Young Persons Worker, Ref: 0162ZS

About the Role

All applicants must submit a CV along with a cover letter explaining why they should be considered for this role. Applications will not be accepted without a cover letter.

Please note that this role may close earlier than the stated deadline if we receive a high volume of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Closing date: Friday 11th September 2026

Please find attached the Job Description

Do you have a great rapport with young people? Are you passionate about educating and supporting them to navigate their way through the many issues they face today? If so, we'd love to hear from you.

As a leading charity supporting people with drug, alcohol, and mental health challenges, we operate over 80 services across England and Scotland, providing free and confidential support to more than 100,000 people each year. Find out more about us

*Please ignore the “Faversham” reference in the advert, this is for internal purposes only.*

Job Opportunity

The Sunlight Project is a structured group work program of 8 sessions set within primary schools for children aged between 7-11 who are affected by someone else's substance use. The project aims to move any sense of blame or guilt away from the child, increase their skills of emotional regulation, provide age appropriate information, and helping them to identify support networks.

The Sunlight Project sits within WithYou in Kent for Young People, we are the commissioned provider of substance use support for young people aged between 10-25 years old.

The role will require you to facilitate small groups in primary schools with children affected by someone else's substance use. The groups will be focused around age appropriate discussions and therapeutic activities with the aim to promote self esteem and improve their emotional wellbeing. You will use outcome tools to measure any progress and liaise with schools to achieve the best outcomes for these children. This role will cover the whole of Kent, with groups running in approximately 6 schools per 2 school terms with mileage costs contributed towards by the service. Please ignore the Faversham address within this advert as this is for internal purposes only and does not reflect where the role will be based.

We welcome applicants who have experience of working with vulnerable children of this age group, particularly if you have some experience and knowledge of working with people who use substances.

This position is offered on a full time (37.5 hours), fixed term until 31/01/2029 working Monday - Friday. As a Young Person's Worker, we offer a starting salary of £26,250, rising each year in line with our pay progression salary bands, to £30,900 per year. For further details please reach out to a member of the recruitment team via recruitment@wearewithyou.org.uk.

Essential Skills

• Relevant experience in a similar role (such as working in a Health & Social Care, Criminal Justice setting) and/or clear motivations for applying
• Experience of working with children in group work settings
• Evidence of training in child protection and safeguarding
• You will be supported with case management through line management and group reflective practice sessions in addition to team meetings and practice development days.
• We are looking for applicants who have a keen interest of working with young people and are in support of delivering informed, evidence based harm reduction advice steering away from a "just say no" approach to substance use.
• We offer training to new staff and ongoing opportunities for learning and development, so if you love working with young people and are keen to become experienced and knowledgeable in the field of drug and alcohol harm reduction, this could be the role for you.
• A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes is essential.

DE&I

As an organisation, we continue to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices and experiences of our staff. We know that representing the communities we serve is key to us meeting our vision of a future where everyone lives a life free from the harm associated with drugs and alcohol. We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring and we encourage people from underrepresented communities and backgrounds to apply to join our team, including people with lived experience, people with disabilities, people from racialised communities, LGBTQ+ people, people of all ages and armed forces veterans.

As part of our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant we provide a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates that are veterans and meet all the essential criteria for a role. With You is also a Disability Confident Employer and we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with a disability and meet all the essential criteria for a role.

If you have a disability, a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or a medical condition which you believe may affect your performance during any aspect of our selection process, we’ll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to perform at your best.

Please note that you will be required to provide 3 years worth of references and where applicable, undergo an enhanced DBS check, to be considered for a role at WithYou.

Please review our

before submitting your application.

Benefits

• 28 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
• An extra day off for your birthday or a special occasion of your choice
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• 2 days paid volunteer leave per year
• Auto-enrollment into We Are With You’s pension scheme
• Access to a Blue Light Card - giving you great savings on big high-street and online brands
• Flexible working opportunities and access to a range of services and resources to support you with your wellbeing
• We have an excellent Refer a Friend scheme which offers you a £500 bonus for any recommendations, any role! Our scheme allows you to recommend your friends and family to work with us and earn a £500 bonus payment for every successful referral you make. Please note, the Refer a Friend scheme is only applicable once your recommended friend has been employed for 6 months