Senior Support Worker Jobs

Today, 12 children and young people will be diagnosed with cancer. We’ll stop at nothing to make sure they get the right care and support at the right time.

• Salary: £34,879 FTE (London) or £32,983 FTE (outside of London)
• Hours: 28 hours per week
• Contract type: Temporary (10 months)
• Location: Home-based with regular travel to London and Bristol offices
• Closing date: 8th December 2024
• Interviews: 11th/12th December 2024

Change lives in a life-changing career

When a child or young person is diagnosed with cancer, their whole world can feel like it’s falling apart. Independence is taken and confidence is stolen. Stability no longer exists. The future suddenly feels uncertain.

The impact of cancer on young lives is more than medical. That’s why we exist. Our specialist social workers help children and young people with cancer and their families navigate the emotional and practical impact of cancer. We remove barriers, solve problems and prioritise wellbeing. And we stop at nothing to make sure they get the right care and support at the right time.

We challenge the systems and policies that surround children and young people, we highlight gaps and campaign for change. Because we know what a better future could look like. And we know what we need to do to make that future a reality. We need to push harder, reach further and work smarter. And we need the right people on our team to help us get there. People like you.

About the role

We’re looking for a Media and Communications Officer to join our Media and PR team.

As a member of the team, you'll have a fundamental role in helping us to deliver on our promise to support young people and their families to deal with the impact of cancer, both during and beyond treatment.

This role, working together with other members of the Policy, Communications and Voice directorate and the wider charity, will help us achieve this by amplifying the voices and experiences of children and young people with cancer, influencing the system to create change and raising awareness and funds.

This role is subject to a criminal record check. In the event of a successful application a basic criminal record check will be completed.

What will I be doing?

No two days are the same at Young Lives vs Cancer. So, summarising your ‘day to day’ isn’t easy. Here are some of the main things you’ll be doing, but you’ll find more details in the job description.

• Contributing to the development and delivery of the charity’s strategic media plan.
• Developing and implementing creative, effective communications plans for campaigns and projects, in-line with the charity’s overall strategic objectives.
• Writing materials for a range of on and offline channels and platforms including press releases, features, articles, opinion pieces and statements; ensuring these reflect Young Lives vs Cancer’s values and key messages.
• Developing real life stories based on the experience of children and young people, and their families, including interviewing, writing up and arranging photography and film content for use across the charity.
• Establishing quality effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders including Media and News outlets, journalists and charity partners.
• Participating in the reactive news desk rota, responding to urgent media enquiries and providing advice to staff and senior managers in order to promote and guard the charity’s reputation. This includes taking part in the out of hours rota as required
• Briefing national, regional and local media (print, broadcast and online) on Young Lives vs Cancer and its activities.

What do I need?

Diverse perspectives and unique skillsets are at the heart of Young Lives vs Cancer. If you're passionate about making a positive impact and eager to learn, we encourage you to apply, even if you don't meet the criteria and person specification fully. Your potential is what matters most to us, and we’re committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment to help you develop.

The key skills we’re looking for in this role are:

• Experience of working in a busy press office
• Experience of devising and implementing creative PR plans or campaigns
• Experience of working with case studies and developing material for media
• Excellent judgement on reputation management, issues handling and development of messaging and position statements
• Excellent media relations skills with a good news sense for selling in stories and managing reputation
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to translate complex information in clear, understandable messages
• Good political awareness, knowledge of the news agenda and an understanding of children’s cancer

What will I gain?

For people to reach their full potential, they need the right environment. As a member of Team Young Lives, you’ll be made to feel supported, valued and appreciated. Here’s how we do it:

• Flexible working: we’re open to working hours outside of 9 - 5 and we can talk through your flexibility requirements at interview stage
• Wellbeing days: four days a year to do what works for you – from catching up on training to going for a walk
• Generous annual leave allowance
• Great family/caring leave entitlements
• Enhanced pension
• Access to our employee savings scheme

To find out more about our benefits package, have a look on our website.

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

At Young Lives vs Cancer, we recognise that opportunities for too many people remain a condition of their sex, ethnicity, class, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation – or a combination. This has never been acceptable to us as an organisation. We don’t just accept difference, we value it, celebrate it, nurture it and we thrive because of it.

We’re on a journey to be reflective of the diverse children, young people and families we support. We know we aren’t there yet, and we’re passionately committed to taking actions and making changes to be a truly diverse, inclusive and equitable organisation. This includes taking anti-oppressive action and removing barriers in our recruitment practices. We particularly welcome applications from members of minoritised communities. Our Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging strategy will tell you more.

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. CVs can be uploaded, but we won't be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to fully complete the work history sections of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly and objectively.

Accessibility

We’re committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we’ll always aim to be as accommodating as possible. Please let us know in your application form of any adjustments or access requirements we could make to help you with the application process and interview.

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