Job Description

We believe that babies, children, and young people of all ages, and where appropriate their families, should have opportunities to have their voices heard and be taken seriously in decisions that affect them. We believe this leads to better decision-making and improved services both within and outside of Barnardo's.
We are seeking to appoint someone to work alongside babies, children and young people and colleagues across our services in Northern Ireland to develop their skills enabling them to use their voices and seek to actively influence how we do things on a day-to-day basis, as well as the wider policy agenda that affects their lives. This will involve getting to know our people and our services, creating safe spaces for babies, children, and young people to participate, developing leadership training and opportunities and creating spaces for young people to inform senior leaders in Barnardo's. To do this effectively the successful candidate with work alongside our Participation Lead for NI and colleagues across Children's Services, Business Services functions, and Policy and Communications.
The successful candidate will also develop and deliver youth participation and leadership opportunities, including the establishment of an Advisory Group for children and young people across Barnardo's NI services, who can support the work of Barnardo's senior leaders, National Advisory Board, and Trustees.
We are committed to welcoming people from a diverse background, culture, and experience to Barnardo's.
Key Responsibilities:
For People (Staff, Students, Volunteers)

• To provide training, support, opportunities for sharing practice, and advice to colleagues across Northern Ireland, so that they are equipped and confident in the delivery of participation activities.
• To provide support for consultations and specific participation projects.

For Children and Young People*

• To actively engage with children and young people to express their views, identify key priorities, and participate in decision-making both internally, across all of our services in NI, and externally.
• Develop and deliver participation and leadership training for children and young people tailored to their age, stage and needs.
• To establish a regional mechanism for children and young people to share what is important to them with Barnardo's NI senior leaders.
• To work alongside Children's Services colleagues to enhance participation in all of our services in NI.
• To apply safeguarding and child protection procedures.

*where appropriate families will be involved in some of these activities depending on the service, age and stage of the children and young people involved.
For Service Development

• Support services and young people to include young people in all stages of the recruitment process including shortlisting, interviewing and induction.
• Support services to embed good participation practice through co-design with young people.

For further information about responsibilities, please refer to the Additional information sheet.
Essential Criteria (please ensure that you outline on your application how you meet each of the criteria)
Education/Knowledge

• Degree in e.g. Community Youth Work, Social Work, or Education OR demonstrable experience of undertaking participation work with children and young people across different age groups. (Assessed at application stage)

Experience

• Demonstrable experience of designing and delivering group work programmes, with and for, children and young people. (Assessed at application and interview stages)
• Demonstrable experience of using a range of innovative methods and approaches to participation with children and young people. (Assessed at application and interview stages)

Skills/Abilities

• Proven ability to engage effectively with children and young people across a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and abilities, demonstrating sensitivity, inclusivity, and adaptability in communication and approach. (Assessed at interview)
• Ability to communicate complex issues to children and young people in a way that they can understand and is meaningful to them. (Assessed at interview)

Circumstances

• As the work will include travel to our services across Northern Ireland, the post holder must have access to a car. A full driving license and appropriate business insurance are also essential, and evidence of these documents will be required. As driving is an intrinsic part of this role, applicants with a disability that prevents them from driving should be able to demonstrate an alternative means of meeting the mobility requirements of the post.

Managing Diversity

• Able to recognise the unique potential that individuals from differing backgrounds, experiences and perspectives bring to Barnardo's. (Assessed at interview)

Location: Barnardo's Office base negotiable. Travel will be required across Northern Ireland
Hours: 37 hours per week
Salary: 27,573 - 36,389.29 FTE.
Permanent
Closing date: Sunday 31 August 2025
Interview date: TBC
Contact: Recruitment.support@barnardos.org.uk
A waiting list will be held in the event that similar vacancies arise for a period of up to 12 months
Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible
Pay & Reward Framework
We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's . We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.
For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.
Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band - this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.
Benefits
Workplace Offer: What it means for you
The world of work has changed. We are understanding of what works best for our colleagues both current and future as we look to embrace this new way of working. Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or any combination of these.

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract
About Barnardo's
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.