Job description
Service: Transition2, Learning Inclusion & Skills
Location: Friar Gate Studios Skills Centre
Hours: 37 hours per week
Closing Date: 4th May 2026
Contract Type: 12 months Fixed Term Contract
Based at Transition2, Friar Gate Studios Skills Centre, the Youth Employment Mentor will work directly with Derby citizens aged 18+ with a Learning Difficulty, Learning Disability, Autism Spectrum Condition or additional need, to improve employment outcomes and build a more inclusive local workforce.
Youth Employability Mentors form the core of Flexible Support Fund (Department of Work and Pensions) delivery. Mentors will provide structured, time-limited 1-2-1 and group support with young people to improve engagement, confidence, and sustained participation in work-related activity, volunteering, and social enterprise.
This is a 12-month fixed-term position, created to support youth employability. The role offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact over a defined period, with potential for extension subject to organisational needs and funding.
If you’re passionate about supporting young adults to achieve their full potential, we’d love to hear from you.
Who We Are
Here at Derby City Council, we’re dedicated to delivering nearly 250 first-class services to citizens and businesses in the heart of the Midlands. People are at the centre of all that we do, and we have an outstanding track record of recruiting and developing talented individuals by providing them with varied and fulfilling career opportunities.
What We Offer
You too could be part of something brilliant by becoming a colleague at Derby City Council; in addition to making a difference to the lives of people across the city, you’ll also receive:
• Flexible work/life balance scheme (depending on your role)
• Modern office environment (depending on your job location)
• Continued professional development opportunities & career conversations
• 27 days annual leave (rising to 32 days after 5 years' service), plus bank holidays
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Team Derby Rewards – retail and leisure discounts
• Tusker Car Benefit Scheme
• Cycle2Work Scheme & free cycle training
• Employee Assistance Programme, Wellbeing Calendar and Support
• Access to our Equality Employee Networks – LGBTQ+, Disabled Employee Network & Carers and our Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic Employee Support Network and Neurodiversity Network
• Support for colleagues who are carers
The Opportunity
In the role of Youth Employability Mentor, here’s an example of what you’ll be doing to make an impact:
The Youth Employment Mentor will work directly with Derby citizens aged 18+ with a Learning Difficulty, Learning Disability, Autism Spectrum Condition or additional need, to improve employment outcomes and build a more inclusive local workforce.
Mentors will provide structured, time-limited 1-2-1 and group support with young people to improve engagement, confidence, and sustained participation in work-related activity, volunteering, and social enterprise
About You
To be successful in this role, you’ll ideally have…
• Qualifications to at least Level 3 in a relevant area of specialism, for example supported employment, HLTA, health and social care, careers guidance, youth work
• Demonstrable experience of supporting young people or adults with learning difficulties, learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Conditions or additional barriers to learning into employment and/or positive outcomes
• Skills in supported employment techniques such as Systematic Instruction (TSI), job coaching and job carving
• Evidenced literacy and numeracy skills (equivalent to at least GCSE A-C/NVQ Lv2)
• Strong working knowledge of local routes to employment, including the provision of Supported Internships
• Ability to develop bespoke resources for individuals with a range of abilities and support needs using, for example, Communicate in Print symbols, audio instructions or easy-read copy guidelines
• Experience of providing one-to-one support to adults with LDD/SEND and/or barriers to learning that maximises independence in the community and workplace
• Knowledge of safeguarding and risk assessment protocol and practices in relation to independent skill development for citizens with a range of additional needs
• Capacity to work securely, autonomously and with a high level of trust in circumstances where individuals, employers and/or families may be experiencing heightened anxiety levels
• Ability to contribute to or compile reports on aspects of progression, data or outcomes for a range of purposes and projects, as required or requested
• Capacity to adapt communication styles for a wide range of stakeholders, including people with a learning disability, employers, agencies, parents/carers and senior leaders
• Proven ability to manage own workload in the face of multiple priorities across varying locations and with differing stakeholders
• Consistently strong capacity to employ (in self) and encourage (in others) the use of strategies for self-regulation, demonstrating reliability, respect and dignity in situations that may be tense, volatile or rapidly changing
• Ability to negotiate and co-produce solutions with a range of individuals and to manage sensitive or challenging situations with accountability and responsibility
• Ability to work in a responsive, proactive and supportive way, often in situations involving risk factors or natural consequences such as the safe operation of equipment in the workplace
• Knowledge of the Access to Work (DWP)