Sessional Youth Worker – Music Specialist

Role Profile – Sessional Youth Worker – Music Specialist (instrument tuition,
production and/or singing)

Job title

Sessional Youth Worker –
Music Specialist

Salary:

Reporting to:

Music and Media Coordinator    Holidays:

£13.85  per  hour
Living Wage)

(London

Saturday  nights  only  -  £15.42
per hour.

days

33
holidays (pro-rata)

including

bank

Location:

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

Hours:

Between 9 and 26 hours per
week (evening, and
weekends)  *Multiple
positions available

The Person:

Do you want to use your artistic and creative talents to make the lives of young
people better?  We are looking for someone who is passionate about music
and performance and wants to share this with young people.  Are you vibrant,
creative, and committed to supporting young people and nurturing talent and
do you have a range of music skills to offer young people? Are you committed
to your own personal growth and development with a clear growth mindset? If
you  cannot  wait  to  see  young  people  perform  for  the  first  time  as  a  band,
produce their first beats or express themselves lyrically, then this may be the
role for you!

Key
Relationships:

Delivery team, Youth Work managers, External Stakeholders, Young People
and Parents

Job Purpose:
The Arts, alongside sport and Youth Work is at the heart of the Unitas offer to young people.  The Arts
offer is wide ranging and includes visual arts, music, media, dance, and drama.  As a member of Music
team, you will be part of group of youth workers who specialise in the coaching and teaching of music,
and you will be key in ensuring young people have access to an exciting and creative music programme
that will be challenging, stimulating, fun, engaging and developmental.  You will be involved in teaching
the  fundamentals  of  a  single,  or  range  of  music  activities,  enabling  young  people  to  explore  their
creativity and grow their skills.

Within the arts team we are looking for a range of talented youth arts workers to make up a team with
a diverse set of skills and expertise, who are also passionate about working with young people. Ideally,
you will have experience delivering one or more of the following music arts:

•  Teaching and playing instruments (drums, guitar, piano, DJing and more)
•  Music production
•  Vocal coaching

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 commit to always giving your best for young people.

Context of the post:

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Barnet  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 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 7 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

•  To work face-to-face with young people on session in the evenings/at the weekend (depending on

your shift pattern)

•  To support planning and reviews when necessary
•  To work directly with young people to develop their music skills
•  To deliver a mixture of one-to-one and group music sessions
•  To work with young people along the whole spectrum of competence at music – those just giving it

a go all the way to those seriously considering music as a career

•  To be committed to monitoring and evaluation of the activities that you are running so the Youth

Zone can measure the impact of our work

•  To  directly  deliver  a  high-quality  programme  of  activity  that  is  exciting,  safe,  varied,  innovative,
developmental, and directly responds to the diverse needs, concerns, and interests of the members
•  To collaborate with other youth workers on session to produce cross-departmental projects (eg with

the dance studio or the multimedia room to create shows)

•  To have great energy and establish positive relationships with young people, the wider youth work

team, and visitors to the Youth Zone

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•  To  be  comfortable  in  other  spaces  in  the  Youth  Zone  such  as  the  recreation  area  and  on  the
welcoming  team,  so  you  can  contribute  flexibly  as  per  the  needs  of  the  young  people  and  the
session

•  To respond to the needs of young people through activities in the music room
•  To support and motivate volunteers working in the music room
•  To  work  flexibly  to  ensure  the  needs  of  the  members  are  met,  including  disadvantaged  young

people and those with disabilities or additional needs

•  To ensure that the members maintain a high standard of behaviour and discipline during sessions

by making the music room a hub of activity and fun

•  To ensure the participation of young people in activities and ensure that their ideas contribute fully

in the delivery of activities in a safe way

•  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 promote and safeguard the welfare of young people
•  To enthuse others, including staff, volunteers, and young people, making the environment fun and

the place young people want to see

•  To be an active member of the team and operate in line with the values and principles of Unitas

Youth Zone

•  To carry out any other reasonable duties as requested by management

Person Specification
Selection Criteria

Essential or
Desirable

Experience
Face to face activity delivery with young people both in groups and individually  Essential
Essential
Experience of delivering a range of musical activities to young people
Essential
Experience of supporting young people who are disaffected, underachieving
and / or have social / emotional barriers to participation
Essential
Experience of working in a team and alongside volunteers
Desirable
Organising a programme of youth work activities
Experience of working with challenging young people
Desirable
Experience of working with young people with additional needs and disabilities  Desirable
Qualifications
Level 2 Youth Work qualification
Relevant music or production qualification(s)
Skills
Ability to deliver a high-quality music programme with young people who face
social exclusion, disadvantage and disaffection and manage such a group
Ability to develop good professional relationships with young people and adults  Essential
Essential
Ability to work with young people to enable the development of their social
education by providing activity programmes, services and facilities that are fun
Ability to be enthused by young people and others
Ability to coach, encourage, motivate, and provide reliable support to young
people
Ability to dynamic risk access
Ability to plan and liaise with other professional organisations
Knowledge
Understanding of issues affecting young people’s lives
Health and safety, diversity awareness and safeguarding best practice
Basic knowledge of arts pathways
Special Requirements
A willingness to work unsociable hours
Enhanced DBS clearance and a commitment to safeguarding children

Essential
Desirable
Desirable

Desirable
Essential

Essential
Essential

Essential
Essential

Essential

Desirable
Desirable

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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.

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