Role Profile - Youth Worker - Climbing Instructor

Job title

Sessional Youth Worker -
Climbing Instructor

Salary:

Reporting to:

Sports Coordinator

Holidays:

£13.15 per hour. Saturday
evening premium is £15.12
per hour.

33 days including bank
holidays (pro-rata)

Location:

Unitas Youth Zone, 76
Montrose Avenue,
Edgware, HA8 0DT

Hours:

Up to 10 hours per week.
Evenings and weekends

Do you want to use your sport and climbing experience to enable young
people to learn new skills and access our indoor climbing wall? Do you
enjoy helping young people overcome challenges and enjoy seeing them
achieve? You will be passionate about ensuring all young people have a safe
and fun experience when accessing the climbing wall.

The Person:

Job Purpose:

Sports and outdoor pursuits, alongside the arts and youth work, are at the heart of Unitas’s offer to
young people. The sports and outdoor offer at Unitas are wide ranging and as a member of the Sports
team, you will be key in ensuring young people have access to an exciting and engaging programme
of adventurous activities that will be challenging, stimulating, fun, engaging and developmental. You
will ensure the climbing wall is well used and maintained to a high standard by offering young people
safe,  exciting,  and  challenging  routes  to  climb  in  a  friendly  and  welcoming  environment.  You  will
provide supervision and advice to young people and support and guide Unitas Youth Zone’s staff and
volunteers.

You will be involved in session delivery, planning, preparation, and work with young people closely.
You will be provided all the necessary equipment and training and will be afforded plentiful personal
development  opportunities.  You  will  be  someone  with  a  clear  ‘can  do’  approach,  committed  to  a
growth mindset, eager to learn and willing to take risks all for the benefit of supporting young people.
You will demonstrate our values through all you do and will commit to giving your best every session
for young people.

Context of the post:

Banet  Youth  Zone,  named  “Unitas”  by  local  young  people,  was  the  second  Youth  Zone  in  London
opened by the national charity, OnSide, in the summer of 2019. Unitas, like all OnSide Youth Zones,
exists to give young people, particularly those who are disadvantaged, somewhere to go, something
to  do  and  someone  to  talk  to.  Each  Youth  Zone  is open  5-7  days  a  week,  all  year  round,  with  the
purpose of supporting young people to become happy, healthy, and successful adults.

Unitas Youth Zone is centrally located, dedicated to young people, and makes a bold statement about
the importance of giving young people high quality places to go in their leisure time.  Open 6 days a

week  including  school  holidays,  the  Youth  Zone’s vision  is  to  unite  young  people  to  fulfil  their  full
potential.  The state-of-the-art £6.5 million building provides young people with access to a range of
activities, all offering young people the opportunity to try new things, meet new friends and gain new
experiences.

Duties and Responsibilities - General
  Be a role model for young people and present a positive “can do” attitude
  Take personal responsibility for own actions
  Commit to a culture of continuous improvement
  Work within the performance framework of Unitas Youth Zone and OnSide
  Represent Unitas Youth Zone positively and effectively in all dealings with internal colleagues, and

external partners

  Comply with all policies and procedures, with reference to safeguarding, codes of conduct, health

and safety and equality and diversity to ensure all activities are accessible

  To be alert to issues of safeguarding and child protection, ensuring the welfare and safety of Youth
Zone members is promoted and safeguarded, and to report any child protection concerns to the
Designated Safeguarding Leads using the safeguarding policies, procedures, and practice (training
to be provided)

  To assist with any promotional activities and visits that take place at the Youth Zone
  To  actively  promote  the  Youth  Zone  and  positively  contribute  towards  increasing  Youth  Zone

membership

  To always adhere to Unitas Youth Zone policies, with reference to Health and Safety, Safeguarding

and Equal Opportunities

  To be willing to step in and step up, and not see the below set of duties and responsibilities as

exhaustive

Duties and Responsibilities - Detailed

  Together with the Sports team, develop and implement a climbing programme and outdoor
events, ensuring we continue to develop and expand to meet the changing needs of our
members.

  The role is 100% face to face delivery with young people.
  Carry out inductions for new users and then provide supervision on the climbing wall, promoting

best practice and safe use for all young people

  To plan, coordinate and deliver a comprehensive climbing programme for young people, which

will enable them to build their confidence, social skills, and overall wellbeing

  Ensure the highest standards of health and safety are maintained in the climbing area and in
  Any outdoor adventures. Monitor wall safety practices whilst working
  Ensure that all equipment necessary for each session is fit for purpose, including ropes,

harnesses, and belays. Ensure equipment is stored correctly and securely after completion of
each session

  Carry out and log daily, weekly, and monthly checks, reporting any defects or faults to the Sports

Coordinator. Carry out remedial action where appropriate

  Assist with the route setting programme, settling routes/boulder problems as required
  Assist in the provision of risk assessments and report to the relevant Session Manager any

accident or incident that requires attention, completing accident report forms as appropriate
  To deliver accredited awards such as NICAS and encourage motivate, encourage, and support

young people to participate fully in climbing sessions

  Keep up to date on policies or procedures required for the safe operation of the climbing wall.
  Ensure the climbing area is kept clean, tidy, and clear of rubbish at all times
  To manage, support and coordinate sessional staffing requirements for outdoor adventure

activities within NGB guidelines

  To promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young people at all times. To promote
cultural cohesion and inclusion and proactively challenge any prejudice and discrimination
  To work with volunteers in sessions, coaching them to achieve their full potential within their

given roles and monitoring their ability as climbing coaches
  Any other duties as may reasonably be required by the charity.

Person Specification

Selection Criteria

Experience
Experience of working with groups of young people aged 8 to 19, or up to
aged 25 with a disability
Experience of working with young people from diverse backgrounds or
those with additional needs
Experience of Climbing Instruction/ Outdoor Adventure management
Experience of conducting climbing wall and equipment safety checks
Extensive experience of delivering outdoor adventure activities to young
people
Experience of working with/mentoring a team of volunteers
Experience of working with young people that have additional needs or
have disabilities
Experience of route setting

Experience of delivering the NICAS Award schemes
Qualifications
Climbing Wall Instructor Qualification (formally Climbing Wall Award)
(or demonstrable experience of the ability to gain this qualification
upon appointment) ** (formally Climbing Wall Award)
Single Pitch Award
First Aid qualification
Foundation coach/BMC Fundamental’s course
RSA level 2 – Route Setter
Skills
Ability to deliver high quality Climbing activities with children and young
people.
Able to work as part of a team and under own initiative
Able to manage challenging behaviour
Able to communicate effectively with young people, parents, team
members and members of the public
Ability to work reactively to situations and change the
programme/activity as needed.
Ability to engage and build positive relationships with young people,
including disengaged and disadvantaged young people

Essential or
Desirable

Essential

Essential

Essential
Essential
Essential

Essential
Desirable

Highly
Desirable
Desirable

Essential

Desirable
Essential
Desirable
Desirable

Essential

Essential
Essential
Essential

Essential

Essential

Ability to coach, encourage, motivate, and provide reliable support to
young people
Knowledge
Understand the principles of working with young people, the issues
affecting their lives and knowledge of their needs
Knowledge of health and safety and best practice in a climbing wall
environment
Sound knowledge of outdoor adventure qualifications and the quality
standards expected for the successful delivery of accredited outdoor
adventure activities
Special Requirements
A willingness to work unsociable hours
The ability and willingness to travel to events in the region and beyond
Enhanced DBS clearance and commitment to Safeguarding children

Essential

Desirable

Essential

Essential

Essential
Essential
Essential

Unitas Youth Zone are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young
people, and vulnerable groups. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. The strength of the
OnSide Network of Youth Zone is the diversity of its people, we place huge value on different people
doing things in different ways and we welcome applications from what might be considered non-
traditional backgrounds. The one thing we all have in common is our desire to raise the aspirations
of young people across the country. We are an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be
considered  for  employment  without  attention  to  race,  colour,  religion,  sex,  sexual  orientation,
gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.