Youth Engagement Co ordinator, East of England
Volunteer It Yourself (VIY) is a UK wide not for profit organisation which combines youth skills, employment, volunteering and construction. VIY is scaling year on year, reaching and benefitting more young people and communities through the provision of practical trade related work experience and support to help them with further progression opportunities.
Our learners are young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or who are at risk of becoming NEET (RON).
We are seeking a Youth Engagement Co ordinator to join our team in the East of England. This role is home based, with regular travel, approximately two days per week, to project locations particularly in Cambridgeshire/Peterborough, and across the East of England.
This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in engaging and supporting young people into meaningful work experience opportunities, progressing them into sustained employment, apprenticeships, further education and training, while contributing to the smooth coordination and delivery of regional projects.
Job Purpose
Our mission is to support young people with meaningful trade and construction work experience opportunities, inspiring and supporting them to take positive next steps within the sector and beyond.
The Youth Engagement Co ordinator plays a critical dual role by:
- Engaging and recruiting young people onto VIY programmes.
- Supporting progression outcomes into employment, education and training.
- Contributing to project support and regional coordination tasks to ensure effective delivery.
You will help often disengaged young people raise their aspirations, build confidence, develop new skills and take meaningful steps towards sustained destinations.
The role requires flexibility and an agile approach, balancing outreach, recruitment, progression support and wider project support activity depending on regional needs.
Location
Hybrid, home based with regular travel across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and the surrounding areas.
Approximately two to three days per week on project locations across Cambridge, Peterborough and the surrounding areas, plus meetings with referral partners, colleges, Jobcentres, training providers, employers and networking events.
Due to project locations, a full driving licence and access to a car is essential.
Key Responsibilities
- Youth Engagement and Recruitment
- Proactively identify and engage young people suitable for VIY programmes.
- Conduct outreach through Jobcentres, probation services, youth offending teams, colleges and community organisations.
- Deliver presentations to groups of young people to promote VIY opportunities.
- Conduct outbound calls to referral partners to generate referrals.
- Ensure young people and partners are fully briefed on project logistics, expectations and progression pathways.
- Maintain regular communication with referred young people to ensure attendance and retention.
Progression and Employment, Education Outcomes
- Deliver employability workshops on project sites.
- Provide one to one information, advice and guidance (IAG) to learners.
- Support learners to identify and apply for jobs, apprenticeships, further education and training.
- Develop relationships with local employers and training providers to create progression opportunities.
- Organise employer visits and sector engagement activities on projects.
- Track and record learner progression outcomes in line with funding requirements.
- Maintain a strong, up to date portfolio of local employment and training opportunities.
- Signpost learners to appropriate specialist support services where required.
Partnership and Relationship Management
- Identify, establish and maintain strong referral partnerships.
- Develop relationships with construction sector employers and skills providers.
- Attend networking events to promote VIY and build local visibility.
- Act as a key regional contact for progression partners.
Project Support and Coordination
- Contribute to the smooth coordination and delivery of regional projects.
- Maintain accurate learner records and data systems.
- Support reporting processes, including recruitment and progression tracking.
- Assist with scheduling partner visits, learner meetings and site based activities.
- Contribute to compliance, documentation and quality assurance processes.
- Support regional performance monitoring against engagement and progression targets.
- Provide general project support as required within a fast moving and evolving environment.
Person Specification
Essential
- Experience of engaging young people into volunteering, training or employability programmes.
- Experience supporting young people into employment, education or training outcomes.
- Strong organisational skills with excellent attention to detail.
- Experience building and maintaining effective partnerships.
- Confident communication skills, with the ability to engage and influence a wide range of stakeholders.
- Ability to build rapport with young people from diverse backgrounds.
- Understanding of barriers facing young people who are NEET or at risk.
- Ability to manage your own workload and work both independently and within a team.
- Drive and determination to achieve recruitment and progression targets.
- Commitment to VIY's mission and values.
- Full driving licence and access to a car.
Desirable
- Experience within employability, recruitment or skills sectors.
- Experience working with construction or trade related pathways.
- Knowledge of the East of England employment and skills landscape.
- Experience contributing to project coordination or programme delivery.
- Flexible and adaptable approach.
Safeguarding & Safer Recruitment
VIY is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. As part of our safer recruitment process, the successful candidate will be required to undergo robust pre-employment vetting, including an Enhanced DBS check with child and adult barring list checks.
What's it Like to Work at VIY?
VIY has grown rapidly over the last three years, from a small team of six to more than 40 colleagues nationwide. We are a close knit team committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of young people and the communities they live in.
Teamwork, a can do attitude and commitment to our values, progressive, flexible, inclusive, collaborative and passionate, are central to everything we do.
Whilst colleagues work remotely across five regions in England, regional teams meet regularly and we come together nationally several times a year.
Terms and Conditions
Salary: £26,000 to £28,000 per annum
Job Type: Full time
Hours: 9:00am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday
Leave: 25 days per annum, plus bank holidays
Pension: Enrolment into company pension scheme
To apply, please send an up-to-date CV and a cover letter (of no more than one page). Your cover letter should outline how your skills and experience would help you meet the person specification, giving clear examples.
Application deadline: 1st September
First stage interviews - 15 minute phone calls: before 11th September
Final interviews - 45 minute video calls: before 25th September
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £26,000.00-£28,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Application question(s):
- Are you willing/ able to commute on average twice a week to project sites in Cambridgeshire?
Experience:
- relationship management: 1 year (preferred)
- youth volunteering, training or employment: 1 year (preferred)
- working with young people: 2 years (required)
Willingness to travel:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Cambridgeshire
