This is an exciting and busy time to be joining UK Youth as we head into year 2 of our new strategy and transform the way we work to ensure all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. As a result,  we are recruiting for a number of new roles designed to enable the organisation to grow, improve our ways of working and enable us to deliver our ambitious 2025 strategic plan.

Reporting to the Director of Collective Action, this role will be responsible for developing and leading our ambitious policy & public affairs strategy and cross sector influencing plans.

A strategic thinker with experience of influencing policy and systems change this role will drive forward our plans for cross-sector working and influencing, ensuring young people are equal stakeholders. Working closely with the Head of Network Engagement, the Head of Network Development you will identify opportunities to develop our relationships with policy makers and politicians, and work with our cross-sector networks across the UK to develop a programme of activity to deepen our impact. This role will line manage and support the Policy & Public Affairs Officer who will support the delivery of this work and work with the wider team and organisation to implement an integrated approach.

We’re looking for someone who’s excellent at developing relationships and stakeholder management, representing UK Youth on external platforms. They will develop opportunities for young people and youth workers to feel empowered and be mobilised to take action.

Who we are

UK Youth is a leading charity that exists to ensure all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. We work with others to ensure that the youth sector is strengthened, supported, and that provision is youth-led, evidence-informed and delivers high-quality outcomes.

UK Youth plays a unique role in addressing; the lack of investment in the youth sector, the lack of cross sector understanding in how youth work makes a difference and the limited opportunities to embed effective solutions. These factors lead to mass inequality of access to youth services for young people. To find more about us and how we make an impact, please visit UK Youth Website.

Why work at UK Youth?

We are a value-based, passionate and committed organisation offering a friendly working environment with lots of opportunities for professional development and socialising (even whilst we are all working remotely!) from lunch and learn sessions, staff quizzes to virtual coffee meet ups.

UK Youth prides itself on being an Equal Opportunity employer and we would particularly welcome applications for this role from those who identify under one of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

We value the differences that a diverse workforce brings and are committed to inclusivity, and to employing and supporting a diverse workforce. Our selection procedures ensure that people are treated on the basis of their relevant merits, experience, skills and abilities and that no individual receives more or less favourable treatment.

We welcome applications from groups currently under-represented in our organisation including Black, Asian, minority ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ and persons with disabilities. We are also currently underrepresented by men, and so are seeking applications from different backgrounds, cultures, age, experience and identity to bring a wide range of experience, ideas, views and insights to UK Youth.

What we can offer you

We offer a competitive range of benefits, good work/life balance, excellent learning and development opportunities and vibrant organisational culture.

• Flexible/Agile Working
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Pension scheme (currently UK Youth match employee contributions up to 5%)
• Membership of our life insurance scheme which would pay-out up to 4 times your salary
• Employee Assistance Programme to support employees both professionally and personally
• 20% discount off bookings at Avon Tyrrell our New Forest Outdoor Centre including, camping, lodges and outdoor activities.
• Cyclescheme and Techscheme

How to apply 

Candidates are encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn’t precisely match the job description for this role. Your experience, skills and passion will set you apart so tell us about your achievements, irrespective of whether they are personal or work-related, about your journey to date; how this has shaped you and the things you learnt along the way.

If you would like to be considered for this fantastic opportunity, please read the job description and complete an application via our completely anonymised recruitment system (provided by Applied).

• Closing date for applications will be 11.59pm on 25^th April 2022
• Interviews are due to take place on 3^rd May 2022

As this role involves working in a regulated environment with young people, any offer will be conditional to satisfactory background checks which include criminal record check and employment reference. However, we welcome applications from those with previous criminal convictions.

As part of the recruitment process UK Youth will be gathering and uses certain information about you. For further information regarding this please review our Data Protection Privacy Notice which explains what data of yours we process and how we use it.