Participation and Engagement Assistant job pack

Transcription

1 Participation and Engagement Assistant job pack This pack will provide you with information about Youth Access, Make Our Rights Reality (MORR) and the Participation and Engagement Assistant post. If you wish to apply for the post, please fill out the attached application form after reading through the person specification and job description. Please do not send us a CV, as we will only assess your application against the skills, knowledge and experience specified. Please be aware that the closing date for applications is the 25 th July We hope to notify shortlisted applicants at the latest by the 26 th July and will be interviewing for the post on 31 st July 2017 As we are a very small organisation, we are unable to respond individually to notify everyone who we are unable to shortlist. We do recognise the time and energy it takes to apply for jobs, so please accept our thanks for taking the time and trouble to make this application it is much appreciated even if we are not able to shortlist you on this occasion. This pack contains information about the following: 1. Youth Access the organisation 2. Make Our Rights Reality the project 3. Background information to the post 4. Job description 5. Person specification 6. Terms and conditions 1

2 1. YOUTH ACCESS THE ORGANISATION Youth Access is the advice and counselling network. We believe that every young person has a right to access free, high quality advice and counselling. Working with our members, we promote the YIACS model as part of local services for young people everywhere. We do this by: Providing YIACS with the tools they need to deliver high quality services to young people Building the evidence to shape policy and services that meet young people s needs Promoting young people s right to be heard Click here to find out more about the work we are doing. The YIACS Model The core of Youth Access members are a range of local and national voluntary sector Youth information, advice, counselling and support services (YIACS). YIACS offer young people support on a range of issues in a young person centered environment. They are open to a wide age range, typically 13-25, although sometimes they can start from as young as 11. Because of this, YIACS are able to tackle the tricky 'transition' period by supporting the young person into early adulthood. Whilst most YIACS work with all young people, data shows that many are highly vulnerable and their issues increasingly complex. The issues that young people come to services with are often inter-related. YIACS therefore provide a holistic response to young people's emotional, health, social and practical needs. YIACS offer a response which is centred around the young person. To ensure that they are providing the best service, YIACS keep youth voice at the heart of what they do by forming participation groups with service users. This is a unique approach which works successfully with young people. 2

3 2. Make Our Rights Reality Make Our Rights Reality (MORR) is a national project which teaches young people about their rights and gives them a voice to challenge injustice. The project is made up of three parts: RIGHTS: A course that teaches young people about their rights and how to tackle their everyday problems VOICE: a national campaign network of young people speaking up for their rights ACTION: Supporting young people to work collectively in their communities to address social injustice We believe that RIGHTS + VOICE + ACTION = CHANGE. You can find out more details about the project on our website and Twitter feed. RIGHTS Gaining knowledge of rights and responsibilities at an early age is essential if young people are to grow into informed citizens capable of dealing with life s problems, exercising their rights and playing an active role in society. However, research shows that young people are less likely than other age groups to be aware of their basic rights, understand the system or know where to get advice. Our RIGHTS training programme is designed to build the legal capability of young people by equipping them with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to tackle their everyday rights problems. VOICE Make Our Rights Reality will launch a national campaign network of young people speaking up for their rights. Involvement in the campaign network will be open to young people across the country, including those who have participated in MORR s RIGHTS and ACTION programmes ACTION MORR s ACTION programme will give young people opportunities to work collectively in their communities to address social injustice, focussing on causes they feel passionate about. MORR s hubs will initially offer the following core menu of social action activities: Peer education Social policy projects Campaigning Partner Hubs MORR s local programme of RIGHTS and ACTION will be delivered through three hubs managed by highly respected and award-winning youth advice services: MAP covering Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire No Limits Southampton and Hampshire 42nd Street, Manchester, working in partnership with Young Persons Advisory Service Liverpool 3

4 3. JOB DESCRIPTION JOB TITLE: RESPONSIBLE TO: BASED AT: PURPOSE: Participation and Engagement Assistant Engagement Officer YOUTH ACCESS, LONDON To support the Engagement Officer and Youth Steering Group in developing a national campaign network for young people. MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 1. To encourage young people to sign up to the campaign network 2. To communicate with the young people in project hubs who are completing their social action project Ensuring that their projects are properly promoted via MORR channels 3. To discover and reach out to other young campaigners 4. To produce 1 blog post per month (supported by volunteers) 5. To run the MORR social media channels and increase engagement with campaign 4

5 4. PERSON SPECIFICATION JOB TITLE: Participation and Engagement Assistant Qualifications and experience Experience of working on a campaign Experience of working in an office environment Experience of using social media channels Experience of and commitment to promoting equality and diversity Essential skills and knowledge Good communication and networking skills A self-starter who can work independently to organise, plan and deliver work to meet deadlines Demonstrable writing skills and experience (not necessary to have been published) Interest in young people, their rights and the MORR campaign Experience in, and a good understanding of running social media channels Experience of working effectively and flexibly as part of a small team Desirable skills and knowledge Experience in campaigning An understanding of blogs in relation to social media and campaigning Experience of working with other young people 5

6 5. DETAILS OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS Contract and Salary The post is offered on a temporary, fixed term basis of 3 months with scope for extension depending on funding and performance. The post will be paid at an hourly rate of 9.75 per hour. Location The post holder will be based at Youth Access registered office in Clapham South. Hours of Work The post is 14 hours per week and will be managed according to the needs of the work. Occasionally there may be some travel and unsociable working hours required. Paid Leave The annual paid leave entitlement for this post is 3 days. Staff are also entitled to Public and Bank holidays, which fall on a normal working day. In addition they are entitled to three days extra holiday, the timing of which usually falls at Christmas time. Training and Development Youth Access is committed to the professional and personal development of its staff and within its resources encourages staff to participate in work-related training and development. Notice Period The notice period from either party for this post will be one month. The first month in post will be on a probationary basis, during which time the period of notice, from either side will be negotiable. Rehabilitation of Offenders Act Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, an individual who has a conviction for a criminal offence may be allowed to treat the conviction as if it had never occurred after a specified period if he/she has not committed another offence. However, you are not entitled to withhold information about convictions which are not spent under the provision of the Act. If you are short listed for interview, a separate form may be included with your invitation to interview. You are required to complete and sign this form prior to your application being considered further. Prevention of Illegal Working in the UK Youth Access policy requires it to make a basic document check on every person it intends to employ. Therefore candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be required to provide the relevant documents for photocopying and recording. Full details of the amendments and documents required can be found on the home office website at 6