Female Mentor (care experienced young people)

Vacancy at The Way Youth Zone

Female Mentor (care experienced young people)

Salary £ £27,038 - £28,243 FTE (dependent upon experience)

On-site at The Way Youth Zone, Wolverhampton

Details

At The Way Youth Zone, we’re here for Wolverhampton’s young people - offering a safe, vibrant space where they can build friendships, get active, and discover what inspires them, shaping their own futures. Through sports, creative arts, life skills, and trusted relationships, we support young people to grow in confidence, overcome isolation, and thrive. Our team lives by our values: together, honest, energetic, welcoming, aspirational, and youth-led. Whether you're working directly with young people or behind the scenes, you’ll be part of a passionate, inclusive team that’s united by heart and proud to make a difference every day.

The Female Mentor (care experienced young people) plays a pivotal role within The Way Forward Project, a targeted initiative designed to improve outcomes for young people who are looked after or care experienced. The purpose of the role is to provide consistent, trusted, and trauma‑informed mentoring relationships that offer stability, encouragement, and belief at critical points in young people’s lives.

Embedded within our universal Youth Zone offer, the role ensures that young people in care are not separated from their peers but are actively supported to belong, participate, and thrive alongside others. Through meaningful one‑to‑one mentoring and supported engagement in group activities, the mentor helps young people explore their interests, raise aspirations, build resilience, and develop the confidence to shape their own futures.

The role creates safe, inclusive spaces where female‑identifying young people in care feel heard, valued, and empowered. Working in partnership with carers, social workers, and other professionals, the mentor complements statutory support by providing relational continuity, practical guidance, and advocacy - helping young people to reduce isolation, strengthen wellbeing, and make positive progress in education, relationships, and wider life.

Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, The Way Forward Project is a targeted mentoring initiative designed to support young people in care, and/or those who are care experienced, through consistent, meaningful relationships embedded within The Way Youth Zone’s universal youth offer. The project focuses on raising aspirations, building resilience, and increasing wraparound support for some of our most vulnerable young people; while ensuring they remain connected to positive peer groups and inclusive activities.

Through trusted mentoring relationships, young people are supported to explore their interests, set personal goals, and make progress at their own pace. By integrating mentoring into our wider youth provision, The Way Forward Project ensures that young people in care receive individualised support alongside opportunities for social connection, confidence-building, and personal development - creating the conditions for young people to feel safe, heard, and empowered to shape their own futures.

• Provide high-quality one-to-one mentoring for female-identifying care-experienced young people offering emotional support, guidance, and encouragement.
• Build strong, trusted relationships that promote self-esteem, personal development, and positive decision-making.
• Design and deliver bespoke, tailored mentoring sessions and resources to meet individual needs.
• Support young people to set and work towards personal goals linked to education, employment, wellbeing, and life skills.
• Actively integrate young people into wider Youth Zone activities to promote social connection and inclusion.
• Work collaboratively with social workers, carers, schools, and partner professionals to ensure holistic support.
• Maintain accurate records, contribute to reviews, and provide monitoring information as required.
• Uphold safeguarding responsibilities and contribute to a safe, inclusive environment for all young people.

Essential:

• Experience working with children or young people, particularly those who are vulnerable or have experienced trauma.
• Understanding of challenges faced by looked-after and/or care experienced children and female-identifying young people aged 8–19 (25 with additional needs).
• Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
• Ability to work flexibly, including four evenings per week and some daytime hours.
• Enhanced DBS Check with Barring, ideally on the update service (if you are not on the update service, the costs of the initial check will be covered The Way).

Desirable:

• Experience in mentoring, youth work, social care, or a related field.
• Knowledge of the care system and support frameworks for looked-after or previously looked-after children.
• Relevant qualification in youth work, social care, counselling, or a related discipline.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to build rapport and trusted professional relationships
• Empathy, compassion, and emotional intelligence
• Effective planning and organisation
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Reflective practice and willingness to learn
• Confident record-keeping and basic reporting skills

We define accountability as taking ownership of your responsibilities, being equipped and empowered to fulfil your role, and continuously reflecting and adapting through self-awareness to grow and support others.

In this role, success looks like:

• Young people reporting increased confidence, trust, and sense of belonging
• Positive engagement and sustained mentoring relationships with young people in care/care experienced young people
• Clear progress against individual goals and support plans
• Strong professional relationships with carers and partner agencies

You’ll be accountable for:

• Delivering consistent, high-quality mentoring sessions
• Accurate and timely recording of mentoring activity and outcomes
• Adhering to safeguarding, professional boundaries, and organisational policies
• Contributing to project outcomes for The Way Forward Project

The Way Youth Zone is committed to being an inclusive employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and communities, and we’re proud to be youth-led in everything we do.

Benefits

33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays); free gym access; subsidised on-site canteen; Employee Assistance Programme; access to bespoke training and mentoring.

Notes

Working Pattern

Monday 13:15 - 21:15
Tuesday 12:15 - 20:15
Thursday 12:15 - 20:15
Friday 13:15 - 21:15