Youth Support Worker (London and the South East)

The Clink Training Café, located in Herne Hill, is a real-life professional kitchen and café that provides young people with meaningful work experience over a 12-week programme. 

During this time, participants work towards five accredited City & Guilds qualifications while gaining hands-on hospitality and employability skills.

We work closely with the Youth Justice Service, as well as Children in Care and Care Leavers teams, to engage vulnerable and at-risk young people in the programme. 

Many of the young people we support are at risk of criminal exploitation and grooming, and we also work with neurodivergent young people who have additional learning needs. 

At our café in Herne Hill, we have supported 100% of our students who have participated in the program to graduate into further education or employment.

The Youth Support Worker will provide a high quality and responsive support, mentoring and advocacy service which creatively addresses the needs and risks of our students and graduates, enabling them to avoid the risk of criminal exploitation upon completion of the program and to progress into the next step of their education or employment pathway.

You will be joining The Clink Charity at an exciting time as we plan to scale the success of our Café project by taking on a second site in Guildford to work with vulnerable NEET young people across Surrey. 

This role will offers the successful candidate the opportunity to mobilise this project and to take a leading role in building referrals, establishing networks and establishing this new intervention.

As a Youth Support Worker, you are responsible for

Individualised Support

1. Act as a strong advocate for all students, representing their needs and interests.
2. Complete a personalised support plan for each student to understand their individual needs, challenges, and personal circumstances.
3. Work closely with young people to identify risks, recognise warning signs, and develop strategies to reduce the likelihood of involvement in criminal exploitation, grooming, or other harmful behaviours.
4. Support student engagement throughout the programme, addressing conflicts or challenges as they arise to maintain a positive learning environment.
5. Establish appropriate boundaries and respond effectively to student behaviour to ensure a safe and inclusive environment.
6. Support students in developing resilience, confidence, and independent decision-making skills.

Monitoring and Impact 

7. Conduct weekly 1:1 session with each student, focusing on personal growth, emotional wellbeing, and life skills such as budgeting, accurately logging all sessions in both internal and external CRM systems.
8. Ensure all contact logs and essential paperwork are accurately updated and completed weekly.
9. Contribute ideas to improve programme delivery and student engagement through innovative activities or support strategies.
10. Use data insights to report progress to referral partners and funders.

Partnerships and Networks

11. Build and maintain strong, positive relationships with all external partners and networks.
12. Engage with external partners to build the relationships needed to receive referrals for our target audience and meet with each student prior to starting the programme to ensure a smooth induction.
13. Liaise with relevant networks and attend meetings with funders or partner organisations that support the students’ development.
14. Seek out new partnership opportunities to enable The Clink’s youth programs to grow and develop.

Employer and Further Education Connections

15. Establish relationships with a variety of employers and further education providers to support work placements and future career opportunities.
16. Assist students in creating structured CVs and preparing for interviews, including attending interviews if required.

Safeguarding

17. To prioritise child protection and safeguarding of beneficiaries.
18. Report and log all safeguarding concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead promptly, following charity policies. 

General

19. Travel between different sites when necessary, including locations such as our second site in Guildford, Surrey. Able to accompany our young people on trips, visits, or work placements, always maintaining safety and professional standards.
20. Attend all training sessions and supervision meetings provided by senior management.
21. Work collaboratively with staff across The Clink to achieve the best outcomes for young people and maintain healthy, professional working relationships.
22. Support the planning and delivery of special events, career fairs, or community engagement projects.