Young people are facing a complex and increasingly challenging world. There are pressures on their mental health, employment prospects, and even physical safety. Youth work is an essential tool to help young people navigate these difficulties and set them up with skills for life. But over ten million young people are currently unable to access this life changing and even life-saving resource. UK Youth brings together young people and youth workers with business leaders, teachers, doctors, and other professionals to identify solutions, provide practical support and campaign for social change. By working at UK Youth, you will be a joining a committed group of people who are seeking to tackle the systemic problems letting young people down. 

We are a value-based, passionate and committed organisation offering a friendly working environment with lots of opportunities for professional development and socialising (even for those working remotely!) from lunch and learn sessions, staff quizzes to virtual coffee meet ups.

UK Youth prides itself on being an Equal Opportunity employer and we would particularly welcome applications for this role from those who identify under one of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

We value the differences that a diverse workforce brings and are committed to inclusivity, and to employing and supporting a diverse workforce. Our selection procedures ensure that people are treated on the basis of their relevant merits, experience, skills and abilities and that no individual receives more or less favourable treatment.

What we can offer you

We offer a competitive range of benefits, good work/life balance, excellent learning and development opportunities and vibrant organisational culture:

• Flexible/Agile Working

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time employees)

• Funded training provided in; Safeguarding, GDPR, Information and Cyber Security & Equality & Diversity

• Other training available in support of your personal and professional development

• Pension scheme (currently UK Youth match employee contributions up to 5%)

• Membership of our life insurance scheme which would pay-out up to 4 times your salary

• Employee Assistance Programme to support employees both professionally and personally

• 20% discount off bookings at Avon Tyrrell, our New Forest Outdoor Centre, including camping, lodges and outdoor activities.

• IT equipment provided for the duration of contract

• CycleScheme and TechScheme

How to apply

If you would like to be considered for this fantastic opportunity, please complete an application via our completely anonymised recruitment system provided by Applied which looks to create a fair and unbiased application process for all. Scroll to the top of the page and start your application.

Closing date: Monday 1st December 2025 at 09:00am 

Provisional Interview Dates: W/C 8th December 2025

Operations Manager
Full-time, permanent | GBP 40,000 | Remote UK

Do you want to help bring modern contraception to women who have been excluded from access their entire lives? Join Lafiya as we scale a proven, community-based model that already reaches women in some of the hardest-to-serve areas of northern Nigeria.

Lafiya trains and supports government-employed female health workers to deliver self-injectable contraception directly in their own communities. More than 300,000 women have already been reached through this model. We are now strengthening our supply chain, expanding to new states, and building systems for long-term government co-financing. As we grow, smooth and reliable operations are essential to our impact.

About the role
This role sits at the centre of that effort. You will strengthen Lafiya’s internal systems, ensure compliance across our UK and Nigeria entities, support our people processes, and keep our logistics and supply chain moving. Your work will multiply the effectiveness of the whole organisation.

What you’ll do

• Support procurement and distribution systems for contraceptives, including SOPs and basic data dashboards
• Run end-to-end recruitment rounds, onboarding and offboarding, benefits administration, and performance reviews
• Lead key parts of UK charity compliance, including annual audit preparation and policy updates
• Drive process improvements that make the organisation faster, clearer, and more scalable
• Coordinate internal events, retreats, travel logistics and tech onboarding for the team

This job is for you if you…

• Spot problems early and enjoy fixing them fast
• Prefer doing to talking, and keep things moving without needing supervision
• Are organised and comfortable switching between many tasks
• Communicate clearly across different cultures and contexts
• Enjoy start-up environments where systems are still being built
• Are comfortable with spreadsheets and digital tools, or quick to learn them

We welcome early-career candidates as well as more experienced operations professionals. You don’t need to meet every point to apply.

Why join us
You will help shape a fast-growing organisation at a pivotal moment. We offer 30 days of annual leave, fully paid parental leave, flexible working arrangements, a weekly co-working day in London, and visa sponsorship where required.

Full job description: https://tr.ee/nUlHN8

We're looking for someone a lttle bit special - someone who believes in the deep potential of children who are not thriving elsewhere in life and who has the experience, passion, energy and the drive to go the extra mile on these young people’s behalf.

The position is an exciting dual role:

1. Volunteering & People Manager (80% of workload)

You'll become a key cog at the heart ofFree to Be's management team, taking lead responsibility for volunteer and staff recruitment and retention, holding and delivering our volunteering strategy, launching a new training infrastructure through 2026-27, and heading up 'all things volunteering'. With one direct report, you'll aim to grow volunteer numbers year on year, ensure volunteers are well matched, and well supported, onto our residential projects, and lead on quality assurance, including volunteering standards concerns/grievances.  Alongside our Services, Operations and Fundraising Managers, you'll be a core management team member holding shared responsibility for the day to day running of an impactful and growing children's mental health and adventure charity and will work closely with our inspiring and supportive CEO to set longer-term key strategic goals underpinning Free to Be's future development.

2. Residential Project Lead Coordinator (20% of role)

Our residentials are fun, immersive, tiring (in all the right ways), impactful and inspiring. A core aspect of all Free to Be Kids staff's roles is leading circa 8-10 of our residential projects across each year - working on the ground with the children, leading the volunteers & staff team on project, and helping make the projects special, safe, and transformative for vulnerable young people, many of whom have damaged confidence, low self-worth, or other social-emotional needs. 

Attendance at approximately 8-10 five-six night residential projects per year outside London is a core component of this role. As a manager, you'd likely attend 8-10 residentials in year 1 to build familiarity with both the projects and our volunteer base, with this dropping to c.8 per year thereafter.

On offer to the right candidate:

Salary: Circa £38,000 - £40,000, dependent on experience.

Hours: Fulltime: 37.5 hours per week. Essential attendance on at c.8-10 residential projects a year.

Leave: 25 days per year, plus bank holidays and up to 13 additional pre-set discretionary reward days in September and during the Christmas period. A substantial perk of the role is potential to take up to 4 consecutive weeks off to travel each September.

Other benefits: 4% employer pension contribution paid on full base salary, rising by 1% per year of service, up to a maximum of 7%; hybrid working; office with great transport links; flexible working (outside core hours); employee reward scheme; tight-knit, fun, vibrant, cohesive staff team with great morale.

Based: Hybrid – our small office in Waterloo, London. Hybrid working is well established with the majority of the team splitting time around 50:50 between the office and home.

To start: Early January 2026. 

Who we’re looking for:

Our next Volunteering Manager hero. You'll be fun, flexible, energised, experienced in work with young people with addtional needs, and looking to join an organisation you can believe in and who in return will believe and invest in you.

Kind, empathetic, resilient and efficient, you’ll have a real affinity for supporting others - whether volunteers, more junior staff, or children themselves. We're looking for someone who loves working with young people, as you'll be role modelling that commitment and energy to our volunteers and playing a leading role in holding our already thriving team culture. Volunteer Management or HR experience is a bonus, and capacity and personality to quickly pick that up is a must, but ultimately we're looking for the right organisational fit - someone who believes in what we do and wants to step up to join a management team working hard to deliver it. 

You’ll have the flexibility to work away from home on (up to) 10 five to six day residential projects per year. Ideally, you’ll also have experience of leading projects for children – whether residential or non-residential - for example as a teacher, or running groups in other settings. Experience of working on or leading residentials projects themselves is not required but may be an advantage.

We are a small, vibrant, 'can do', friendly staff team of 10, supported by a committed volunteer base of around 300.

We are particularly keen to encourage applications from those who can help us represent the lived experiences of our children through their own lived experience or background.

To apply:

See full Job Description & Person Specification on our website.

Send a copy of your CV or up to date LinkedIn profile, as well as a covering letter and introductory short video, by the closing date of 10pm, Wednesday 26th November 2025.

Covering letters should be very approximately 1 to 1.5 sides A4 and address the question of: ‘Why this role, why now’, as well as ‘what strengths, experience and skills you would bring into the role’.We also ask for a short (1-3 minutes) informal video introducing yourself and touching on the person specification. We have found this helps bring the strongest applications to life, and filters out AI driven applications.

Selection Process and Timeline:

Selection will be via two stage interview. As there is only a short turnaround from application closure on 26th November to 1st stage interviews 1st-2nd December, we will assess applications and offer interview slots throughout the window. However, you will not be disadvantaged if you need to wait till the closing date to submit.

1st stage interviews: Mon 1st - Tues 2nd December (virtual)

2nd stage final interviews: Mon 8th - Tues 9th December (in-person preferred, London Waterloo)

Please hold interview dates as alternate dates are unlikely to be available.

​The role requires an Enhanced DBS check and existing right to work in the UK.

If you have any questions about the role, contact us via our website and we’d be happy to arrange an informal chat. We look forward to hearing from you!