Are you passionate about making a difference to the lives of young people? Do you want a flexible, varied and meaningful job in a supportive team? Do you value great employee benefits such as generous holidays and an annual training budget? Apply to join us!

Bridges Project is a leading youth work charity that helps young people aged 12-25 in East Lothian and Midlothian overcome challenges and adapt to adulthood. Since 1984, we have helped young people develop their life skills, improve their educational attainment and move into employment or further education. Join our team and take pride inspiring young people!

We have a vacancy for a Support Worker to deliver a support programme to young people aged 13 – 21 from East Lothian who are experiencing a wide range of challenges including family poverty and family substance use.

The successful candidate will:

• Support young people in areas such as reducing social isolation and improving mental health
• Provide mentoring support to young people enabling them to engage in activities within their local communities

This is an exciting position in which the successful candidate will take pride in developing a programme of delivery which will improve the lives of young people in East Lothian.

It is essential that candidates have a full, clean driving licence and constant use of a car. Membership of the PVG scheme will be an essential requirement of the post. A contributory company pension scheme is offered with a 10% employer contribution.

Are you passionate about making a difference to the lives of young people? Do you want a flexible, varied and meaningful job in a supportive team? Do you value great employee benefits such as generous holidays and an annual training budget? Apply to join us!

Bridges Project is a leading youth work charity that helps young people aged 12-25 in East Lothian and Midlothian overcome challenges and adapt to adulthood. Since 1984, we have helped young people develop their life skills, improve their educational attainment and move into employment or further education. Join our team and take pride inspiring young people!

We have a vacancy for an Employability Support Worker to deliver an effective casework and group

work service to young people experiencing a range of challenges such as non-attendance at school,

low attainment, lack of confidence, poor mental health and family poverty.

The successful candidate will:

• Support young people to gain employability skills, life skills and accreditation; helping them in to work, apprenticeships, further education, training, work experience and volunteering
• Provide training to groups of young people alongside individual support to address particular barriers

This is an exciting position in which the successful candidate will take pride in developing a programme of delivery which will provide young people with clear pathways to positive destinations.

It is essential that candidates have a full, clean driving licence and constant use of a car. Membership of the PVG scheme will be an essential requirement of the post. A contributory company pension scheme is offered with a 10% employer contribution.

The Senior Development Officer will work with the Youth Work and Schools Manager to deliver YouthLink Scotland’s Scottish Attainment Challenge national programme.

As a senior member of the team, the post holder will promote, support and enhance the youth work sector’s practice and role in improving outcomes for learners impacted by poverty, both in schools and in the wider community. They will be responsible for supporting the development of quality partnerships between youth work and schools and enabling practitioners to evidence the impact of this work in addressing the poverty related attainment gap. They will also play an influencing role with stakeholders across the system.

The post holder will be expected to have a clear understanding of Scotland’s educational landscape and the range of statutory and voluntary sector organisations working with young people.

This post will be funded until the end of March 2027 in the first instance and is based at YouthLink Scotland’s offices in Edinburgh. YouthLink Scotland operates a hybrid working policy Secondments will be considered.

About the role

We are looking for a proactive and relationship-focused individual to join our team as a Volunteering and Mentoring Coordinator.

This is a varied and rewarding role at the heart of our work with children and young people. You will work as part of our mentoring team to coordinate our mentoring provision, supporting children and young people to build confidence, develop positive relationships and improve outcomes through high-quality, volunteer-led mentoring. This includes contributing to established programmes such as intandem (for care experienced young people) and Plusone (preventative and early-intervention focussed mentoring support).

Alongside mentoring, you will play a key role in supporting and developing volunteering across YMCA Edinburgh — supporting the full volunteer journey from enquiry through to onboarding and ongoing engagement, and contributing to a positive, inclusive and welcoming volunteering culture across our services.

The role offers the opportunity to work across different parts of the organisation, building strong relationships with young people, volunteers and partners, and supporting the continued development of youth volunteering opportunities. As part of a collaborative team, you will contribute to how our mentoring and volunteering work continues to evolve in response to the needs of those we connect with.

What you’ll be doing

• Coordinating volunteer-led mentoring for children and young people
• Supporting and developing volunteer mentors
• Managing volunteer processes including recruitment, onboarding and support
• Building strong relationships with young people, families and partners
• Supporting youth volunteering opportunities across services
• Maintaining records, monitoring activity and contributing to reporting
• Providing occasional direct support to young people where needed, including in situations where mentoring relationships are not in place or have broken down

About you

We’re looking for someone who:

• Has experience working with children and young people
• Can support and coordinate volunteers or groups of people
• Builds strong, trusting relationships with a wide range of people
• Is highly organised and able to manage competing priorities
• Has strong communication skills, both written and verbal
• Shares our commitment to working with integrity, inclusion, transparency and resilience

Our approach

Based in Leith, YMCA Edinburgh supports children, young people and families in the community and across the city. At YMCA Edinburgh, we take a relationship-based and participatory approach to our work. We believe in creating opportunities for young people and volunteers to shape and influence what we do, and in working collaboratively to support positive outcomes for children, young people and families. We are committed to working with integrity, inclusion, transparency and resilience in all that we do.

Additional information

• This post is subject to a PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) Scheme check.
• Appointment will be subject to satisfactory references (one of which should be from your current or most recent employer).
• Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

Equal Opportunities

An equal opportunities monitoring form is included as part of the application pack. Completion of this form is voluntary. The information is used for monitoring purposes only, is kept separate from your application, and is not shared with the recruitment panel.

Accessibility and Adjustments

We are committed to making our recruitment process accessible. If you require this information in an alternative format or need any adjustments to support you through the application or interview process, please contact jobs@ymcaedinburgh.com

Informal Enquiries

If you would like to have an informal conversation about the role before applying, please contact Mike Kerracher at mike.kerracher@ymcaedinburgh.com