Development Officer

1. Children in Wales is the national umbrella body for organisations and individuals who work with children, young people and their families in Wales.
2. The purpose of the post is to contribute towards supporting care experienced young people to safely transition from care and achieve housing stability.
3. Children in Wales’ employees are automatically enrolled to the Workplace Pension Scheme.

Contract: Permanent

Hours of Work: 28 hours per week

Salary Scale: £34,000 per annum (Pro rata)

Annual Leave: 25 days per annum (Pro rata)

Method of Pay: Salaries are paid directly into staff member’s nominated bank account on the 15th of each month

Pension: Children in Wales’ employees are automatically enrolled to the Workplace Pension Scheme, but you may choose to opt out.

Place of work: Hybrid  - agile working from home or in the Cardiff Office Cardiff University Social Science Research Park (SPARK) / (Sbarc)

Maindy Road, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ

Main purpose of role:

The purpose of the post is to contribute towards supporting care experienced young people to safely transition from care and achieve housing stability. By developing and implementing a suite of resources with care experienced young people and professionals, the post holder will work to empower young people by enhancing their knowledge of their rights and entitlements when planning to leave care.

Now into its 4^rd full year, this post is one strand of the ‘Getting Ready Project’, a collaboration between Children in Wales and  Voices from Care Cymru funded by the Welsh Government. The post holder will engage with the Getting Ready Project team in Voices from Care and a range of professionals and care experienced young people across Wales. This post will contribute to the effective implementation of Children in Wales’ policy, practice and public education work in relation to issues concerning care experienced children and young people in Wales. To date, the post has been funded annually, subject to satisfactory completion of activities.

Main duties and responsibilities:

• To collaborate and work effectively with the ‘Getting Ready Project’ team to achieve the aims and  purpose of the project
• To develop and implement a suite of resources with and for care experience young people to  support their safe transition from care
• To further develop a specific resource with professionals and care experience young people to enhance young people’s financial capabilities, with clear information on entitlements, budgeting  and financial support available
• To contribute towards the delivery of workshops, group activities and training for care experienced young people on a range of skills related to topics covered in the resources
• To develop methods of ensuring that care experienced young people are able to participate and contribute to the development of the work 
• To maintain working partnerships with a broad range of organisations who provide support for care experienced young people, including local authorities, third sector organisations, advice, benefit and employment services
• To contribute to the delivery of workshops to professionals supporting young people with care experience.
• To work with Children in Wales colleagues to provide additional opportunities for care experienced young people to be involved in related engagement work
• To work with Children in Wales colleagues to contribute to the policy and influencing programme of work as it relates to issues concerning care experienced young people
• To contribute to the monitoring and reporting arrangements for the project.
• To produce briefings, reports and publicity which promotes the work of the project and shares best practice.
• To undertake appropriate administrative tasks in support of the project.
• To represent the organisation at a range of meetings and events as required
• To carry out all of the above in accordance with the aims, values and strategic objectives of Children in Wales, with particular regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and Child Protection Policies
• To participate fully in the activities of the organisation, and undertake any other tasks requested by the relevant manager and Children in Wales

This list is not exhaustive as there may be other duties and responsibilities, which Children in Wales may require the post-holder to perform from time to time in contributing to the delivery of its activities.

Personal Specification

General

This post is an exciting opportunity to contribute to improving the lived experience and wellbeing of care experienced young people in Wales as they safely transition from care and achieve housing stability. You will need to work closely with colleagues in the organisation and maintain effective working relationships with our Project partners at Voices from Care Cymru, and other relevant organisations supporting care experienced young people.

You will have the necessary passion, enthusiasm and drive, and be able to demonstrate a firm commitment to promoting children’s rights and the capacity of young people through their direct engagement as part of your work. You will need to be able to work flexibly, be an effective communicator and writer, and be able to achieve the key deliverable within the projects timescales.

 Key Requirements - Essential:

• Educated to degree level in a relevant subject.
• At least 2 years’ experience of working directly with children and young people gained in a specific setting such as in the voluntary sector, local government, youth work or social work.
• Experience and proven ability to communicate complex and detailed information effectively and in an engaging way to young people using a range of oral, written and other presentational methods
• Understanding of the issues facing care experienced children in Wales
• Demonstrable knowledge of relevant legislation, policy, research and practice in relation to care experienced young people
• Experience of multi-disciplinary working, involving both the statutory and voluntary sectors, with an ability to broker and maintain external partnerships.
• Ability to work creatively on own initiative within agreed guidelines, with good organizational skills, and be able to meet deadlines, plan and prioritise work, with good IT skills.
• Ability to establish robust monitoring arrangements, meet deadlines and experience of reporting processes
• Proven ability to work within a small team and build strong internal relationships
• Excellent interpersonal and oral skills
• Able to demonstrate knowledge of, and a commitment to the values and principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) with a determination to promote its implementation effectively.

Key Requirements - Desirable

• Ability to communicate both orally and in writing through the Welsh language
• Demonstrable knowledge of relevant Welsh legislation, policy, research and practice in relation to child poverty, financial inclusion and housing/homelessness matters
• Experience of developing and delivering training for professionals
• Experience of successfully obtaining funding from trusts, foundations or other institutions