Job Title:Senior Development Officer (CyberMentors)

Reports to:Head of CyberMentors

Works with:Practice department and other departments where required

Salary Range:Pay Band C: £27,500 - 30,999 per annum

Location:London – Head Office SE19 2AT and nationally where required

This position is offered on a one year contract. We’re Altogether Better may seek to make this position permanent. Travel, occasional weekend work and working away from home will be required.

Purpose of Post

Through We’re Altogether Better’s programmes we support some of the UK's most vulnerable and excluded children and young people in schools, communities and online. CyberMentors is a programme for 11-18 year olds that trains young people to support and mentor others to help them overcome bullying. It has been proven to be an effective model for working with vulnerable children and young people, offering mentoring, advice and intensive therapeutic support to those most in need, primarily responding to the issue of bullying, including cyberbullying.

Trained CyberMentors work with their peers in a virtual environment – – assisting and mentoring their peers to ensure they are safe, can report cyberbullying safely, and get the peer-to-peer support they need. It enables young people from across the country to access peer support, at a time convenient to them, using a medium they are familiar with. The aim is to change behaviours and shift cultures amongst a wider group of young people, to reduce incidents of bullying, and provide support for those being bullied.

As the CyberMentors Senior Development Officer, the role holder will deliver and facilitate high quality training and workshops to young people of all ages and backgrounds including looked after children and special educational needs. They will also facilitate training workshops with professionals and parents where appropriate. They will supervisea team of development officers,consultant session workers and volunteer interns and assist the Head of CyberMentors where required.

Job Description

The Role

As a Senior Development Officer, it is expected that you;

  • Deliver and facilitate our CyberMentors training programme with children and young people in schools, youth and community based settings
  • Oversee the overall delivery of one programme, and oversee its development and adaptation as required
  • Support and assist the Head of CyberMentors as and when required. This includes facilitating team meetings and trainings.
  • Support the development of all existing and new programmes, to meet the needs of a range of children, young people and professionals
  • Build strong effective partnerships with schools, Local Authorities and other children’s services including LAC and SEN.
  • Provide schools and communities with best practice in Peer Mentoring training provision by delivering a standardised approach to frontline youth-led peer mentoring, including delivering training to professionals and parents
  • Maintain the highest standards of delivery through stringent quality control and adherence to We’re Altogether Better’s Codes of Practice and training.
  • Work in line with the department’s annual strategy, and meet set delivery targets
  • Supervise Development Officers and session workers

Responsibilities

  • Take responsibility for the CyberMentors training programmeand its delivery
  • Supervisea team of Development Officers and session workers, ensuring they are developed and their training needs are identified and met. Ensure constructive feedback is given to Development Officers and session workers, identifying potential areas for development
  • With the Head of CyberMentors, plan, book and allocate staff to facilitate workshops. Complete time sheets for session workers on a monthly basis, and pass over to the Finance Team
  • Oversee volunteer interns and work experience placements, ensuring they are given the opportunity to learn and enhance their professional skills
  • Identify, build, and manage strong partnerships with a range of stakeholdersin and around the areas of young people’s services, in particular schools, youth groups and community groups, to ensure the programme is delivered effectively
  • Record and report progress against set delivery targets, on a monthly basis
  • Work with the Head of CyberMentors in the preparation of reports for the Business Development and the Research and Development departments as required
  • Work with other programmes Senior Development Officers and Development Officers, to refresh programmes, and develop new programmes, including the writing of new training modules and materials
  • Along with the Head of CyberMentors, ensure the programme is delivered to a high standard by stringent quality assurance, supporting the reporting and monitoring of programmes, therefore ensuring high quality delivery and continual development and currency of the programme
  • When necessary, deputise for the Head of CyberMentors.
  • Deliver and facilitate all our training programmes to young people, parents and professionals
  • Train session workers, trainers and new and existing staff to deliver the CyberMentors programme
  • Ensure that all evaluation from young people and professionals is collected and passed over to the Head of CyberMentors and the Research and Development department as appropriate
  • Moderate the online chat rooms as required
  • Assist in supporting other initiatives / opportunities relating to other potential special projects / pilots as directed by the Senior Management Team
  • When opportunities present themselves speak, present, network and represent the organisation at relevant events, regionally and nationally.
  • Undertake such other duties as may be required

Person specification

Essential experience and abilities

  • Demonstrable expertise in one or more areas relevant to one of our specific training programmes
  • Experience of supervising and coordinating projects, and supervising staff to implement training programmes
  • Demonstrable expertise and experience in terms of working with children and young people in educational and / or youth settings, with demonstrable young people focused facilitation skills
  • Substantial knowledge and experience of youth engagement work, mentoring, and working with young people who may be described as challenging, vulnerable, marginalised or at risk
  • Adaptability and the flexibility to deliver to a variety of audiences
  • Experience and proven track record of delivering results related to specific outcomes and outputs
  • Good knowledge of legislation regarding children and young people, including safeguarding and child protection, both on and offline
  • Ability to quickly disseminate complex and sensitive issues with children and young people of all abilities
  • Experience of online networking, familiarity with digital technologies and ability to manage work in an online environment
  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate clearly and succinctly, both orally and in writing, including online communication.
  • Experience of writing reports and summaries
  • Experience of organising and prioritising a demanding workload, to meet deadlines
  • Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office software and Google apps
  • Good team working ethic

Desirable

  • Experience of supervising session workers and volunteer interns
  • Experience of co-ordinating time sheets for session workers
  • Experience of deputising in a Manager’s absence
  • Lateral thinking and good problem solving abilities
  • Good research & evaluation skills
  • Knowledge of the education and social sectors
  • Counselling and/or mediatory experience preferably with young people
  • Abilities in recognising conflict triggers and a degree of knowledge on associated anger management strategies

Personal qualities

  • Commitment to We’re Altogether Better’s vision, values and mission
  • Personal integrity and credibility
  • Commitment to self-development
  • Team player
  • Tact
  • Responsiveness
  • Realism
  • Accountability
  • Honesty
  • Enthusiasm

Working Hours

5 days per week

Some travel and working away from home will be required

After six months, you will be eligible for the We’re Altogether Better pension scheme, critical illness cover and health insurance.

We’re Altogether Better:

  • operates flexible working hours and strives to achieve a healthy work-life balance.
  • takes equality and diversity very seriously.
  • is representative of our community.

We’re Altogether Better is a registered charity No 1097631.