Bury Children's Rights Advocate

Bury Children’s Rights Advocate

Do you believe every child and young person deserves to be listened to, respected, and empowered to shape decisions about their lives?
Are you passionate about children’s rights, participation, and coproduction that ensures services genuinely reflect what young people say they need?

Bury Council is seeking a committed and skilled Children’s Rights Project Worker to join our Children’s Rights Service a role where you can make a real and lasting difference for children looked after, care leavers, and young people navigating support systems.

About the Role

As a Children’s Rights Project Worker, you will provide highquality, childled advocacy to children and young people who are:

• Looked After by Bury Council and care leavers
• Advocating on behalf of children and young people who are looked after and care leavers
• Representing young people’s wishes and feelings and negotiating with professionals on their behalf
• Newly becoming looked after
• Accessing the complaints process
• Participating in statutory reviews, care planning meetings or multiagency forums
• Children subject to child protection plans
• Children and families subject to the keeping families together pathway

You will ensure children and young people’s wishes and feelings are heard, represented and taken seriously, supporting them to understand their rights and express their views confidently, in line with the National Advocacy standards 2002 and the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child in particular article 12.

Your work will also include:

• Completing newly lookedafter visits
• Supervising recruiting and supporting volunteers within the Independent Visitor Scheme
• Designing and delivering training to Independent Visitors, volunteers and wider professionals
• Supporting and directing participation and coproduction projects that enable young people to influence policy, practice and service development
• Developing and promoting accessible information about advocacy and children’s rights
• Working collaboratively with social care, health, education, carers and partner agencies to embed children’s rights across Bury
• Act as a good corporate parent
• Maintaining accurate case records in line with safeguarding and confidentiality requirements

This is a varied and impactful role, blending direct advocacy, coproduction and participation, multiagency collaboration, and volunteer supervision.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for someone who is childcentred, valuesdriven, and passionate about ensuring young people’s voices are heard and acted upon.

You must have:

• A minimum of 12 months’ experience working directly with children and teenagers
• Experience working with children and young people within the last two years
• A strong understanding of the experiences of care experienced young people, care leavers and children who may need protection
• Excellent communication skills with children of all ages and abilities
• Confidence advocating within multiagency meetings and professional environments
• The ability to recognise, deescalate and manage conflict appropriately
• Strong organisational skills to manage a varied caseload and maintain accurate, timely records
• Competence and confidence using digital systems and recording tools
• The ability to build positive, trusting, purposeful relationships with young people and families
• Strong commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people
• A strong understanding of the National advocacy standards 2002 and how you can apply this in practice.
• An understanding of the Lundy model of Participation.
• Experience of managing and supervising volunteers is desirable
• Experience of delivering training
• Level 3 qualification in a relevant field (Health & Social Care, Childcare, Early Years, Youth Work, etc.) or equivalent experience
• (Desirable) A recognised advocacy qualification, or willingness to work toward one

Personal Circumstances

• Willingness to work some evenings and occasional weekends
• Mobility essential driving required unless prevented by disability (reasonable adjustments available)
• A strong commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people

Normal hours of work are 37 hours per week based around the usual business working week. Dependent on service requirements, you may be required to work evenings and ocassional weekends.