Overall Purpose/Aim

Part of the leadership team, this new role has been created to develop our peer mentoring scheme within The Why Not Trust. You will be responsible for leading the roll out and implementation of our peer mentoring programme including the selection & recruitment of peer mentors, their ongoing development.

Stirling with hybrid/flexible options available . Office attendance will be required for team meetings/events, some infrequent national travel will be required as the peer mentoring scheme will have national reach.

Key Responsibilities:

Development of the peer mentor scheme

• Working with the executive director and with support from the Why Not team, develop a peer mentoring scheme to support parents with care experience
• Lead on the recruitment of peer mentors
• Lead on the training of peer mentors
• Offer one to one and group support to peer mentors
• Plan and implement other support models as the numbers increase
• Work with an evaluation team to understand satisfaction and confidence of peer mentors and parents they mentor

Values / Culture creation

• Take the lead in creating a positive and productive working environment, to improve and maintain the wellbeing of peer mentors as well as the people we support.
• Provide high quality leadership, coaching, and support to all peer mentors and volunteers
• Responsible for ensuring that all peer mentors and volunteers have appropriate personal development plans (including training) and are effectively supported to achieve them by giving them clear expectations and direction
• Hold regular and effective meetings and one to one support sessions with peer mentors and volunteers and ensure that all communication channels are open
• Co-ordinate and monitor the workload of the peer mentors and ensure that, where required, information is accurately recorded.

Operational

• Devise a programme of events and activities tailored to promoting peer mentoring.
• Developing relationships with local volunteer bureaus and networks and other relevant organisations to promote our peer mentoring programme.
• Ensuring appropriate administration processes are in place and up to date to track, engage and communicate with our peers & volunteers.
• Ensure that your professional awareness of best practice is shared with all
• To assist the Executive Director in the development and maintenance of appropriate policies and procedures to ensure a high-quality provision for peer mentors.
• To ensure safeguarding processes are regularly revisited and policies consistently followed.

Networking and growth

• Attend external stakeholder meetings where required to build networks of support. To lead, facilitate and take responsibility for multiagency networking and to create and maintain positive and effective partnership development for the benefit of peer mentor.
• Build and maintain close links and good relationships with other organisations supporting the care experienced community.
• Support the executive director in new funding applications for further development of the programme
• Other responsibilities than those described above may be required to be undertaken from time to time and will be expected to be performed to as long as it is within the capability and level of the position

This is not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks and duties. As such the responsibilities, tasks and duties of the job holder may differ from those outlined above and that other duties as assigned by the line manager will be part of the job.

The Why Not? Trust for Care Experienced Young People is a charity set up to support long term connections and relationships between young people with care experience and the people who matter to them, particularly during their transition out of care and beyond. Our vision is to support every care leaver with relationships and a community that will benefit them for their future.

We have embedded our approach to continuing relationships (connections) for young care leavers within residential care services and are now looking to further develop and adapt this support to ongoing connections for those moving on from foster care.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to work alongside young people and their foster carers, and build an understanding of their needs, barriers and how best to empower them in continuing their relationships as they prepare to move on from care. You will also drive forward a sense of belonging and community for young people and their foster carers (Connectors), and work to bring them into the wider Why Not? Trust community upon leaving care, whilst enabling their own support network where they feel that they are not alone in their experiences.

An understanding of community development will be important for this role, and with it also comes the opportunity to work with and support young people who may have experienced trauma and being let down throughout their lives.

This role is currently on a fixed term basis for 12 months, however should funding allow there is scope for this to be reviewed and extended.

The Why Not? Trust for Care Experienced Young People is a charity set up to support long term connections and relationships between young people with care experience and the people who matter to them, particularly during their transition out of care.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to work directly within our community, drive forward a sense of belonging for young people and create a network for individuals where they feel that they are not alone in their experiences.

Our vision is to support every care leaver with relationships and a community that will benefit them for the long term.

For you, this means having a strong understanding of the challenges care leavers can face, as you will be directly involved in:

• Ensuring our young people and their meaningful connections are supported, enabling a smooth relational transition when leaving care
• Directly supporting young people through a tailored, person-led process to identify key Connectors
• Facilitation of one-to-one or group meetings with young people and their support network
• Organising activities and informal group events
• Working closely with frontline services to inform young people of the community network and introduce them to the Trust during their time in care

An understanding of community development will be essential for this role, but with this also comes the opportunity to work with and support many young people who may have experienced trauma and being let down throughout their lives.

This role is currently on a fixed term basis for 12 months however, should funding allow there is scope for this to be reviewed.