Voice and influence Officer - REQ001603

Job title: Voice and Influence Officer

Salary: SO2 £36,124 - £37,938

Hours: 37 (full time). Role involves working evenings and weekends)

Contract: Permanent

Location: Merrion House (office base)

As a Voice and Influence Officer you’ll thrive on championing children and young people’s right to have a say over decisions that affect their lives and services they access. You will make a difference by working in partnership with children and young people who are care experienced or in need of support from a social worker and their parents and carers to improve and develop services. You will play a key role in embedding the Child Friendly Leeds Wishes across the city.

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 a Voice and Influence Officer you will:

be experienced in working with groups of children and young people and parents and carers in a participatory way
be able to build positive relationships with children and young people through meeting their individual needs, making all engagement fun and engaging and helping develop their skills and confidence
demonstrate empathy and understanding when working with children, young people and parents and carers, listening to their experiences and challenges but also working creatively to explore their ideas and support them to communicate their views to decision makers
have excellent communication skills, demonstrated by your ability to produce communications for different audiences including reports, web and social media content
have a positive can do attitude to challenges and change and ability to enthuse and motivate others
be child centred and restorative in your approach and committed to working collaboratively with members of the team to achieve shared goals

About the role

As our next Voice and Influence Officer in the team you’ll thrive on working with children and young people in a variety of settings, planning events for and with young people and running the children in care council and care leavers council sessions online and in person. Your role will be varied, from meeting with different services across the city, working one to one with young people to hear their views, planning group activities, designing flyers to promote projects, writing risk assessments and creating social media posts. You will play a critical role in the team, responsible for devising creative engagement strategies to increase involvement and reach, but also lead on regular communication with children, young people and families and building positive relationships. This role involves a wide range of administrative tasks and so you will be organised, have attention for detail and be able to work to demanding deadlines.

The role is integral to our ambition to be a Child Friendly city, the Voice Influence and Change Team work in partnership with children young people and parents and carers across the city, supporting and enabling them to have their voices heard and influence positive change.

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 Children’s Strategy and Influence Lead Hannah Lamplugh hannah.lamplugh@leeds.gov.uk

07891279304

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s barred list will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds and the communities we serve. 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. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, 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, candidates must consider their own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker route before applying.â€¯To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the 'standard' salary rate of at least £38,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. For more information visit Skilled Worker visa on the government website. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job Purpose: To: Develop, co-ordinate and embed systems to support children young people (CYP), parents and carers involvement across Children’s Services. Promote innovative, sustainable and creative ways of involving children young people, parents and carers in the design, development and review of services, at both a local, area and citywide level. Champion and enable children, young people, parents and carers active involvement in decision making processes across Children’s and Families Services.

Responsibilities:

Champion the voices of children and young people and increase their awareness of their right to have a say in decisions that affect their lives (UNCRC Article 12)

Recruit children, young people, parents and carers to participate in the work of the Voice, Influence and Change (VIC) Team and Children and Families Directorate.

Build and retain positive relationships with children, young people and parents and carers involved in participation work with the Voice Influence and Change Team.

Develop and maintain a network of children and young people, parent and carer contacts across the city to support their inclusion in the development, delivery and evaluation of Children and Families Services.

Co-ordinate, plan and deliver projects within the Voice, Influence and Change Team with a primary focus on enabling children and young people who are looked after, care leavers or in need of support from a social worker and their parents and carers.to have a voice and influence.

Work in partnership to enable children and young people who can be seldom heard or underrepresented to have a voice and influence. This includes children and young people who live in deprived areas, are ethnically diverse, refugees and asylum seekers, young carers, LGBT+ young people.

Work directly with children and young people and parents and carers in different settings, using a variety of approaches e.g. one to one, group work, forums, focus groups, consultations, events, conferences etc.

Support and facilitate children and young people, parents and carers to plan and deliver or participate in consultations, training and events for different audiences

Undertake development initiatives to ensure the inclusion of children and young people, parents and carers from diverse cultural, ethnic and religious and socio-economic backgrounds in all service design development, commissioning and delivery within Children's and Families Services.

Actively involve children and young people in developing and producing information in different formats. Including establishing effective feedback mechanisms and communication channels e.g. social media and websites.

Support and encourage partners to share consultation findings, resources and good practice.

Work with children and young people, parents, carers and partners to develop and deliver training programs to children services workforce to ensure they are aware of key issues and policies and equipped with the skills to undertake good quality participation activities/initiatives.

Co-ordinate children and young people, parent and carer’s involvement and consultation in the commissioning and review of services / projects as required.

Work closely with the Voice and Influence Coordinator on all projects and programmes to ensure that research and analysis is evident in developing practice.

Work in partnership with other local authorities to learn about innovative approaches and further develop good practice.

Work in partnership with teams and services (within Leeds City Council, third sector organisations, health, police, universities etc.) to plan and deliver projects with children, young people, parents and carers.

Input relevant data and record and communicate the outputs and outcomes of children and young people, parent/carer involvement in service development and improvement.

Assist in the development and delivery of systems/processes to seek feedback from children, young people, and parents/carers routinely and systematically so that the views of children, young people and families requiring support demonstrably influence future provision

Deputise at meeting, forums and events for the Voice and Influence Coordinator and Voice and Influence Lead as required commensurate to the grade

Maintain effective relationships with staff at all levels within Children and Families Service, other Council Directorates, Elected Members, external agencies and the general public.

Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade

Participate in appraisal, training and development activities as necessary to ensure up to date knowledge and skills

Improve own practice through observation, evaluation, discussion with colleagues and development programmes.

To work collaboratively with colleagues, knowing when to seek help and advice.

Contribute to the overall ethos, work, and aims of the service by attending relevant meetings, training days/events as requested.

Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g. child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person

Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding and promoting the values, standards and equal opportunities of Leeds City Council.

Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment or victimisation and any form of abuse of equal opportunities, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures.

The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and this role will be expected to work within these parameters.

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 Appropriate professional qualification or equivalent experience and training.

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: It is essential that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities: Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate on the application form that they meet all the essential requirements

Method of Assessment will be through one or more of the following Application Form, Test, Interview, Young People’s Panel and Certificate

Skills Required

Able to work flexibly across different work locations and areas as appropriate.

Able and willing to work flexible working patterns to accommodate regular evenings and weekend working and travel as the job requires,

Excellent interpersonal skills; confident and charismatic with the ability to build strong relationships with children and young people, parents, carers and key individuals and organisations.

Able to communicate effectively with CYP, parents, carers and professionals

Able to work to demanding and often conflicting deadlines

Organisational and prioritisation skills

Able to use resources creatively and effectively

Presentation and writing reports for a range of different audiences.

Able to assist in the delivery of projects within tolerance of time cost and quality

Able to assist in researching tasks to support the delivery of project outcomes and benefits.

Able to promote a positive attitude to change and enthuse others

Able to work flexibly within a team to achieve goals

Able to work independently, show own initiative and as a part of a team

Skilled in the use of information technology and multimedia

Knowledge Required

Of barriers to participation experienced by looked after children and young people and how to address those barriers

Of a range of participation, consultation and engagement strategies and tools

Of safeguarding policies and procedures

Knowledge and understanding of key services working with children and families

Of the Children and Families Act 2014, Children and Social Work Act 2017, Children’s Social Care National Framework 2023 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Experience Required

Of developing and running groups with children and young people and parents/ carers.

Of direct work with children, young people and or parents and carers in a participatory way

Of direct work with children and young people and or parents and carers from diverse cultural, ethnic and religious and socio-economic backgrounds

Of measuring and demonstrating impact and outcomes of involving children and young people and or parents and carers in decision making processes

Of developing and delivering projects, training and events

Of multi-agency working

Of conflict management

Of producing engaging social media posts and content

Behavioural & other Characteristics required

Child centred approach and working restoratively

Positive attitude towards managing change and the achievement of targets

Committed to continuous improvement.

Ability to understand and observe Leeds City Council Equal Opportunities Policy.

To carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health & Safety Policies.

Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities to ensure up to date knowledge, skills and continuous professional development

Understand and embrace our values, behaviours and codes of conduct.

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS: It is desirable that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role. Candidates are not required to meet all the Desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between acceptable candidates.

Method of Assessment will be through one or more of the following Application Form, Test, Interview, Young People’s panel and Certificate

Skills Required

Working with multimedia

Planning and delivering youth voice projects and campaigns with children and young people.

Developing communications with young people e.g. films, presentations, posters etc.

Knowledge Required

Research and good practice relating to children, young people and or parent and carers having a voice and influence in children’s social work services

Of the Leeds Children and Young People’s Plan and Leeds Promise to Looked After Children and Young people.

Knowledge and understanding of Leeds ambition to be a child friendly city.

Experience Required

Of working with children and young people with SEND

Of working with children and young people who have experienced trauma / adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

Running consultations and research with children and young people and or parents and carers

Managing and delivering projects

Managing a budget

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