Description
Salary: £26,250 per annum, pro rata
Location: Inverness-Shire
Contract/Hours: Permanent / Part Time – 22.2 hours per week - You might need to do the odd weekend or evening now and then, but you'll always get plenty of notice and we'll look to swap a day/working hours around it.
Closing date for applications is midnight of Monday 23rd February and interviews are scheduled for week commencing 2nd March
Benefits:
* 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays, with up to 5 additional days for continuous service and option to buy or sell leave
* Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities
* Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages
* Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover
* Staff discount portal and Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 national retailers discounts.
We are one of the largest children's charities in the UK and have been making a difference to the lives of the UK's vulnerable children for over 150 years.
A bit about the role
We're looking for a passionate and committed Young Person's Practitioner to join our Intandem team in Inverness, supporting children and young people who are looked after at home. Intandem is Scotland's national mentoring programme, and in the Highlands it's delivered by Action for Children. Our mission is simple but powerful: to ensure every young person has a safe, trusted adult in their corner, someone who believes in them and helps them build confidence, resilience, and hope for the future.
As a Young Person's Practitioner, you'll play a central role in making this happen. You'll work directly with children and young people aged around 8–14, getting to know their strengths, challenges, and aspirations. You'll match them with trained volunteer mentors, support the development of those relationships and help create opportunities for young people to take part in positive, meaningful activities in their community. Your work will give them the stability and encouragement they need to thrive.
You'll be part of a small, caring team who share a deep commitment to the young people we support. Together, you'll create opportunities for children to build confidence, try new things, and experience moments of joy and connection that can make all the difference. It's not about grand gestures — it's about consistency, kindness, and helping young people feel that they matter.
How you'll help to create brighter futures
Some key responsibilities for the role are;
* Support, train and develop volunteer mentors — from delivering induction training to organising ongoing learning opportunities and building relationships with partner agencies across areas such as Caithness, Brora and Tain.
* Help plan and deliver positive experiences for young people, including activity days, occasional weekend events (with notice), and our fortnightly early‑evening youth club.
* Keep young people at the centre of your work by maintaining accurate records (DCF, E‑Aspire, Mindstar) and offering short‑term support during the working day when needed.
* Work closely with your manager through weekly check‑ins and regular supervisions, using our open‑door approach to share ideas, reflect on practice and stay aligned as a team.
* Contribute to a supportive, flexible team environment — taking ownership of your duties, meeting deadlines, stepping in during staff absence, and helping promote family courses such as Decider Skills.
Let's talk about you
* An open-minded, non-judgemental personality as you will be working with people that are at a vulnerable point in their lives.
* Because the post involves travelling across Inverness and the surrounding area, it's essential that you're able to drive and feel comfortable using staff cars for work purposes.
* To guide and support less experienced staff.
* Ability to keep the child and or young people as the focus and ensure their feelings and wishes are represented in meetings and record keeping
* Ability to communicate effectively and engagingly and to maintain independent professional relationships, boundaries
Good to know
Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.
Contact: Laura McCarthy at quoting reference 12648
Diversity, equality and inclusion
At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace.
We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children.
Male staff are under-represented within our Children Service roles. We would like to encourage more male applicants for our Children Service roles.
Please click on the below links to find out more about this role and Action for Children;
Job Description
Action for Children Employee Benefits
AfC Commitment Statement
Driven By Love video
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