Care Experience Champion - Apprentice

Northamptonshire Children’s Trust Limited; Northampton; Hybrid; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A public service organization in Northampton is seeking a Care Experienced Champion for a two-year fixed-term apprenticeship. This role aims to empower and support care-experienced young people aged 16-25, encouraging their participation through social media and events. Ideal candidates should share their care experiences and have strong communication skills. Benefits include 28 days annual leave, Local Government Pension Scheme, and flexible family working arrangements. Join us to make a real difference in young people's lives.

Benefits

28 days annual leave plus 8 Bank Holidays

Local Government Pension Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee discounts

Flexible working arrangements

Career development opportunities

Subsidised town centre car parking

Qualifications

• Experience of the care system.
• Ability to build positive relationships.
• Commitment to confidentiality in all actions.

Responsibilities

• Engage and support young people via social media and apps.
• Plan and facilitate groups and events for participation.
• Represent care-experienced young people in meetings.

Skills

Confidence using social media

Excellent communication skills

Understanding of issues facing young people with care experience

Time management

Commitment to equality and safeguarding

Education

English and Maths at Level 2 or working towards it

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Job description

At Northampton Children’s Trust, we’re proud of the services we provide for children, young people, and their families. At the heart of our work is a passionate team committed to helping young people feel safe, healthy, happy, and ready to achieve their goals.

We have an exciting opportunity for you to join us as a Care Experienced Champion on a two-year fixed-term apprenticeship.

This role will give you the chance to gain valuable qualifications and experience that can lead to a career in youth work.

You’ll be based at Russell House in Northampton, working within our Leaving Care Team but will be required to travel to various locations within the county with some hybrid working.

What will you be doing?

In this role, you’ll play a key part in shaping services for care-experienced young people aged 16–25. You will:

• Engage and support young people through social media, apps, and other platforms.
• Plan and run groups, events, and activities, encouraging participation and co-production.
• Represent the voices of care-experienced young people in meetings and forums, including the Corporate Parenting Board.
• Maintainaccurateelectronic records,ensuringinformation is accessible to all.
• Collaborate with colleagues and external partners to improveourservices.
• Attend and contribute to multi-agency meetings, sometimesthis could beoutsideyour usualworking hours.

Your work will help us make real changes to improve outcomes for care-experienced young people.

We welcome the opportunity to speak to any interested candidates so please feel free to email: [e-mail] and they can agree a mutually agreeable time to call you.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, we encourage you to submit your application as early as possible.

About you

You’ll bring your own experience of the care system and a passion for making a difference.

• You are confident using social media and have IT skills in software like Word and Excel.
• You are an excellent communicator– you can listen, talk, and build positive relationships.
• You have an understanding of the issues facing young people with care experience.
• You are able to manage your time and priorities effectively.
• You show a commitment to equality, safeguarding, and confidentiality in everything you do.
• You have English and Maths at Level2 or you are currently working towards these qualifications.

If you’ve experienced leaving care and want to help shape services for others, we’d love to hear from you. We guarantee an interview for all care-experienced applicants.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate. It is also a regulated activity and will be subject to a Barred List check.

When applying please ensure your supporting statement covers how you fulfil the essential criteria set out in the person specification as this will be used for shortlisting. You will need to provide a full employment history including any gaps since leaving full time education.

Interviews are planned for 9/10/11 February.

We are committed to continuous improvement, building a skilled, knowledgeable, and flexible workforce alongside promoting innovation and creativity whilst keeping children, young people and families at the heart of all we do.

We really value our workforce and offer you a great benefits package including:

• 28 days annual leave, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time) and an additional 5 days, after 5 years
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health pension protection.
• Opportunity to purchase up to 25 days annual leave
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Flexible and family working arrangements including enhanced maternity benefits
• A permanent, supportive and inclusive management team where you will be empowered to make good professional decisions
• Extensive Learning & Development andcareer development opportunities
• Subsidised town centre car parking scheme

About us

At Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, children, young people and families are at the heart of all we do – in every decision we make and every action we take. Our mission is driven by the unwavering commitment to achieving the best outcomes for them. The Trust is wholly owned and funded but operationally independent from the Councils.

Our workforce are our most valuable asset and are pivotal to making the services and support we offer to children, young people and families who need us to be the absolute best we can be.

We value our colleagues and empower them to be able to do the best job of their lives every single day, working in a culture of support and kindness where achievements are celebrated and creativity is very much welcomed.

At NCT equality, diversity and inclusion are part of us and in everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and thrive in our organisation. We are a disability confident employer and have a commitment to care leavers who we guarantee an interview if they meet the essential criteria.

Join our dedicated team and be a part of an organisation where your work makes a real difference.

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