Skip to main content
Please wait, loading

Job summary

Main area
Paediatrics
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 5
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
432-HR809-26
Employer
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Ipswich Hospital
Town
Ipswich
Salary
£32,073 - £39,043 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
27/09/2026 23:59

Employer heading

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust logo

Youth Worker

NHS AfC: Band 5

We are one of the largest NHS organisation in England. Our scale provides exciting opportunities for development, innovation, research, education and training.

Talk to us about our range of flexible working opportunities, apprenticeships and staff benefits

Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is at the heart of all we do; and it forms part of  ESNEFT’s core activities. The Trust operates and relies on everyone treating each other with dignity and respect, to receive equitable and fair treatment in the implementation of Policies, Procedures and in its Practices, to foster positive work relationships, and finally to act with integrity as a professional within ESNEFT as well as a representative of the NHS as a whole.  The EDI Agenda reflects the Trust values such as Optimistic, Appreciative and Kind. In line with the NHS Long Term Plan, People Plan, People Promise and a Model Employer intrinsic in the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Agenda, we consistently strive to improve, to take the learning into Action for a better ESNEFT.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge then we are keen to hear from you.

 

Job overview

We are looking for an enthusiastic, compassionate and creative Youth Worker to join our Children’s Services team at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT).

This is an exciting opportunity to bring your youth work expertise into a healthcare environment and help ensure that the voices, experiences and needs of children and young people are at the heart of our services.

You will work alongside children, young people, families and our multidisciplinary teams, providing support that goes beyond clinical care. You will help young people to develop confidence, independence and self-management, while ensuring their emotional, social and developmental needs are recognised.

The role will involve building positive relationships with young people, supporting engagement with healthcare, contributing to transition, promoting participation and helping us develop services that are genuinely young-person friendly.

We are looking for someone who is approachable, resilient, creative and able to connect with young people, including those who may find healthcare environments challenging. You will be a strong advocate for young people and confident working as part of a multidisciplinary team.

This post is in Ipswich with cross cover to Colchester when needed.

Main duties of the job

  • To contribute to the development of services for young people at East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust.
  • To act as an advocate and source of support for young people within Children’s services including transition service and relevant adult services when required. Work closely with the education teams within the hospital setting and in partnership with community programmes and charities.
  • To assist with the provision of a varied programme of personal, social and educational developmental activities with due regard for the needs and opinions of young people. This will include evenings and weekends as required.
  • To contribute to the development of the team through identified project aims communicating effectively with the senior nursing team, transition and the required specialist teams.

Working for our organisation

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients’ own homes. 

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff. 

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options. 

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services. 

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.   

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what’s widely regarded as the world’s best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.    

Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description. 

Person specification

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Experience of delivering youth work practice with young people.
  • Experience of evaluating projects & monitoring outcomes.
  • Good understanding of the purpose of Youth Work.
  • Resource management.
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of working with young people with long-term health conditions and their families.
  • Experience of supervising volunteers.
  • Experience of working with young people in a healthcare/hospital setting.
  • Experience of assisting with project management.

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Youth Work Diploma or professional youth work qualification.
  • Evidence of continued professional development
Desirable criteria
  • Youth Work Degree
  • Accreditation Training

Employer certification / accreditation badges

No smoking policyMenopause Friendly EmployerPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.NHS Pastoral CareDisability confident committedStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Step into healthHappy to Talk Flexible Working

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Martina Thomas
Job title
Matron - Children's Services
Email address
[email protected]
Apply online nowAlert me to similar vacancies