Storytelling and Creative Writing Youth Facilitator

About Us:

Write Back is a registered charity which builds self-esteem among marginalised young people by helping them to tell their own stories. We foster self-respect, community and independent voices for young people through immersive and inspiring storytelling programmes.

We have been operational since September 2019 and, in early 2020, registered with the Charity Commission and recruited a board of trustees. We have operated on a mostly voluntary basis and are now able to secure a more sustainable model for the charity.

We are now looking to take on at least one storytelling facilitator who can expand our capacity by supporting delivery of our programmes.

What We Do:

We run 10-week storytelling programmes open to students aged between 13 and 16 and identified by their teachers as lacking confidence, self-esteem or a creative outlet. These young people are referred to us by schools in Barking and Dagenham, and are then enrolled in our programmes at the Future Youth Zone, an award-winning local youth centre. In each session we run confidence-building activities, engage with the writing of a young author and then develop the stories of the participating young people. The 10-week project also involves working with writers and artists and culminates with the celebration of the young people’s work including in books, local museum exhibitions and much more.

Alongside our main projects, we run a graduate scheme that offers new creative opportunities for young people who have completed a 10-week programme. We also run bespoke, one-off storytelling sessions for young people in collaboration with other partners.

Our sessions primarily run in Future Youth Zone near Becontree but we also deliver other projects across Barking and Dagenham. Typically each group contains around 14-20 young storytellers.

What We’re Looking For:

We are looking for a passionate, engaged and collaborative facilitator with experience of youth work and storytelling who can help deliver our programmes. Depending on the availability of the candidate and the delivery needs, this would look like either leading on delivery of one of our pilot projects or assisting with the Director in the delivery of our core programmes.

We are looking for people initially interested in joining us on a freelance basis or part time one day a week from January to July 2025. We anticipate that, as we grow, there are likely to be expanded opportunities after this.

Objectives of Role:

●       To co-deliver highly impactful storytelling programmes in Barking and Dagenham.

●       To ensure the safety of young people and adults working for or with Write Back.

●       To collaborate effectively with other members of our small staff and voluntary team.

●       To show every young person we work with that they have a story to tell and the power to tell it.

Key tasks:

●       To participate in the planning, delivery and evaluation of our storytelling programmes.

●       To assist young storytellers in telling and writing their stories and provide empowering and impactful feedback.

●       To shape the programmes through critical feedback.

●       To provide feedback to schools and families about the progress of young people on the programme.

Details:

●       Reporting to the Director of Programmes.

●       The start date is January 2025

●       We anticipate this opportunity running from January to July 2025 and we are hopeful that subject to funding we may be able to extend opportunities into the subsequent academic year.

Pay and Conditions:

●       £35,000 per annum on a pro rata basis.

●       We are keen to find the right candidate and are open to freelancers or part time employees on a one day a week basis.

●       Most of our programme delivery takes place after school including in the evening and some occasional work on weekends and in school holidays. We are looking for a facilitator who can be flexible where possible.

Skills and Qualifications Required:

Essential:

●       Experience running and delivering programmes for diverse groups of young people.

●       Shared beliefs in the value of every young person’s stories and experiences and experience in creating welcoming and inclusive environments.

●       Understanding of safeguarding and maintaining a safe environment for young people.

●       A reflective practitioner who is able to share and gather feedback as well as take on new ideas.

●       Experience of giving empowering feedback to young people.

●       DBS check.

Desirable:

●       Qualified Teacher Status.

●       Experience giving written feedback to young people.

●       Knowledge of our community in Barking and Dagenham.

●       Experience working in youth centres.

●       Experience within the third sector.

Interviews: w/c 25th November