Children & Young People Progression Support Worker

Are you a proactive, collaborative and compassionate individual with proven experience working with children, young people, and vulnerable adults, delivering effective interventions that have resulted in positive outcomes?  

Do you have the exceptional ability to build and maintain trusting relationships with young people and their parents/carers, particularly those who have had previous negative experiences with services?

If so, join St Giles as a Children & Young People Progression Support Worker (Southwark), where you will play a key role in supporting and motivating young people who are not yet ready to access paid work, many of whom may lack confidence, feel disengaged, or face personal barriers that prevent them from taking the next step. 

£27,000 (£13,500 pro rata) (with potential for higher offer for exceptional candidates) + excellent benefits

Contract type: FT until 31 March 2026
 

Ref CYPSW-251

About St Giles Trust

An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes and the right support they need.  

Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as an offending background, homelessness, addictions and gang involvement, hold the key to positive change in others.

About this key role

Our successful candidate will deliver tailored, young person-centred support to those who are not yet ready for education, training, or employment (ETE).  

You will hold a caseload of up to 15 young people at one time, supporting at least 60 over the course of a year, and work collaboratively with allocated Caseworkers to develop and deliver practical, strengths-based plans that build confidence, motivation, and personal development.

You will identify and help young people access appropriate opportunities, including volunteering, insight days, traineeships, and early work experience and help them overcome barriers that impact their ability to engage with ETE — supporting them to take small, achievable steps towards long-term goals.

We will also count on you to build and maintain strong working relationships with local ETE providers, employers, and community partners to source meaningful opportunities, plus ensure you keep accurate and timely records of all work in line with all safeguarding legislation, best practice, and St Giles policies and procedures.

What we are looking for

• Experience independently addressing safeguarding issues with children, young people, and adults at risk of violence or exploitation
• Skilled in conducting thorough risk assessments and identifying the needs of children and young people at risk of significant harm
• Proven ability to work effectively as part of a multi-agency team, collaborating to achieve positive outcomes for young people and their families/carers
• Comprehensive understanding of the complex issues facing young people, such as exploitation, victimisation, offending, gang involvement, unemployment, and trauma
• Awareness of local ETE providers, referral routes, and barriers young people face accessing opportunities
• Excellent interpersonal, relationship-building and communication skills, verbal and written
• A professional, collaborative and flexible approach to your work

Please note:  as an organisation that works with children and adults at risk we are committed to safeguarding, protecting and promoting the safety of our clients and successful applicants will be subject to an Enhanced Child Workforce with Child Barred list DBS.

In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, clinical therapist sessions, life insurance (4 x annual salary), duvet days, season ticket loan, employee perks programme, eye care voucher and much more.

We are an equity and inclusion confident employer. We welcome all applications, and we particularly encourage applications from people of the global majority (black, brown, multi- heritage) and those who identify as disabled, neuro-expansive, neuro-diverse, with any protected characteristics and/or social barriers or challenges. We value the empowering and informative impact that all lived experiences and diversity of thought can offer the organisation.

St Giles will guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria set out in the Job Description for the vacancy.