Children's Rights and Advocacy Worker (23766)
Wetherby
New Jobs
Permanent
£28,687 a year
- Assist children within a structured environment by addressing their needs, rights, and experiences during custody and resettlement.
- Ideal candidates should have experience in child advocacy or support, be empathetic, resilient, and able to work autonomously.
- The role is based in Wetherby, may require lone working, offers flexible hours, and is part of a dedicated advocacy team.
Barnardo's is commissioned by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to provide an Independent Children's Rights and Advocacy (ICRA) service to children. Barnardo's has held this contract across England and Wales since 2008, and in January 2019 were awarded the contract for a further 5 years.
The ICRA service is child led and independent of the secure estate; our service is delivered within Wetherby to ensure children can freely access support for a range of issues linked to their needs, rights & experiences of custody, resettlement, and safeguarding. As such this is a child-facing service, and at times involves lone working in the establishments, so we are seeking someone who can see the child, not the offence, who can hold children at the heart of all they do and be a voice for children.
The Project Worker 2 position (Children's Rights and Advocacy Worker) is based within Wetherby YOI, York Road, Wetherby, LS22 5ED (please note, the location of secure establishments may mean they are not easily accessed by public transport and may be in a remote area). The post is line managed by a Team Manager (TM) reporting to an off-site senior manager. Other than the TM who is based on-site, the wider management team are based offsite and a significant distance away from the establishment. Therefore at times, the post holder will need to be able to work autonomously, working to the requirements of the contract and the regime of the YOI. The secure estate is a highly structured environment; as a Barnardo's service working within this environment, we are delivering support whilst still having to follow and adhere to this structure. There are a considerable number of regulations which have to be followed and can at times make the function of the job challenging.
This role includes lone working in this challenging prison environment. It is therefore critical that the successful candidate in this respect is able to follow guidance and policy and is able to take a proactive and individual responsibility to understand and access the support mechanisms in place and encouraged by the service as required.
The child's voice is held front and centre of the service and their own words have been captured to describe the service here:
“You feel more confident when Barnardo's is with you.”
“They help sort issues or complaints; they help you understand your rights if you feel you ain't being treated right.”
“They will help you get your voice heard, they are a voice for young people that don't want to speak and they talk to people for us when no one is listening.”
“They help with advice on how to do things properly. They show how you can deal with things and help you get what you're entitled to.”
If you would like an informal chat about the role, please contact Lisa sale at Lisa.sale@barnardos.org.uk
When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document (if applicable). This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.
Internal secondments and part-time hours will be considered.
Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible
We appreciate our colleagues' dedication and their commitment to delivering excellence in the vital work we do, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.
We are committed to a rounded colleague experience with an approach to both pay and rewards that are fair, attractive, and progressive. This is in support of our strategic ambition to ensure Barnardo's is a place everyone can belong, grow and thrive.
The salary range advertised is in line with our pay principles, for consistency and fairness while recognising the skills and experience applicants bring to the role. Appointing salaries can be discussed further at appointment stage; we do seek to appoint within this range always exercising responsible stewardship.
Workplace Offer: What it means for you
Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.
Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)
- Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
- Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
- The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
- A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
- Service related sick pay from day 1
- Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
- Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
- Cycle2work scheme
- Interest free season ticket loans
- Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
- 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
- Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
- Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
- Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer
- T&C's apply based on contract
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Reference number:23766
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Job Title:Children's Rights and Advocacy Worker
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Location:HMPYOI Wetherby
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Contract type:Permanent
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Hours:Up to 37 hours
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Salary:£28,687 FTE
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Closing Date:18 October 2026
Benefits
Wetherby
New Jobs
Permanent
£28,687 a year