Youth Worker
(Mental Health and Wellbeing)
Salary: £28,808 (pro rata)
Hours: 20 per week
Responsible for: N/a
Join Our Team – Make a Real Difference!
Are you passionate about helping young people thrive? Ignite Youth is on the lookout for a part-time Youth Worker to join our fun, supportive and small-but-mighty team.
We thrive on seeing young people reach their full potential and believe in meeting them where they’re at.
At Ignite Youth, we work with 11- 25-year-olds facing complex challenges. Through holistic, trauma-informed, and practical support, we help improve mental health, reduce risk-taking behaviours, and open positive life paths. Our vision? A community where every young person can turn adversity into advantage.
If you’re ready to make a meaningful impact and bring your energy, empathy, and creativity to the table — we’d love to hear from you!
Please review the job description and person specification below.
Send your CV with a covering letter (no more than 2 sides of A4) to office@igniteyouth.org.uk before 08:00 am on Monday 12th May 2025.
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JOB DESCRIPTION
Job title: Youth Worker (Mental Health and Wellbeing)
Job Purpose: The Youth Worker (Mental Health and Wellbeing) will deliver one-to-one support to young people aged 11- 25 experiencing poor mental health, emotional distress or trauma. This includes both therapeutic and practical interventions to address wider issues such as housing, education, employment, relationships and risk-taking behaviour. The role will also include detached and outreach work in Harrow hot spots, engaging with vulnerable young people on the margins of society and offering consistent, long-term mentoring. You will also be required to deliver and provide support in other youth work sessions.
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Duties and key responsibilities
Youth work with at-risk young people
- Deliver one-to-one and group sessions raising awareness and educating young people on how to maintain good mental health and wellbeing.
- Provide holistic mentoring, including emotional support and goal setting to promote resilience and mental well-being.
- Conduct regular detached/outreach work in identified hot spots (e.g. Wealdstone, Rayners Lane, South Harrow).
- Build trusted, empowering relationships with young people, particularly those at risk of exploitation, gang involvement or criminal activity.
- Support young people with barriers such as housing, debt, education, relationships and physical health.
- Develop tailored action plans based on needs assessments and risk assessments.
- Signpost and refer young people into relevant Ignite or partner services.
- Support engagement in positive activities (e.g. sport, music, creative programmes).
- Encourage young people to access education, employment or training opportunities.
Partnership and Liaison Work
- Collaborate closely with partner schools, local authorities, youth justice, voluntary sector organisations, and other agencies to identify and support at-risk young people.
- Help improve cross-agency communication, referral pathways and joint delivery across Harrow, Brent, Barnet, Ealing and Hillingdon.
- Advocate for young people with external agencies when necessary.
- Promote a joined-up approach to safeguarding and supporting vulnerable young people.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration
- Maintain accurate records using our case management system in line with GDPR and safeguarding protocols.
- Record detailed case notes and progress outcomes for young people.
- Provide reports and case studies to demonstrate impact, support fundraising and evaluation.
- Contribute to data analysis, evaluations and funder reporting.
- Ensure all activities are risk assessed, and health and safety are always upheld.
Teamwork and Professional Development
- Attend regular team meetings, line management meetings and supervision.
- Participate in project-wide training and reflective practice sessions.
- Take responsibility for self-care and managing vicarious trauma.
- Promote a culture of inclusion, youth empowerment and personal responsibility.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
- Essential Experience
- Proven experience working with vulnerable or marginalised young people, ideally within a mental health or youth work setting.
- Experience delivering 1:1 support, therapeutic interventions or mentoring.
- Experience engaging high-risk young people (e.g. gang-involved, NEET, exploited).
- Experience in responding to safeguarding concerns and working within safeguarding frameworks.
- Experience of community-based work, including detached and outreach delivery.
- Essential Skills & Abilities
- Empathetic, youth-centred approach to building trust and encouraging positive change.
- Skilled at managing challenging behaviours and sensitive disclosures.
- Effective communication, collaboration and problem-solving skills.
- Confident in engaging partners and advocating for young people.
- Ability to manage time effectively and work both independently and as part of a team.
- Strong administrative and IT skills, including accurate record keeping.
- Commitment to equalities, anti-oppressive practice and cultural competence.
- Resilience, flexibility, and a ‘can-do’ approach.
- Essential Knowledge
- Understanding of adolescent mental health, trauma and emotional wellbeing.
- Knowledge of safeguarding procedures and legal responsibilities.
- Awareness of the impact of social exclusion, deprivation and systemic inequality.
- Understanding of the developmental needs of young people.
- Qualifications
- Youth work or mental health-related qualification or substantial relevant experience.
- Safeguarding Level 1 or higher.
- Evidence of continued professional development.
Desirable
- Degree-level qualification in Youth & Community Work, Counselling, Social Work or a related field.
- First Aid certification.
- Knowledge of the Harrow communities.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
- Willingness to travel between sites and conduct outreach/detached work.
- Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends.
- A commitment to the vision, values and ethos of Ignite Youth.
- Right to work in the UK (we are unable to sponsor visas).
We celebrate diversity and welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences.