Young Persons Consultation
Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest
Grade: PO3
Salary: £42,840 - £46,041 (pro rata)
Retention Bonus/ Market Supplement: N/A
Contract Type: Permanent /Part Time
Working hours per week: 18
Weeks per year: 52 weeks per year
Application Deadline: 15/08/2024
Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC
Reference:1306
About Us:
Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.
We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.
London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London's Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.
The Council's preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.
About the role:
The Children's Directorate of Waltham Forest is working to the principles of Safe, Well, Independent and Resilient and we recognise that all children and young people need support to reduce the risk of reoffending. At Waltham Forest Youth Justice, we take a Child First approach, placing the needs of children at the center of all that we do.
Our influential Voice in Partnership (VIP) group is made up of children and young people aged 14-19 years who have experience of the youth justice service. The aim of the VIP is to engage members in positive and constructive activities. We use creative ways to engage children and young people to help them to realise their full potential. The voices and experience of the children and young people help to influence the service on both a strategic and operational level.
Examples of the VIP work includes:
- The group have produced, directed and acted in a short film used as a training tool for youth justice and social worker professionals.
- The VIP produced and performed their own live music.
- Worked in professional studios and with producers and artists.
- Along with a team of creative freelancers, the VIP designed and produced a music project packed with dynamic workshops, special events and opportunities to meet world class players in the creative industries. This has included attending residentials.
- The VIP participate in job interview panels at the Youth Justice Service, and partner with Young Advisors, Young Carers and Youth Independent Advisory Group to inform the direction of the Violence Reduction Partnership.
- The VIP review Waltham Forest Youth Justice Service policies and guidance to reflect the voice of the child.
The key accountabilities for this role includes:-
- To coordinate and manage tailored projects and interventions to support children involved in the criminal justice system.
- To ensure children and young people's voices are clearly heard and inform the projects and interventions.
- To safeguard the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults you work with directly and those who you encounter taking full account of contextual factors (as informed by the Safeguarding Adolescent's Practice Guide).
- To provide whole family interventions and strengths-based coaching that builds their skills, relationships, and resilience and helps children to be independent, resilient, safe, and well.
- To offer diverse, equitable, inclusive and differentiated services that are responsive to all groups.
- Liaise and consult with a range of colleagues - across Early Help Division; Children's Social Care; Adult Services, including Mental Health and Housing; Police and Probation services; Mainstream Schools, Alternative Provision, Education Support Services; and with the voluntary and community sector - to improve outcomes for children and young people.
- To Network and commission services and organisations to work with children and young people
>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<
Key Responsibilities:
- To lead a range of engagement projects with young people working with partner organisations, staff members and other stakeholders as needed to deliver projects effectively
- To plan innovative and engaging sessions that are co-produced with young people and fully consider the needs of the young people involved
- To coordinate projects including managing a small budget to undertake and commission services as appropriate.
- Ability to engage with young people and their parents and empathise with their perspective.
- Work directly with colleagues internal and external, other providers and external agencies to gather and exchange information and co-ordinate actions.
- You will be responsible for the recruitment and supervision of a rolling group of 8-12 young people who contribute to service delivery outcomes.
- Budget Responsibilities: Identify and apply for funding, in-kind support and partnership opportunities that secure career and creative developmental opportunities for young people.
Qualifications and Requirements:
To be considered for this position, you should meet the following requirements:
- Degree or equivalent or vocational qualification in relevant subject or area
- Evidence of Continuous Professional Development
You will need the following skills and experience:
- • Excellent project management skills
- • Experience of leading projects and delivering on time and on budget
- • Excellent attention to detail and accuracy and a commitment to taking an evidence-based approach
- • Ability to manage relationships with internal and external partners involved in projects
- • Ability to manage competing priorities effectively
- • Ability to facilitate group discussions and report perspectives accurately
Terms and conditions:
The below terms and conditions apply to this role:
- Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
- Satisfactory declaration of interest;
- This role is subject to safer recruitment practices as it involves work with children and/ or vulnerable adults;
- Satisfactory DBS check;
- Continued professional body registration;
- Suitable driver's license;
As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the 'Apply' button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.
To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.
We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.
For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.
Contact Information:
If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Anne-Marie Koroma, Assistant Director for Youth and Family Resilience Service at anne-marie.koroma@walthamforest.gov.uk
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.
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