Youth Mentoring Coordinator

Hours: 37.5 hours per week (full-time)
Contract: 3-year fixed-term contract

Location: Milton Keynes

We're delighted to be partnering with the National Lottery Community Fund as part of our Youth Mentoring MK project. Their funding and support means we're able to expand our mentoring support for children and young people across Milton Keynes, helping those experiencing poverty, disadvantage and discrimination to build confidence, improve their wellbeing and achieve their goals.

We're looking for a passionate, organised and motivated Youth Mentoring Coordinator to help young people build confidence, develop resilience and make positive choices about their future.

You'll play an important role in delivering our community-based mentoring programme, working directly with young people while recruiting, supporting and coordinating a team of volunteer mentors who share our commitment to making a difference.

This is a role for someone who loves working with young people, enjoys bringing people together and wants to create meaningful, lasting impact in their community.

The opportunity

We believe every young person deserves to feel supported, valued and able to reach their potential, whatever challenges they may face.

As our Youth Mentoring Coordinator, you'll help deliver a mentoring programme that provides young people with positive role models, trusted relationships and practical support to navigate life's challenges.

You'll work directly with young people who may be experiencing difficulties with their emotional wellbeing, relationships, education or personal circumstances, helping them recognise their strengths, set achievable goals and move towards a more positive future.

You'll also coordinate our volunteer mentors, ensuring they feel confident, supported and equipped to make a real difference.

From recruiting and welcoming new volunteers to matching them with opportunities, providing ongoing guidance and monitoring the quality of mentoring, you'll help create a positive experience for both mentors and young people.

You'll work closely with community organisations, local partners and the wider YMCA team to ensure young people can access the right support and opportunities.

Above all, you'll help create the trusted relationships and consistent support that can change the direction of a young person's life.

What you'll be doing

You'll play a hands-on role in coordinating and delivering our community-based youth mentoring programme.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Building positive, trusting relationships with young people and providing tailored one-to-one mentoring and support.
• Assessing young people's individual needs and developing person-centred mentoring plans with clear, achievable goals.
• Supporting young people to build confidence, resilience, emotional wellbeing, positive relationships and essential life skills.
• Managing a caseload of young people with medium to high levels of risk or support needs, ensuring appropriate safeguarding and support arrangements are in place.
• Recruiting, coordinating and supporting a team of volunteer mentors, helping them feel confident, motivated and equipped to succeed.
• Providing guidance and ongoing support to volunteers, overseeing mentoring activities, session records and safeguarding practices.
• Coordinating volunteer rotas, placements and activities to ensure effective delivery of mentoring services.
• Building positive relationships with community organisations, referral partners and other local services.
• Connecting young people with additional support and opportunities, including wider YMCA services where appropriate.
• Monitoring mentoring outcomes, maintaining accurate records and demonstrating the positive impact of the programme.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues and partners to develop and improve mentoring services for young people across Milton Keynes.

Just as importantly, you'll create an environment where young people feel heard, volunteers feel valued and everyone understands the difference their contribution makes.

About you

We're looking for someone who genuinely cares about young people and believes in the power of positive relationships to change lives.

You'll have experience working with young people, understand the challenges they may face and be confident providing support that is compassionate, practical and tailored to their individual needs.

You'll also enjoy working with volunteers, helping people feel welcomed, supported and motivated to give their best.

You don't need to have held a formal management position, but you will need to be organised, confident coordinating others and comfortable taking responsibility for the effective delivery of mentoring activities.

You'll be someone who:

• Has experience working directly with young people in youth work, mentoring, education, community services or a similar setting.
• Understands the emotional, social and developmental needs of young people.
• Can build positive, trusting relationships with young people from different backgrounds.
• Has experience coordinating, supervising or supporting volunteers, colleagues or others delivering activities.
• Is organised, reliable and confident managing competing priorities and responsibilities.
• Can assess individual needs, develop support plans and monitor progress.
• Understands safeguarding responsibilities, professional boundaries and the importance of managing risk.
• Communicates effectively with young people, volunteers, colleagues and external partners.
• Is compassionate, resilient and able to respond positively to challenging situations.
• Enjoys developing relationships, bringing people together and helping others succeed.
• Takes ownership, follows things through and looks for ways to improve how services are delivered.
• Brings enthusiasm, initiative and a genuine commitment to helping young people thrive.

Experience supporting young people affected by trauma, instability, youth offending or other complex challenges would be particularly valuable.

Experience recruiting, training or coordinating volunteers within a charity, community or youth organisation would also be an advantage.

A relevant degree-level qualification in youth work, social work, education, social sciences or a related field would be beneficial but isn't essential.

Why Join YMCA South Midlands?

Because this is an opportunity to make a genuine difference, not just to the young people we support, but to the volunteers who give their time to help others.

You'll join an organisation that believes in the potential of every young person and the power of strong communities to create positive change.

As part of our Youth & Community team, you'll have the opportunity to:

• Build meaningful relationships and help young people overcome challenges and achieve their potential.
• Recruit, support and develop a committed team of volunteer mentors.
• Play an important role in delivering and improving our community-based mentoring programme.
• Work with local organisations and partners to create more opportunities for young people.
• Be part of a supportive, collaborative team that genuinely cares about making a difference.
• See the positive impact of your work on young people, volunteers and the wider community.

Everyone is Welcome Here

At YMCA South Midlands, we believe everyone should feel they belong.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and communities. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the people we serve and where everyone is treated with dignity, respect and fairness.

As a charity with a Christian heritage, our faith inspires our values and our commitment to serving others. We welcome people of all faiths and none. All appointments are made on merit.

Safeguarding

YMCA South Midlands is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The successful candidate will be required to complete appropriate safer recruitment checks, including an enhanced DBS check and a children's barred list check where the role is eligible.

Reasonable Adjustments

We want every candidate to have the opportunity to perform at their best throughout our recruitment process.

If you have a disability, long-term health condition or are neurodivergent and would benefit from any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know when you apply or contact us at any stage. We'll be happy to discuss how we can support you.

A note to recruitment agencies: We are managing recruitment for this role directly and are not seeking support from recruitment agencies. Please do not submit speculative CVs or contact us regarding this vacancy.

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