School Facilitator - West Yorkshire

First Give

First Give is a national charity that inspires young people to make a difference to the causes they care about. We do this through working in partnership with secondary schools, providing a fully resourced scheme of work that guides an entire year group of students to engage with local charities and causes and then carry out social action (fundraising, raising awareness, campaigning, volunteering etc.) in support of them.

At the end of each programme, a celebratory School Final is held at each school, where teams representing each class deliver presentations about their projects. The class considered to have engaged the best with the programme secures a First Give grant of £1,000 for their chosen charity. By the end of the programme, however, the whole year group will have given back meaningfully to their local community. We currently work in partnership with about 200 schools every year across England and Wales.

Our vision is for motivated and equipped young people using their skills to make the lives of others in their community better. Our values inform what we do at First Give. We are:

• Alturistic
• Inspiring
• Empowering
• Collaborative
• Professional

The Role 

Our facilitators are key to the success of the programme, delivering three inspiring sessions in each school through the course of the programme. They are essentially the ‘face of First Give’, and we rely on them to bring the energy and enthusiasm that makes First Give events special for schools and students.

The purpose and role of the facilitator for each of these in school sessions is outlined below.

Role of facilitator

Assembly

The students’ introduction to the First Give programme, Facilitators ensure a positive start by delivering an engaging and informative assembly to the year group which motivates and inspires students who are about to start their First Give journey. 

Presentation Skills Workshop

A two-hour presentation skills workshop which equips presenting students with the skills and confidence that they need to deliver a high standard of presentation at their First Give Final.

This workshop includes running a series of engaging activities to develop the students' presentation skills and confidence. The facilitator then works alongside the students, giving feedback and promoting discussion for how the students could create an even greater impact.

The group size can range from 30-60 students. 

First Give Final

A 3 hour event broken into two halves, the Final involves rehearsal time and co-ordinating and hosting the First Give Final, which is a celebration of the social action undertaken by the whole year group.

It is at this event that the judges decide which class wins the £1,000 First Give grant for their chosen charity, and should be a true celebration of the students’ hard work across the year group.

Ensuring that this event is a success from the perspective of students, teachers, judges and all other guests. Finals are usually large-scale events with between 150 - 300 people in the audience, depending on the size of the school. 

Pre & post event admin 

For the delivery of each session to be complete, facilitators provide prompt and detailed feedback to the First Give central team after each event via the Salesforce CRM system. All facilitators will have a First Give Twitter account for posting about the events they facilitate too. 

Person specification 

• Experience of working with young people and an understanding of safeguarding 
• Passionate about young people and their potential to drive social change; a passion for what First Give does and engaging young people in the social issues affecting their communities 
• Experience of working with large groups (c. 30+), preferably secondary age young people, in a secondary school setting 
• Very confident leader of workshops and events 
• Very strong behavioural management skills 
• Ability to respond quickly and appropriately to changing situations 
• Experience of confident and engaging public speaking and presenting 
• Ability to positively engage a wide range of stakeholders including young people, teachers, school senior leaders and guests 
• Excellent communication and organisational skills 
• Able to work flexibly including early starts and late finishes 

Application timeline:

1. Wed 21st August: candidates notified of progression to phone pre-screening
2. Fri 23rd August: pre-screening calls
3. Tues 4th September (latest): candidates notified
4. Tues 10th September: in person interviews (Leeds, UK)
5. In person facilitator training: Mon 23rd - Tues 24th September (London, UK)

How to apply

The students we work with come from a diverse range of backgrounds, and so do we. We want to ensure that we are recruiting, retaining and promoting a diverse mix of colleagues. We want to foster a diverse and inclusive culture, to empower our teams to achieve our vision drawing on the broadest possible range of experiences. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates from minoritised groups currently underrepresented on our executive team, particularly black and minority ethnic and disabled candidates.

Submit your application via our Microsoft forms application linked. We understand the form is for 'ongoing applications', but please continue with this - this is the correct form. Please note that only applications using the form can be reviewed. 

Safeguarding is paramount to what we do. As part of our safer recruitment process, all posts require satisfactory pre-employment checks including enhanced DBS clearance prior to appointment.