Job title: Engagement and Participation Officer
Salary: C3 £31,067 - £32,654
Hours: 37
Contract: Fixed term - 2 years from start date
Location: Kernel House and Merrion House
As an Engagement and Participation Officer, you’ll thrive on working collaboratively with Child Friendly Leeds ambassador organisations and social care teams.
You’ll work to improve our Foster 4 Leeds offer for looked after children, young people and foster families by creating and delivering an annual enrichment programme and working with partners across the city to secure offers such as tickets, discounts and gifts.
We are committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds and want Leeds to be a city where all children are safe, happy and healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up to be active citizens with voice and influence.
Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.
About you
As an Engagement and Participation Officer you will bring to the role:
- Experience of working directly with children, young people and families, particularly those from vulnerable and deprived backgrounds
- Enthusiasm, creativity, reliability and a restorative child-centred approach
- Outstanding verbal and written communication skills with an ability to quickly build positive working relationships with all stakeholders
- Strong organisational and planning skills, with high attention to detail and accuracy when maintaining records, databases and producing written or digital content
- An excellent track record of coordinating multi agency projects and planning and facilitating meetings, workshops and events
About the role
As our next Engagement and Participation Officer you’ll be working across the Child Friendly Leeds team and our Fostering team, devising innovative and effective ways to communicate and promote our partnership enrichment offer, consulting with children, young people and families to ensure they shape the offer and developing a range of communications to evidence the impact.
The role is integral to both teams, enabling the development of exciting new partnership projects with ambassadors and social care teams. These projects will directly support children and young people to have fun and enriching experiences and opportunities, make friends, develop new skills and interests and support their mental health and wellbeing . An example of one of our innovative partnership projects is Cooked with Love.
In this role you will support the wider work of the Child Friendly Leeds and Fostering Recruitment teams and collaborate on team events and projects, meaning your role will be varied and fun, as well as making a real difference to children and families in Leeds. Please note some evening and weekend work may be required.
What we offer you
We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:
- a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
- membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
- flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
- a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
- a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further
How to apply
Please complete the online application form.
Read our guidance for further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.
If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role, please contact
Rachel Keightley -Team Manager of Fostering Assessment, Recruitment and Enrichment Team rachel.keightley@leeds.gov.uk or Hannah Lamplugh -Strategy and Influence Lead (Child Friendly Leeds) hannah.lamplugh@leeds.gov.uk
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds. Leeds City Council is recognised in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index 2024. We are also an Age-friendly Employer, a Mindful Employer and a Disability Confident Leader.
All new Leeds City Council appointments are made subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.
This role is based in the UK. Employment is conditional on confirmation of the right to work in the UK - either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa. If you do not have the right to work in the UK and the role does not meet eligibility for sponsorship, please consider carefully whether you meet the eligibility to apply.
Job Description
Job purpose
- Take a lead role in managing, coordinating and supporting the delivery of a range of offers, activities, events and projects developed with Child Friendly Leeds Ambassadors which enrich the lives of children, young people and families from vulnerable and deprived backgrounds in Leeds.
- Working across the Fostering Team and Child Friendly Leeds Team and in partnership and wider children’s social work teams, foster and kinship carers, with a clear focus on raising participation and engagement in enrichment opportunities, projects and activities for children in care and care leavers.
- Support the Partnership Development Coordinator to develop and maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders and Child Friendly Leeds Ambassadors ensuring they are informed about the needs of care experienced children and young people, and their foster families.
- Work with and develop effective working relationships with colleagues and partners to deliver a high quality service which meets the needs of our most vulnerable families, and is outcomes focused
Responsibilities
- Work with the Partnership Development Coordinator and Child Friendly Leeds Ambassadors to negotiate an annual offer of tickets, discounts and gifting programme.
- Lead in planning and coordinating enrichment offers, activities and projects with Child Friendly Leeds Ambassadors (businesses, third sector and public sector partners).
- Work with the teams to plan and deliver ambassador events, online sessions and workshops with the aim of recruiting new ambassadors, building relationships with existing ambassadors and developing partnership offers and projects.
- Connect Ambassador organisations and help identify and develop partnership enrichment projects and programmes, that will improve outcomes for children and young people from vulnerable and deprived backgrounds.
- Effectively promote and communicate offers, activities and opportunities to looked after children and young people, foster carers and kinship carers.
- Lead on engagement and consultation with children, young people and families to develop an offer and target ambassadors based on children, young people and families priorities and feedback.
- Supervising placement students / volunteers.
- Work closely with foster families and key social care colleagues to ensure successful and safe take up of opportunities, conducting home visits with families where appropriate.
- Undertake follow up with children, young people and families focusing on identifying the qualitative impact of the projects they have been involved in and record this appropriately.
- Identify areas, from an enrichment perspective, that will enhance and help develop the local offer for looked after children, young people and care leavers and foster carers and support the recruitment and retention of carers.
- Build and maintain positive relationships with carers, social care colleagues from across the service and internal and external partners.
- Ensure effective project/event planning including post project evaluation and information gathering in order to promote sustainability.
- Maintain and update systems, records and relevant databases, delivering excellent customer service at all times.
- Attending internal and external meetings as required, ensuring strong collaborative working and representation from an enrichment and child focused perspective.
- Provide advice and guidance as required to other teams on protocols, procedures and good practice in delivering projects and activities for looked after children to ensure staff are informed and can successfully deliver productive and positive experiences for children and young people.
- The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.
Qualifications N/A
Essential requirements Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the following essential requirements.
- Ability to plan, manage and coordinate projects, activities and events to achieve desired outcomes.
- Ability to engage and communicate at all levels with children and young people, particularly those with complex needs.
- Ability to develop and maintain positive internal and external relationships with a variety of individuals, and work in a relational way.
- Ability to work under minimal supervision, to make decisions and act on own initiative.
- Able to exercise individual judgement, assess risk and consult where and when appropriate.
- Ability to prioritise and manage own workload.
- Ability to supervise other staff.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Excellent personal organisational and planning skills.
- A commitment to working flexibly as part of wider team.
- Ability to work under pressure and to strict deadlines.
- Being adaptable to changing priorities.
- High level attention to detail and accuracy when maintaining records, databases and producing written or digital content.
- Experience of and an understanding of working with children, young people and their families, particularly those from vulnerable and deprived backgrounds, such as those in foster or kinship care arrangements.
- Experience of supporting children and young people who have high level and complex needs.
- Experience of coordinating multi agency partnership projects.
- Experience of planning and facilitating meetings ,workshops and events.
- Knowledge of child protection, trauma informed practice, safeguarding processes and procedures.
- Understanding of the issues impacting engagement of children in care and care leavers and foster carers.
- Knowledge of children’s services and wider council priorities particularly those relating to looked after children and care leavers, our ambition for Leeds to be a child friendly city and Child Friendly Leeds Wishes.
Essential Behavioural & other Characteristics
- Conscientious, honest, reliable,
- Self-motivated and proactive.
- Child centred and restorative approach
- Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct
- Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
- Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
- Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health, Safety and Wellbeing
- Willingness to actively participate in appraisal, training and development activities to ensure up, to date knowledge and skills.
- Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
- Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity of Leeds City Council.
- Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person
- The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.
