Project Worker 2 - Youth Participation Worker

BARNARDO'S

28,124.46 - 37,117.07 per year

Travellers Early Years Service

Full-time

8th March 2026

Listed today

We are seeking a dedicated Project Worker 2 – Youth Participation Worker to play a key role in delivering Barnardo's Traveller Support Service for Irish Traveller families across the Greater Belfast area.

About the Service

Our work falls into the following strands:

Early Years play, learning and development sessions for parents and young children
Transition support to encourage school attendance and engagement with learning
Youth Voice project which includes Youth Group and one to one mentoring for young people
Advocacy and partnership working

About the Traveller Youth Voice Project

Our Youth Voice Project is for young people aged 12+. The focus of this project is to amplify the voices and lived experiences of Traveller young people, promote inclusion, remove barriers to accessing services and create opportunities for young people to thrive and reach their full potential. It involves:

Youth Group which takes place fortnightly during term time in a community setting
One to one mentoring which takes place weekly/ bi-weekly at young peoples' homes or in a community setting.

About the Role

The post holder will support work across all strands of the Traveller Support Service however a particular focus will be on developing and delivering the Youth Voice Project. The post holder will be required to:

Liaise with schools, community group, parents and young people to invite referrals
Respectfully engage with parents and young people from traveller families and build positive, supportive relationships
Work collaboratively with young people and parents to identify support needs and set goals.
Develop and deliver tailored one to one mentoring sessions for young people
Develop and deliver group sessions for young people that focus personal development, building skills and voice and influence
Actively support young people to express their views, identify key priorities, promote self-advocacy and participate in system change
Identify and secure a range of appropriate audiences for children and young people to communicate their views through a variety of methods
Work co-operatively with statutory and community organisations to promote inclusion and provide the most effective service for young people.
Apply safeguarding and child protection procedures

Please ensure that you outline on your application how you meet the essential criteria below:

Essential Criteria

Degree in Community Youth Work, Social Work, or Education ORsubstantial experience of aleadingrole in development and delivery of youth participation programmes for young people across the 12–18 age range
Awareness of factors and issues impacting Traveller young people and families

Demonstrable experience of leading, designing and facilitating group work programmes, with and for young people.
Demonstrable experience of working within confidentiality, GDPR, Safeguarding Policies and Procedures and promoting the welfare of children
Demonstrable experience of creating strong partnerships and use of multi‑agency working skills, with experience contributing to muti-disciplinary meetings, networks or forums

Demonstrable experience in completing written reports, collating impact reports and session recordings in English and have IT skills including the use of Microsoft Word, and Outlook
A full driving license and use of a car for business purposes. As driving is an intrinsic part of this role, applicants with a disability that prevents them from driving should be able to demonstrate an alternative means of meeting the mobility requirements of the post.

Occasional evening and weekend work will be an element of this post, and the post holder will need to demonstrate that they can meet these requirements.

Closing Date: Midnight, 8 March 2026

Interview Date: W/C 16 March 2026

Location: 230c Belmont Road, Belfast with option for hybrid working

Hours: 22.5 Term Time

Although this contract has a permanent status, please be aware that this post is subject to funding currently to 31 March 2029 and therefore should this funding not be extended further, you may be subject to a redundancy consultation or a TUPE arrangement.

Salary: £28,124.46 - £37,117.07 FTE

Contact: recruitment.support@barnardos.org.uk

The successful candidates will also be required to undertake an Enhanced Access NI with Child Barred List check.

A waiting list will be held in the event that similar vacancies arise during the next 12 months.

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 know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, 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.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours.  More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

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 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

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Reference number:22517
Job Title:Project Worker 2 - Youth Participation Worker
Location:Travellers Early Years Service
Contract type:Permanent (Fixed term funded post)
End date:31st March 2029
Hours:22.5 Term Time
Salary:£28,124.46 - £37,117.07 FTE
Closing Date:8 March 2026
Interview Date:wb 16th March 2026

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Project Worker 2 - Youth Participation Worker

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