Young Person Adviser (YPA) - 12-month fixed-term contract

Young Person Adviser (YPA) – Leaving Care Service

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• Job title: Young Person Adviser (YPA)
• Grade: BR9
• Salary: £37,262 to £39,278
• Contract: Full-time, 12-month fixed-term contract for external applicants or 12-month secondment for internal applicants
• Working hours: 36 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9.00am–5.00pm
• Location: Bromley Civic Centre
• Working pattern: Hybrid working, with a minimum of 2 days per week office attendance
• Start date: As soon as possible, subject to completion of the required recruitment and pre-employment checks

Are you passionate about helping care-experienced young people build confident, independent and successful futures?

Are you passionate about helping care-experienced young people build confident, independent and successful futures?

We have an exciting opportunity for a Young Person Adviser (YPA) to join our Leaving Care Service, supporting care-experienced young people aged 18 to 25 as they make the important transition into adulthood.

We are looking for someone who can build positive and purposeful relationships with young people while also recognising that effective Leaving Care practice requires strong written communication, accurate recording, good organisation and effective case management.

You may already have experience within social care, youth work, housing, education or another support setting, or you may have transferable skills and experience that would enable you to develop successfully within the role.

About the role

As a YPA, you will be a consistent and trusted professional in a young person's life. Through regular visits and purposeful direct work, you will advise, befriend and assist care-experienced young people, helping them recognise their strengths, overcome barriers and work towards their aspirations.

You will work alongside young people to develop and regularly review their Pathway Plans, ensuring that their wishes, needs and aspirations remain at the centre of the support they receive. This will include support with accommodation, education, employment and training, health and emotional wellbeing, finances, relationships, support networks and developing the practical skills needed for independent adult life.

Written work, recording and administration

Relationship-based work is at the heart of the role, but applicants should also be aware that written work and administration form an important part of being a YPA.

You will be expected to:

• Complete and regularly review high-quality Pathway Plans.
• Maintain clear, accurate and timely case records.
• Record visits, significant conversations, decisions and agreed actions.
• Produce professional reports, written updates, emails and correspondence.
• Prepare information for reviews, meetings and panels.
• Confidently use electronic case-recording and other IT systems.
• Monitor actions and ensure agreed work is followed through.
• Manage appointments, correspondence and competing deadlines.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date information about the young people you support.
• Communicate professionally with young people, colleagues and partner agencies.

You will therefore need to be comfortable with writing and administrative responsibilities, have strong attention to detail and be able to organise and prioritise a varied workload.

A supportive and well-resourced service

You will join a stable and well-resourced Leaving Care Service with access to co-located professionals, including a Mental Health Practitioner, Education, Training and Employment (ETE) workers and a Financial Wellbeing Adviser.

Our active participation service also includes two youth workers and a Care Leaver Ambassador, supporting our Care Leaver Forum and providing opportunities for young people to influence and contribute to the service.

You will also have opportunities to become involved in our group work and participation programme, including:

• Supper Club
• Young Parents' Group
• Preparation for Tenancy workshops
• Care Leaver Forum
• Participation activities and events

What are we looking for?

We are looking for someone who can combine compassion and relationship-based practice with professionalism, organisation and accountability.

You should:

• Be passionate about improving outcomes for care-experienced young people.
• Be able to establish positive and respectful professional relationships.
• Have strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Be able to produce clear, concise and accurate professional records.
• Be confident using digital systems and completing administrative work.
• Be able to organise and prioritise a busy workload.
• Manage deadlines and follow through on agreed actions.
• Work effectively with colleagues and partner agencies.
• Understand the importance of confidentiality and professional boundaries.
• Be resilient, reflective, dependable and willing to learn.
• Believe in the strengths, aspirations and potential of care-experienced young people.

Develop your career with us

We are committed to supporting our staff to develop their skills and careers. YPAs have access to a strong training and development offer, providing opportunities to increase their knowledge and confidence in Leaving Care practice.

There are also opportunities for career development, including potential progression to Senior YPA and opportunities to consider social work training as part of longer-term professional development.

Could this be the role for you?

If you enjoy working directly with young people and are equally comfortable developing Pathway Plans, producing high-quality written records, coordinating actions and managing the administrative responsibilities that underpin good practice, we would love to hear from you.

Join our Leaving Care Service and play an important role in helping care-experienced young people achieve their goals and build positive futures as they move into adulthood.

Applications will be assessed based on the criteria set out in the Job Description and Person Specification, which can be found here.

If you would like to speak to the Hiring Manager about the role, please contact Albertha.Golding@bromley.gov.uk for a confidential discussion.

We are forces family friendly and are part of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme (Bronze Award). We welcome applications from ex-Armed Forces personnel, reservists, veterans, cadet instructors and military spouses/partners.

We are committed to achieving equal opportunities in employment and service delivery and as a disability confident committed employer we encourage applications from people with disabilities. As part of this commitment, we will consider reasonable adjustment to support disability employment.

We offer a generous package including competitive pay, career average pension scheme, flexible working practices and the Bromley employee benefits scheme; Cycle2Work, Salary Sacrifice Lease Car, Technology Scheme, GymFlex and a wide range of local and national discounts.

Please note that we do not accept CV submissions from permanent recruitment agencies. If you are a candidate and would like to contact the Recruitment Team regarding the application process, please email Recruitment.Team@bromley.gov.uk