Training management jobs

37.5 hours per week / £27,770 per annum / fixed term contract (paternity cover) until 4 August 2026 / working across Monday to Friday 9am-5pm, office based in Worthing, delivering Transitional Services in the community across Horsham, Crawley, Burgess Hill and Worthing.

It is essential that you hold a current UK driving license and have a car for this role (expenses for mileage paid at 45p per mile, excluding home to work journey).

At YMCA DownsLink Group, our mission is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be. We do this by providing a safe home, building life skills and self-confidence, and supporting emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Our Values - we do what’s right, we work with heart, and we build real connections - guide and shape how we show up for children and young people we support and for each other.

West Sussex Transitional Housing provides homes for young people in a range of settings across the county. Services provide a low level of support for young people who already have a basic level of daily living skills and can keep themselves safe without daily supervision.Services are staffed Monday to Friday 9 to 5, with some services having on site staff and others visiting staff; all services are supported by a mobile night team who carry out regular safety and security checks. The aim of the service is to enable and empower young people to move on to independent accommodation and articulate and start to achieve their aspirations and ambitions.

We adopt a trauma informed and psychologically informed approach to supporting our residents to help them build essential life skills, identify their goals and support residents into independent accommodation. We have a dedicated team of Support Workers, Night Workers and additional Bank Workers who provide support, guidance, and signposting around areas such as housing, budgeting, living skills, jobs and relationship building.

We are looking for a Supported Housing Support Worker to join our team, who will hold a caseload of residents and meet with them weekly to build a support plan. Main areas of responsibilities are:

Housing:

• Coach young people to manage their occupancy agreement and adhere to house rules, in preparation for independent living
• Promote a credit culture, encouraging young people to keep up to date with all payments for rent
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of housing and welfare benefits for young people and be well-informed on significant changes to housing law
• Deal effectively with non-compliance issues, such as non-payment of rent or damage to room, using restorative practices and working collaboratively with the rest of the team

Coaching and Engagement:

• Coach young people so they can articulate their aspirations and ambitions and take the lead in acquiring the skills they need to live independent and fulfilling lives
• Ensure young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their own personal development, to engage with the services on offer and build strong networks and connections within the local community 
• Ensure consistent standards of safeguarding and Trauma Informed Practice when supporting young people, observing our safeguarding procedures, and keeping yourself and residents safe by respecting professional boundaries
• Maintain client records on In-Form (client database) detailing the young person’s journey in relation to their strengths and needs, any risks, and any outcomes (to monitor service performance)

General:

• Work as part of a team, on a rota shift pattern, ensuring young people at the service have non-judgemental, objective, and supportive staff during the day/evening, along with taking responsibility for personal safety during periods of lone working
• Contribute to a great working environment, with a calm, yet assertive manner, being able to handle potentially difficult situations
• Participate in relevant continuing professional development and utilise Reflective Practice Supervision as part of leading psychologically informed practice

There will be times when lone working will be a requirement for this role, but you will get to know the team and service, along with an induction and training prior to starting on a rota. Please download the job profile for full role details. 

If you are enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience does not align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway and demonstrate how your experience is transferrable. You may be just the right candidate. 

This is a dynamic and varied role; you will be passionate about being involved in the support and growth of young people.

Experience and Knowledge:

• Experience relating to housing, support work, and/or working with young people at risk
• Experience of working proactively with a caseload of young people with multiple and complex needs to enable them to achieve independent living
• Knowledge of statutory and voluntary resources available to young people with multiple and complex needs
• Knowledge of good safeguarding procedures in relation to young people and the ability to maintain effective professional boundaries
• Demonstrated confidence and competence in recording notes/actions in service log, incident forms and health and safety check lists

Skills and Abilities: 

• Ability to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing for appropriate recording of a resident’s progression, and to evidence outcomes achieved
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with all stakeholders, including signposting and advocating for clients as necessary
• Ability to work autonomously, and use own initiative, as well as being part of a team
• Clear verbal and written communication skills, good IT, and keyboard skills
• Ability to de-escalate volatile situations and manage challenging behaviour appropriately

CLOSING DATE: Sunday 4 January 2025 at midnight. If we identify a strong candidate, we may invite them to interview ahead of the closing date.

We are not able to support a work permit or offer a visa sponsorship for this role. Candidates 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 are required to undertake an Enhanced DBS (including the Children’s and Adults’ barred lists) check, along with a reference and background check carried out by a third-party service provider.

Policy Specialist (children and young people)

Are you interested in improving the lives of children and young people with a learning disability? Can you turn complex ideas into evidence-based policy? Are you a skilled communicator able to influence decision-makers? If so, we would love to hear from you!

We are currently looking for a Policy Specialist to join Mencap. This position sits within the Policy and Public Affairs teams of Mencap’s Campaigns, Advocacy and Activism Directorate (CAA). You will work closely with our influencing, information and advice, campaigning, and research work, as well as sector partners like the Disabled Children's Partnership.

This is an exciting new role to deliver policy change and enhance the rights of children and young people with a learning disability. At a key time to influence Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) education reform, we are seeking a policy specialist to shape policy work that reflects the needs and experiences of children, young people, and their families. Working within the policy team, you will be responsible for developing evidence-based policy work and influencing decision-makers. 

This is a full time position (37.5 hours per week). We are flexible with your work location, but there may be some occasional travel needed to our London office or Westminster.

You will:

· Translate complex work into clear and persuasive policy briefings, consultation responses and reports.

· Work within wider coalitions of charities, building collaborative relationships and ensuring that the needs and priorities of our community are addressed.

· Develop and expand Mencap’s ‘Policy Shapers’ work, ensuring our work reflects the experiences of children and young people with a learning disability and their families.

· Support our information and advice team, briefing them on important developments, inputting into casework discussions relevant to your areas of work, and supporting the creation of public information resources.

· Represent Mencap at meetings and events, with MPs, civil servants, and sector partners.

· Identify and analyse relevant research to develop evidence-based policy recommendations.

You will bring to this role:

· Experience of working on public policy issues.

· Strong communication skills: experience tailoring your messaging to a variety of different audiences and representing an organisation.

· Experience building positive relationships and working collaboratively to achieve outcomes; able to positively challenge, negotiate and compromise.

· The ability to work on your own initiative while contributing to team priorities and sustain enthusiasm under pressure.

· Experience analysing evidence to develop recommendations.

· Knowledge the issues facing children and young people with a learning disability and/or the SEND system, as well as the wider parliamentary system.

· Passion about making the world a better place for people with a learning disability.

If you're passionate about driving meaningful change for children and young people with a learning disability and you're ready to use your policy expertise to make a real impact, please apply now with an up-to-date CV. This advert has been extended and will now close on Sunday, 4th January, 2026. Interviews are scheduled to take place via Microsoft Teams during the week commencing 12th January 2026.

Benefits

Here at Mencap, we offer an impressive range of benefits designed to support and reward our employees to ensure that our teams feel valued and appreciated.

Our benefits package offers 32 days of paid holiday (including bank holidays, pro rata), along with a range of perks such as discounts at leading high-street retailers, access to health cash plans, interest-free loans, and many more exciting offerings.

For more details on what we have to offer, please see the attached document outlining all the fantastic benefits available to you as a member of our team!

About Mencap

Our vision is for the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives.

We're here to support people with a learning disability, their families and their carers. We fight for a kinder, fairer and more inclusive society for people with a learning disability to live in.

At Mencap, everyone works with people with a learning disability either providing support or advice, or alongside one another as colleagues.

Belonging at Mencap is for everyone, every day, everywhere.

· Everyone is expected to treat people well and make Mencap an inclusive organisation.

· Every day we grow and learn. It’s okay to make mistakes but we learn from them and make changes

· Everywhere people will feel respected, valued, and safe to be themselves.

We have Belonging network groups that meet online and are open to all colleagues. The groups include people who identify as Black and Asian, LGBTQIA+, disabled or with a long- term health condition, women, parents and carers, and their allies.

We want to encourage everyone to apply to work at Mencap and we offer a variety of different contract types and working patterns. We’re not looking for specific experience. It is your personality and values that will make you a great colleague. We will train and develop you to succeed in the role you’re applying for.

Chief Campaigns and Creative Officer (£25,000)

Central London | 32 Hours Per Week | Reports to Executive Director

Why this role exists

The Trans Legal Clinic turns frontline legal work into change people can feel. We need a senior creative lead to set the look, sound and pace of our public work, run audience-led campaigns and make complex issues clear and actionable.

What you will lead

· Creative direction: Own visual identity, tone of voice and message architecture across print, digital and events.

· Campaigns that move people: Plan and deliver campaigns across our pillars: client rights, systems change, fundraising and recruitment. Turn data and casework insights into creative that lands.

· Social media and content: Own the calendar. Ship platform-specific posts, threads, carousels, short video and email. Moderate comments with care for community safety.

· Rapid response: Prepare toolkits and holding lines for breaking stories. Coordinate with legal and policy colleagues.

· Production: Brief, storyboard, shoot or commission. Edit to deadline. Manage freelancers and suppliers. Keep files, rights and releases in order.

· Accessibility and inclusion: Bake accessibility into everything: captions, alt text, readable layouts and plain language.

· Measurement and learning: Set goals, define KPIs, track performance and share honest learnings. Improve what works, stop what does not.

· Internal enablement: Build a tidy brand kit, templates and guidance so the team can self-serve without diluting quality. Train staff and volunteers.

· Workflow: Keep projects moving with clear briefs, timelines and approvals.

You’ll thrive here if you show

· Entrepreneurial drive: you turn strategy into finished creative and campaigns.

· Ownership and follow-through: you run work end to end and land it.

· Bold, informed judgement: you try new formats and back choices with evidence.

· Clear communication: you write clean copy and match tone to audience.

· Inclusive practice: you build accessibility and safety into content as standard.

· Planning under pressure: you manage live moments without losing quality.

· Team-building and collaboration: you lead creatives and volunteers well.

· Constant learning: you test, measure and iterate.

What you will bring

· A strong portfolio showing strategy-led creative across static, motion and copy.

· Confident in canva or similar. Comfortable with short-form video editing and basic motion.

· Platform literacy across Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube. Working knowledge of analytics and paid promotion.

· Clear writing and an ear for tone.

· Calm leadership and useable feedback.

· Sound judgement on reputation, privacy, GDPR and consent.

· Commitment to trans-led practice and the communities we serve.

Helpful extras

• not-for-profit experience
• Familiarity with gender recognition, healthcare advocacy, discrimination, housing and employment
• Basic SEO and email automation.

Practicalities

· Hours: 32 Hours per week

· Location: Central London

· Salary: £25,000.

What We Look For

The Co-founders Mindset

At the Trans Legal Clinic we are building a Trans+ rights revolution; our mission is Trans Liberation. That means access to justice for Trans & Non-binary people everywhere. We deliver work that changes outcomes for people, case by case and system by system. That calls for a particular mindset. We call it the co-founder mindset. Co-founders take the mission personally, set the pace, turn ideas into working services and campaigns, bring others with them, and make change you can point to. Co-founders are entrepreneurial: they spot openings others miss, move decisively, and create momentum. Co-founders build teams, drawing in volunteers who believe in our mission, care deeply about our clients, enjoy working with us, and keep one another going. Co-founders are bold: they are willing to innovate, to be first, and to change the status quo; they check the source, avoid assumptions, solve problems, make firm, collaborative, evidence-based decisions, and take responsibility for results. Co-founders are pioneers. If you want responsibility, pace, and the chance to trailblazer new routes to justice and public impact, this is the place to build your career.

We select candidates based on their performance in 8 areas;

1. Ownership and follow-through

You are a self-starter who owns tasks and takes responsibility without waiting to be asked. You carry your work through to a tangible result. You define the problem, set a course, keep the right people informed, and deliver what you said you would.

2. Bold, informed judgement

You are willing to change accepted practice when the evidence supports it. You check primary sources rather than rely on assumptions, weigh real options and risks, make a clear, evidence-based, collaborative decision, and stand behind it.

3. Entrepreneurial drive

You spot openings other people miss and turn ideas into useful services, processes or campaigns. You move decisively and get others working on the plan alongside you with clear roles and timelines.

4. Planning under pressure

You keep priorities straight when time is tight. You organise people and tasks, set simple checkpoints, communicate early when plans shift and always deliver.

5. Inclusive practice

You strive to make everything you create accessible to others, designing work that is easier for others to take part in, with people who face barriers always in mind. You identify what is getting in the way, make practical changes that remove those barriers, and check the effect with the people involved.

6. Clear communication

You write and speak in plain terms and adjust tone and detail to suit clients, volunteers, partners and the public. You choose the right format for the moment and make it easy for people to act on what you say. You like feedback, don’t get offended and see it as a chance to improve.

7. Team-building and collaboration

You bring people with you and help groups perform well together. You draw in volunteers who believe in the mission and care about our clients, set shared expectations, handle disagreements well, and leave relationships stronger.

8. Constant learning

You improve your own practice and the system around you. You reflect honestly on what worked and what did not, learn quickly, and turn that learning into simple tools or habits that make future work better.

These eight criteria are what we look for. Use them to decide whether this is the right place for you and to shape the examples you share in your application.