Specialist Mentor (Children and Young People)

Are you a proactive, collaborative and compassionate individual?

Do you have a proven record of working with children and young people affected by criminal exploitation, gang involvement, county lines, grooming, or serious youth violence?  

Do you have experience of working within a multi-agency safeguarding environment, collaborating effectively with services such as social care, youth justice, police, education, and community organisations?

If so, St Giles is looking for a Specialist Mentor to form part of a newly established team to support Children and Young People (CYP) under 18 at risk of or experiencing significant harm, including involvement in criminality, the justice system, gang affiliation, exploitation, and grooming in partnership with the Children’s Services Child Abused Through Exploitation (CATE) Team

Full-time, 35 hours per week 
Fixed-term contract for 2 years with an option for an extension

Ref: SMP-262
 

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.

You will provide one-to-one mentoring sessions within schools, creating safe, confidential, and supportive spaces to 40 young people annually who are affected by criminality, exploitation, gang involvement, or the justice system, improving their safety, wellbeing, and life outcomes. 

We will rely on you to maintain a visible, integrated presence within schools to identify risks early and sustain engagement with young people vulnerable to criminal exploitation and to work collaboratively with Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), pastoral teams, and wider school staff to ensure mentoring complements existing safeguarding and support frameworks. Producing risk management plans based on assessments, promoting inter-agency collaboration in the assessment and planning process, is also a key aspect of the role.

What we are looking for

• Lived experiences similar to those of the target client group 
• Knowledge of child criminal exploitation, county lines, gang involvement, grooming or serious youth violence
• Knowledge of trauma-informed practice and its application when working with vulnerable or high-risk young people
• Experience of conducting risk assessments and developing intervention/support plans, with a clear understanding of safeguarding frameworks and thresholds
• Excellent interpersonal, relationship-building and communication skills, verbal and written
• A flexible, collaborative and professional approach to your work

In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, access to clinical supervision, season ticket loan 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, or neurodiverse, 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.

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

An enhanced Children’s Barred List DBS check is required for this role.