Job Description

Youth Engagement Coordinator - South Wales / South West England

VIY combines volunteering and DIY by challenging young people aged 14-24 to learn trade and building skills, on the job, by helping to renovate and retrofit youth and buildings (e.g. youth clubs, community centres, sports clubs, and arts, music and cultural venues).

VIY tackles several national challenges. At a time where youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, we support the young people who can most benefit towards employment, education or training through hands-on work experience. We enable under-funded community buildings to carry out renovation works that build capacity, increase use by diverse groups or improve measures like energy-efficiency. We work to fill the growing skills gap in construction, including green skills, where the UK needs at least 200,000 more workers in the coming years.

Importantly, the majority of young people we work with are outside of, or at risk of being outside of employment, education or training (NEET or at risk of becoming so). Young people participating in VIY are mentored by professional tradespeople and gain vocational skills accreditations as well as access to further training, work placement and apprenticeship opportunities with local providers and employers beyond the project. VIY launched in 2011 and, to date, over 1,000 youth and community buildings across England and Wales have been renovated, involving 18,000 young people and 1,200 trade skills mentors. Over 90% of unemployed young people feel more confident about entering the world of work having taken part in a VIY project.

VIY is growing fast, reaching and benefitting even more young people and communities with the support of our partners including Dulux, Toolstation, National Lottery, Morgan Sindall, Barclays multiple local authorities and other brands, companies and grant funders. We are increasingly active in South Wales through stakeholders like the Screwfix Foundation and Cardiff City Council, and in the South West of England through a partnership with Bristol City Leap.

The role

We are therefore seeking a new Youth Engagement Coordinator to join our team in South Wales, ideally based in or close to Cardiff or Newport. This role is based from home, but requires regular (approx. 1-2 days per week) travel to our project locations across South Wales and the South West of England, as well as our coworking space in Bristol as required.

The successful candidate should have proven experience of engaging young people onto programmes and supporting them into employment, education or training, as well as building and maintaining partnerships. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and grow the organisation and to be part of a passionate, progressive team delivering a profoundly positive mission.

For more information about VIY, the types of projects we undertake and our impact, please visit our website: volunteerityourself.org. We would also encourage you to read our 2024-25 https://volunteerityourself.org/viy-impact-report-2024-25/.

Job purpose

Our mission is to support young people with meaningful trade and construction work experience opportunities, inspiring and supporting them to want to take a positive step within the sector. Youth Engagement Coordinators (YEC) play a critical role in this, helping often disengaged young people raise their aspirations, aspire to achieve something positive, learn new skills and, importantly, develop self belief and confidence.

A critical part of the role is identifying and maintaining partnerships with local organisations who share VIY's ambitions of supporting young people with brilliant, potentially life changing opportunities and experiences

VIY is a fast moving and dynamic organisation and the role will require flexibility to respond to new and emerging opportunities.

Location: Hybrid (home-based and on project sites). Approximately one-two days per week will be spent traveling to locations in South Wales or the South West of England (including Cardiff, Newport and Bristol), supporting learners on projects and to meet with partners such as colleges, training centers, JobCentres, construction organisations and attend networking events. Due to the location of the venues, a car and full driving licence is essential for this role.

Responsibilities

YECs are responsible for engaging young people onto VIY projects and supporting them at the end of the project with progression opportunities, where relevant/appropriate, into further training and employment opportunities.

Relationship Management

Identify, establish and maintain relationships with new and existing referral partners to drive young people's engagement with VIY Identify and develop new relationships with organisations local to each project which can support VIY's young people with appropriate progression opportunities, including vocational skills colleges, employment support organisations and construction sector employers. Build positive relationships with learners before, during and after the VIY project, empowering and supporting them to make positive choices to find a career or education Organise employer and local services visits to projects to engage, inspire and offer next step opportunities to our young people
Youth Engagement and Support

Outbound calls to referral partners e.g job centers, probation services, youth offending teams etc to identify referrals Communicate directly to groups of young people through presentations, with a view to engaging them onto projects Ensure young people/ youth referral partners are well briefed on VIY and the opportunity available, including project logistics and an overview of the experience they can expect, ensuring young people feel excited, informed and motivated to take part in a project Attend project sites approximately 1-2 days per week to deliver employability workshops and meet one to one with VIY learners to inspire, support and motivate them to take their next steps Provide information, advice and guidance on learning and work opportunities to learners Identify and develop a strong portfolio of local opportunities which can be offered to young people through direct communication and campaign distributions Signpost learners to appropriate local organisations/opportunities who can fulfill the next steps and support needs of each learner Monitoring and tracking progression outcomes of learners

Person specification

Essential

Experience of engaging young people into volunteering, training or employability programmes Excellent organisational skills and experience of multi-tasking Experience of identifying, building and maintaining strong partnerships Excellent communication and engagement skills, with the ability to communicate with and influence a wide range of audiences in a variety of ways An ability to build rapport with people from a wide range of backgrounds, supporting young person development and relating sensitively and confidentially to their needs Absolute attention to detail Ability to work on your own initiative and as part of a team Drive and determination to achieve objectives and targets Commitment to the aims and values of VIY and a passion for helping young people to progress Willingness/ ability to travel - a driving licence and access to a car is essential Can drive and have access to a car
Desirable

Experience within the employability/ recruitment landscape A flexible and adaptable approach to work The ability to work autonomously and manage your own caseload Experience of supporting young people who are not in education, employment or training, with an understanding of the key issues affecting them and experience of supporting them to overcome issues/barriers
Welsh language is not a requirement for this role.

What's it like to work at VIY?

VIY is an exciting and passionate place to work. We have grown rapidly over the last 2 years, from a small team of six to more than 40. We are a close-knit team of like-minded individuals, committed to making a difference to the lives of young people and their communities. All our colleagues have a 'can-do' attitude and work effectively as a team, with no two days being exactly the same. Every colleague has a commitment to our values: progressive, flexible, inclusive, collaborative and passionate.

Whilst staff work remotely across 6 main regions, regional teams are encouraged to meet up regularly, and we come together as a national team several times a year.

Terms and conditions

Salary: 26,000.00 per annum, pro rata-d to three days a week

Job Type: Six month contract

Hours: Part time for three days a week (pattern to be agreed) with typical working hours of 9 am - 5.30 pm.

Leave: 25 days per annum (plus bank holidays) pro rata'd to three days a week

Pension: Enrolment into company pension

To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter outlining clearly how you meet the person specification. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

Deadline - Friday 23rd January

Interviews - Between Monday 26th January and 6th February

Job Types: Part-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 6 months

Pay: 26,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension Work from home
Experience:

relationship management: 1 year (preferred) youth volunteering, training or employment: 1 year (preferred) working with young people: 1 year (preferred)
Location:

Wales (Wales) (preferred)
Work Location: On the road