Youth services manager jobs in west london, greater london

As the Practitioner Psychologist, you will lead on supporting the development of the project using a community psychology, social justice and relational practice approach. You will work to ensure the team is psychosocially minded and in line with best practice from a clinical, research and evaluation perspective. You’ll share your experience and expertise to help develop our wider social justice and relational practice work at Platfform.

We work with people experiencing challenges with their mental health, and with communities who want to create a greater sense of wellbeing in the places that they live. Through our projects, we work with thousands of people each year.

We believe that long-lasting wellbeing comes about by understanding how lives can be shaped by traumatic experiences, identifying people’s strengths and focussing on healing. We know we can’t ‘fix’ people, but we can walk alongside people and help where we can on their journey.

We try hard to make Platfform a great place to work, we live our values and mission in everything that we do.

Platfform is the charity for mental health and social change. We’re a supportive team where you can be your whole selves, and know that you’re playing a genuine part in building a happier future for people across the UK.

The Campaigns and Communications Lead will play a key role in the Campaign for Hope strand of the project, as well as supporting other project strands. You’ll be central in helping us work out how we tell the story of this project to different audiences, and how we bring different voices into the project to help us engage deeply with what that story really is as the project evolves. You’ll be comfortable sitting in community spaces, working alongside local people, and talking to system influencers.

You’ll ensure we have effective and impactful communication across the project, working closely with our expert Communications and Influencing teams. This will include supporting communications across our partnership, as well as external-facing communications. You’ll bring experience of creating impactful communication in different formats for different audiences, and of developing campaigns.

You’ll manage staff (from Year 2) and work with them to build campaigning capacity within local community pilots, and across the professional networks, including making sure that learning is gathered, disseminated and activated across the project. You’ll build connections with influencers, including making sure the project engages with evolving policy in Wales, Scotland and England. You’ll also share your experience and expertise to help develop our wider work at Platfform.

We work with people experiencing challenges with their mental health, and with communities who want to create a greater sense of wellbeing in the places that they live. Through our projects, we work with thousands of people each year.

We believe that long-lasting wellbeing comes about by understanding how lives can be shaped by traumatic experiences, identifying people’s strengths and focussing on healing. We know we can’t ‘fix’ people, but we can walk alongside people and help where we can on their journey.

We try hard to make Platfform a great place to work, we live our values and mission in everything that we do.

Platfform is the charity for mental health and social change. We’re a supportive team where you can be your whole selves, and know that you’re playing a genuine part in building a happier future for people across the UK.

Job Title: Food Education Network Director

Position Type: Paid/Part time

Reports to: Food Education Network Steering Group

Salary: £44,000 FTE equating to £26,400 pro rated

Location: School Food Matters, London TW9 2RD (minimum one day a week in office)

Working Hours: Three days per week

Holiday: 19 days including bank holidays that fall on working days

Pension: School Food Matters matches pension contributions at 7% of pensionable earnings

Contract: Fixed term for one year to be extended with successful fundraising

Background

The Food Education Network (FEN) began in 2020 as a coalition of organisations passionate about improving food education in schools and other settings to influence recommendations for the National Food Strategy.

School Food Matters is now looking for an experienced and passionate leader with skills in advocacy and communications to lead the future development of the Food Education Network and its next stage of influencing government policy around food education from early years into the secondary phase.

Main Responsibilities

The Director will build on the foundations already laid to establish the Food Education Network as a new member organisation to bring the sector together. This role will involve building close relationships with a wide range of external partners to ensure the Network is a credible voice on food education policy and is campaigning with its members to make change happen. The role will be split between governance of the network (40%) and influencing government policy (60%). 

Principle Duties:

· Define and clearly present the top policy priorities around food education and take these to politicians, the media and wider world

· Build close relationships with key decision-makers to influence food education policy

· Raise awareness of food education within the educational community

· Support the steering committee to raise funds

· Grow and solidify the Food Education Network, setting out a one-year plan with clear objectives, purpose, operations and governance

· Continue to build the membership of the Network, reaching out to organisations in the food education sector who can help add to the Network’s voice and evidence

Ideal Candidate

· Can work confidently in a start-up role to grow an organisation almost from scratch

· Solid understanding of public affairs, policymaking, and communications

· Significant experience of working in advocacy at a senior level

· Proven ability to effectively influence a range of political stakeholders and communicate complex policy positions verbally and in writing

· Ability to bring together a range of stakeholders behind a shared strategy, matrix managing multi-disciplinary teams across organisations and managing differences of position and views

· Comfortable with managing multiple workstream, rapidly assessing the changing political environment and adapting strategies accordingly

· Genuine interest in championing food education.