Join the team

Deadline for applications: Thurs 31st October 2024, 10am

Interviews planned: Wed 6th and Thurs 7th Nov 2024

Award-winning youth charity Mentoring Plus supports young people aged 5-25 across several projects, all with the aim of offering positive 1-1 mentoring and opportunities to young people facing challenges, helping to build confidence, self-esteem, engagement with education and improved emotional wellbeing.

Our Student & Family Support (SAFS) service is a fully funded BathNES commission supporting young people to integrate into education following low attendance, exclusion or periods outside mainstream school.

We are seeking one or more skilled and confident professionals to join the SAFS team as Practitioners, one commencing ASAP and one in January 2025.

Student & Family Support (SAFS) Mentoring Practitioner

• 37.5 hours per week, year-round or scope for termtime-plus contract (approx. 41 weeks per year)
• From £14.46 per hour dependent upon experience
• Based Bath and working across Bath & NE Somerset

As you’d expect, we look after our professionals with regular management supervision and monthly clinical supervision. We offer regular training, practice sharing and a commitment to staff wellbeing and development. Our small and friendly team comprises like-minded individuals all motivated to help young people feel safe, feel heard and feel hopeful for the future.   

This role will take you to schools across Bath & NE Somerset daily, so driving and unlimited access to a well-maintained vehicle is essential. Some home-based working is possible between visits (not 100%).  

Working within an established and supportive team and a proven delivery model, as a full-time SAFS Mentoring Practitioner you’ll be working directly with a cohort of 8-10 young people aged 5-16 and their families (each case typically up to 16 weeks) to understand and address underlying difficulties, develop resilience, offer practical help and forge supportive connections for the student within their school. 

SAFS Mentoring Practitioners make a real difference to students struggling in education and their families, helping to identify unmet needs, unlocking practical solutions and rebuilding relationships with schools, leading to greater wellbeing and positive aspirations.

You’ll need to be happy working in homes, in schools and in the community to offer time, space and guidance, as well as applying strong knowledge of safeguarding and the local support infrastructure.  

It’s fast-moving, rewarding work using awareness of emotional wellbeing and health to understand individual needs and circumstances, responding creatively and advocating for the student to be heard. You’ll need excellent relational skills and recent, relevant knowledge of school systems and safeguarding. Confident and compassionate communication will be a strength. 

Application Details:

If you would like to apply for this role, and feel you have the skills and experience we are looking for, please download the full job description / role profile and complete and return this application form.

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process based on the specific evidence you provide of the experience, skills and attributes we are seeking. Please ensure you provide this evidence and do not assume we can infer this e.g. from a previous job title.

We follow Safer Recruitment guidelines and cannot accept an application in any other format. Please do not send a CV - it will not be taken into account in your application.

Please send your completed application to natalie.bertoncello@mentoringplus.net by Thurs 31st October 2024, 10am.

Questions about this role? Please call 01225 429694 during office hours and speak to Ruth or Helen.

Mentoring Plus is committed to maximising inclusion irrespective of age, gender identity, ethnicity, background, life experiences, disabilities, learning difficulties, lifestyle, beliefs, etc, provided that individuals are able to meet the requirements of the role with appropriate support. We operate a strict equal opportunities policy for both adults and young people. Our central Bath premises have free parking and are wheelchair accessible.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Safer Recruitment procedures will be followed including an enhanced DBS check and employment references taken and verified.

Youth Club Assistant

Approx 6 hours per week in termtime, freelance (additional paid hours may also be available in school holidays)

From £12 per hour dependent upon experience, plus expenses

Mentoring Plus is an award-winning community youth charity delivering multiple support projects across Bath & NE Somerset, and we aim to be an inclusive, welcoming employer focused on supporting professional development, staff wellbeing and flexible working. We’re a small and friendly team used to pitching in to help deliver the best experience for the young people we support.

Offering accessible, supported group activities to children and young people is the ‘plus’ of Mentoring Plus. Alongside one to one mentoring with an adult, we offer regular youth club sessions where a young person feels safe and able to try new things. This helps them build confidence, forge friendships and find positive new interests and community connections.

We’re looking for a Youth Club Assistant to support our group leader to make our weekly termtime sessions (2 evenings per week, Wednesday and Thursday) fun, safe and beneficial for our young people. We also run regular school holiday activities, which can be additional hours on this contract by agreement.

On Wednesdays, we run an open-access arts-based session for 11-19 year olds. It's deliberately designed to feel calm, safe and chilled for young people who find louder settings difficult or less appealing. No driving of young people is required.

On Thursdays, we have open access youth club including sport and music, and offer car transport to our mentees who live further afield. Our assistants drive 2-3 young people to and from sessions, for which expenses are paid, so you’ll need a full driving licence and permanent access to a well-maintained car.

Transport is vital for young people to access these sessions safely from all parts of Bath & NE Somerset. It’s also an opportunity to chat supportively in the car about things which are on young people’s minds. You'll need to send a few texts on the day to confirm collection details and ensure parents are aware.

Most sessions are at Riverside Youth Hub on the eastern side of Bath (free parking provided). Sometimes it’s a special visit to a local venue, or a guest expert able to offer sports, music, arts, bushcraft and more.

With the team, you need to cope calmly and effectively with any safeguarding issues which might come your way, following our clear procedures and the careful training we'll provide. We keep staff ratios high to make this easier.

You can download a full job description / role profile here.

If you love the energy of group work, have some professional or volunteer experience in a similar field (mentoring, youth work, group work, teaching, pastoral care or similar) and want to help young people facing tougher challenges than most to benefit, please initially email a CV to inspire@mentoringplus.net. 

We’ll follow up with an initial telephone interview, but have to follow Safer Recruitment guidelines for shortlisted candidates after that, including asking them to complete a full application form.

Alternatively, you can download and complete this application form now if you prefer! Submission details are in the form.

This is an open application process and this role will be advertised until filled. Please apply ASAP to ideally start in September.

Mentoring Plus is committed to maximising inclusion irrespective of age, gender identity, heritage, ethnicity, background, life experiences, disabilities, learning difficulties, lifestyle, beliefs etc, provided that individuals are able to meet the requirements of the role with appropriate support.

We operate a strict equal opportunities policy for both adults and young people. Our central Bath premises have parking and are wheelchair accessible.

Safer Recruitment procedures will be followed including an enhanced DBS check and employment references taken and verified.

Award-winning youth charity Mentoring Plus is seeking one or more new Trustees to join its Board, in advance of existing members coming to the end of their maximum nine-year tenure.

Since 1998 Mentoring Plus has been supporting children and young people struggling with education, family and emotional wellbeing. Every week our trained volunteer mentors, skilled professionals and youth workers reach over 150 young people across our region, offering time and space to get out of the house, pursue positive interests and reflect on the issues affecting them.

Young people tell us they feel happier, safer, more able to cope in the classroom and more confident about the future. Families appreciate better home relationships and direct support with school and accessing adult services. Schools report that students engage better with education, are more resilient and enjoy improved relationships, and staff are more able to understand individual needs and work alongside families to support them.

Based in Bath and working across Bath & NE Somerset and the surrounding region, Mentoring Plus has trebled in size in the last ten years and now has 22 staff and a turnover over £800,000. It holds two local authority commissions for mentoring services and has a growing paid service project as part of a diversified funding strategy.

Mentoring Plus has the opportunity to respond to growing need and make even more difference, and also the challenge of a donor environment affected by the cost of living and competition for funds. As we drive forward, we’re looking for Trustees who feel aligned to our work and who are able to offer time, knowledge and compassionate challenge across its whole operation.

We currently seek Trustees able to offer expertise in governance and finance in advance of current Board members coming to the end of their tenure.

We would also welcome applications from individuals experienced in running a small/medium sized enterprise, ideally within the charity sector.

Minoritised and marginalised communities are currently under-represented on our Board, and we welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds to represent our diverse service users. 

Our Trustees devolve day to day management of the organisation to the executive team, but aim to offer scrutiny, insight and constructive contribution to shape strategy and respond to opportunities.

As a community charity, we rely on contacts and introductions to potential supporters, volunteers or businesses in our region and beyond, so this is a key requirement of Board members. We also ask Trustees to help with hosting events connecting with our community and raising funds from time to time.

All new Trustees have a careful induction process to ensure they feel able to access information and contribute to discussions. The Board meets for about two hours at least every two months, in person or online, and corresponds with the executive team regularly in between. Pre-agreed expenses can be claimed.

Safer Recruitment procedures will be followed including an enhanced DBS check and employment references taken and verified.

Mentoring Plus is committed to maximising inclusion irrespective of age, gender identity, sexuality, ethnicity, background, life experiences, disabilities, learning difficulties, lifestyle, beliefs etc, provided that individuals are able to meet the requirements of the role with appropriate support. We operate a strict equal opportunities policy for both adults and young people. Our central Bath premises have parking and are wheelchair accessible.

For an informal conversation about the charity and Trustee roles, please call CEO Ruth Keily on 01225 429694.

To apply, please download and read the role description here, and complete this application form. Submission details are in the form. We will continue to advertise this opportunity until the roles are filled.

Are you looking for a rewarding and fun volunteer experience? 

Join us as a Volunteer Mentor and help change the lives of young people in your community.

We train and support Volunteer Mentors and match them with a young person aged 7-25 years old who needs a positive role model - someone who will take them out each week, encourage them to explore their interests and try new activities and have lots of fun with them. 

For a child or young person struggling at home, school or in their community, spending time with their Volunteer Mentor each week can make a huge difference to their happiness and well-being. 

If you’re kind, empathetic and have 1-2 hours to spare each week we would love to hear from you.

How to find out more or apply

Everything you need to know about Volunteer Mentoring is here. 

If you would like to speak to the team to find out if this role is for you, please get in touch with our Volunteer Coordinator, Chris Hart:

Email: volunteering@mentoringplus.net 

Phone: 01225 429 694 

Our next round of free Volunteer Mentor training is on Sat 11 and Sat 20 May and we would love you to join us!