Peer Mentoring Coordinator

Family Action & the Role’s Impact:

Family Action is a registered charity, building stronger families since 1869.  Today we work with more than 60,000 families in over 150 community based services, as well as supporting thousands more through national programmes and grants.  We transform lives by providing practical, emotional and financial support to those who are experiencing poverty, disadvantage and social isolation.

This is an exciting opportunity to join Project Indigo, an LGBTQIA+ youth project run out of Off Centre at Family Action that fosters a safe space and sense of community amongst LGBTQIA+ young people in Hackney.  We support young people aged 16 to 25 through offering them a weekly facilitated social space and 1-to-1 support and advice sessions.  Having run for almost a decade, Project Indigo is well known in Hackney, and works alongside local LGBTQIA+ projects, as well as mental health and youth services.  Project Indigo maintains a youth-led and person-centred approach, with this role being developed in consultation with our members to address the barriers they face in accessing training and development opportunities.

We are seeking a Peer Mentoring Coordinator to develop and manage our new LGBTQIA+ Peer Mentoring Programme, training and supporting Project Indigo members to train as mentors and deliver mentoring sessions with younger LGBTQIA+ people in the local community.  You will enrich Project Indigo’s holistic offer by providing young people with the opportunity to access training, qualifications and work experience while receiving high quality support tailored to their needs.

Off Centre is a service that provides a range of targeted mental health focused support services to young people aged 16 to 25 who registered with a City and Hackney GP.  These include: individual, counselling and psychotherapy, individual and group art psychotherapy, key-work support, out of hours drop-in service on Thursday evenings, targeted provision for children and young people of African, Caribbean and mixed heritage (ACH), and an Information and Advice provision.

Main Responsibilities:

·       You will develop and lead Project Indigo’s new Peer Mentoring Programme.

·       You will understand young mentors’ needs and goals, and provide high quality supervisory support throughout the training and mentoring process.

·       You will develop a structure for the Mentoring programme, consulting with relevant organisations, finding appropriate partners, and keeping accurate records to monitor progress for administrative and evaluative purposes.

·       You will offer sensitive supervisory support to young LGBTQIA+ mentors, supporting their diverse need by maintaining an empathetic, intersectional and youth-led approach.

Main Requirements (for details check the job description and person specification):

·       You will be a confident communicator with proven experience of working in a supportive role with LGBTQIA+ young people[SR3]  and/or evidence of in-depth knowledge of issues relating to LGBTQIA+ young people, in particular trans and gender diverse young people.

·       You will be empathetic and maintain an understanding of the social issues impacting young LGBTQIA+ people.

·       You will have excellent organisational skills and be able to manage your time and workload effectively.

·       You will have an understanding of risk management, health and safety issues and the ability in accordance with local and organisational safeguarding policies.

·       You are committed to equal opportunities, diversity and equality.

·       You have the ability to align with and support Family Action’s mission and values.

·       Appointments are subject to Family Action receiving a satisfactory disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Project Indigo is a diverse group that includes many young people of colour, neurodivergent and/or trans and non-binary members. We particularly encourage applications from candidates with lived LGBTQIA+ experience at the intersections of racialisation, neurodivergence, and/or trans identity.

Benefits:

-       an annual paid leave entitlement that commences at 25 working days, rising each April by one day, subject to a maximum of 30 working days plus bank holidays

-       up to 6% matched-pension contributions

-       flexible working arrangements and new starters have the right to make flexible working requests from day one of employment

-       enhanced paid sick leave and paid family leave provisions

-       eye care and winter flu jabs vouchers

-       cycle to work scheme

-       investing in your professional development with ongoing quality training and career development opportunities

We are forward looking, ambitious and committed to continuous improvement. We are a people focused, can-do organisation, which strives for excellence in all we do and operates with mutual respect.

·       Closing Date : Thursday 24th October 2024 at 23:59

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion:

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process and you will be asked whether you require any adjustments if shortlisted for interview. We also make reasonable adjustments on the job, where required.

We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and Family Action has a Trans, Intersex and Non-Binary Inclusion Policy. Also, we welcome applications from disabled individuals, and those from ethnically diverse communities because we are committed to increasing the representation of these groups at Family Action. We know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for families and children and strive for our workforce to be truly representative of the diverse communities we support. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum scoring criteria and will reimburse your travel cost if you attend an in person interview.