Life Skills and Community Engagement Officer

Life Skills and Community Engagement Officer

Salary:£24,953 Full Time Equivalent – actual £20,232 for 30 hours

Hours
: 30 hours per week, hours to be agreed

Location
:
Colchester Office

Fixed Term until 31/p>

APPLICATIONS MUST INCLUDE A COVERING LETTER AND CV

YES is a charity which supports young people between the ages of 11 and 25 in Colchester and Tendring. YES offers information and support in the areas of housing and homelessness prevention, young people’s pregnancy and parenting, counselling, wellbeing and mentoring / volunteering. The charity headquarters are in Trinity Street, Colchester with another centre in Holland-on Sea,

We are pleased to have secured funding for a unique one‑year project to design and deliver a range of activities to help young people aged 11–25 build life skills, confidence and stronger peer relationships.

This role will suit someone who is innovative, self-motivated and excited by developing a new service from scratch to give young people a better start in life. Importantly you will be a great team player with excellent communication skills able and ability to build positive relationships with colleagues and customers. You must be well organised, proactive and willing to turn your hand to a wide range of jobs on a daily basis.

For the right person, this role could be great opening into youth work, community development or volunteer management on a larger scale.

The successful applicant will get involved in all aspects of our work, contributing to promotion and marketing and taking an active role in research and development of funding bids and helping to shape future services. They will also play an integral role in developing and maintaining relationships in the local community, engaging with businesses, stakeholders, schools and colleges.

We are looking for someone who brings energy and creativity to take forward this exciting new project; they will need the confidence and ability to work independently but with the back-up and support of others in the team.

• Engage with young people through conversations, small groups and surveys to understand their ideas, interests and priorities.
• Develop a diverse programme of activities that help build life skills, confidence and positive peer relationships
• Recruit, onboard and support volunteers
  , matching their skills and interests with the activities young people want to see and the needs of the charity.
• Build positive relationships with young people and volunteers, following YES policies and procedures, always maintaining safe working practices and professional boundaries.
• Coordinate, supervise and deliver sessions and activities
  , ensuring they are safe, inclusive, enjoyable and aligned with the aims of the project.
• Monitor and evaluate impact
  , gathering feedback, recording outcomes and recording progress, including completing monitoring reports for our funders.
• Develop community partnerships
  , which support volunteer recruitment, collaborate on activities or access in-kind support and local opportunities.
• Promotion, and involved in events and community engagement
  , including school/college outreach work and making connections with local businesses.
• Other duties as required for the running of the charity or requested by the CEO.

• Ability to build rapport and relationships with young people and adults.
• Self‑starter mindset: confident working independently and within a team, taking initiative, and developing ideas into action.
• Strong communication skills; friendly, clear and able to engage people from a wide range of backgrounds.
• Proven organisation and planning skills, with the ability to manage time, prioritise and follow through on tasks with excellent attention to detail.
• Strong IT skills including Microsoft office packages and…