Join Our Team – Youth Support Worker

Ready for a new challenge in 2026?
Do you have a passion for working with young people, helping them grow in confidence, discover their strengths, and explore new opportunities?
If so, we'd love to hear from you!

About the Role

The Barnardo's Co-op Partnership is an exciting, innovative project aiming to support over 1 million young people to build positive futures.
Our Sedgemoor for our Future service is co-designed by young people and built around a social kitchen concept. We create welcoming spaces where young people can:

• Learn to cook healthy, nutritious meals
• Share food and eat together
• Have fun through games and activities
• Explore topics that matter to them
• Build confidence, teamwork, and life skills

Session Details

• Tuesdays– Highbridge, 4:30pm–6:00pm
• Wednesdays– Bridgwater, 4:30pm–6:00pm

Applicants must be available to facilitate these two sessions, you will need to be able to design and deliver these workshops in different places and spaces to help young people develop confidence, teamwork, and skills. You will also need to attend events, find creative ways to engage young people across Sedgemoor, and evaluate sessions by recording outcomes.

Contract Hours

Hours will be between 18.5 – 25 per week (flexible, including evenings).

What We're Looking For

• Experience engaging with young people aged 10–25
• Creativity and confidence in designing inclusive group sessions and workshops
• Ability to provide emotional and practical support in line with safeguarding policies
• Flexibility to adapt to young people's needs
• Strong partnership skills to work with Co-op, Children's Services, and the community

If this sounds like a role you would be interested in please apply and if you would like more information please Contact Jess Hanson, Children's Service Manager
📱 07729 300857 | ✉️ Jessica.hanson@barnardos.org.uk

When applying, please refer to your skills and experience in relation to the Person Specification and Job Description.
Apply early – this advert may close before the stated deadline due to high interest.

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 HolidayPlus 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:22174
• Job Title:Youth Support Worker
• Location:Bridgwater
• Locality:Sedgemoor
• Contract type:Fixed term
• End date:31/03/2027
• Hours:Negotiable between 15 – 25 hours per week
• Salary:£28,124 - £37,116 FTE
• Closing Date:30 January 2026
• Interview Date:12 January 2025 (online)