Assistant Director Activism & Advocacy

Who we are

UK Youth is a leading charity that is unlocking youth work for all young people.

We focus our efforts on 4 key areas: mental health, employability, physical literacy and outdoor learning and social action.  

We bring together young people and youth workers with business leaders, teachers, social workers, doctors, policy makers and other professionals to learn, spread effective ways to support young people, and campaign for social change.

Only by working together can we tackle the systemic problems that keep letting our young people down.

Your mission 

As UK Youth's Assistant Director of People, your mission will be to develop and deliver a progressive People strategy that enables our whole team at UK Youth to thrive.  

Key responsibilities 

• Level up our end-to-end People experience and core People infrastructure 

• Lead, coach and mentor our small but mighty People team 

• Ensure that our people-first principles are at the heart of how we work 

• Develop an inclusive culture and fully embed our values and behaviours 

• Champion change and help us level up our impact in line with our ambitious vision and core aims. 

This role could be for you if...

• You're an impact-driven senior People generalist who is comfortable balancing the tactical and strategic 

• You bring a wealth of experience in organisational development and have demonstrated success in implementing organisational change initiatives. 

• You’re an inclusive leader with experience of creating belonging and fostering equity within the workplace 

• You are forward-thinking, embracing practices that are most suitable for our unique context and team, rather than merely adhering to conventional best practices 

• You have experience partnering and coaching with senior leaders  

• You’re an experienced manager who nurtures and develops your team members to help them reach their potential 

• You are highly resourceful and can work creatively within budget `constraints 

• You have excellent employment law and HR best practice knowledge   

• You are CIPD Level 5 qualified or possess equivalent relevant experience   

Why work at UK Youth?

UK Youth wants all young people to be equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. Youth work can be life changing (and even life saving.) We have developed a strategy to unlock youth work so that every young person in the UK can benefit. We work with others to ensure that the youth sector is strengthened and that provision is youth-led, evidence-informed, and delivers high-quality outcomes.

UK Youth plays a unique role in addressing the lack of investment in the youth sector, the lack of cross-sector understanding in how youth work makes a difference, and the limited opportunities to embed effective solutions. These factors lead to mass inequality of access to youth services for young people. Come and be part of this change.

What we can offer you

We offer a competitive range of benefits, good work/life balance, excellent learning and development opportunities and vibrant organisational culture.

• Flexible/Agile Working

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time employees)

• Funded training provided in; Safeguarding, GDPR, Information and Cyber Security & Equality & Diversity

• Other training available in support of your personal and professional development

• Pension scheme (currently UK Youth match employee contributions up to 5%)

• Membership of our life insurance scheme which would pay-out up to 4 times your salary

• Employee Assistance Programme to support employees both professionally and personally

• 20% discount off bookings at Avon Tyrrell, our New Forest Outdoor Centre, including camping, lodges and outdoor activities.

• IT equipment provided for the duration of contract

• CycleScheme and TechScheme

How to apply

If you would like to be considered for this fantastic opportunity, please complete an application via our completely anonymised recruitment system provided by Applied which looks to create a fair and unbiased application process for all. 

• Closing date for applications will be 2nd June at 11:59pm (midnight)

As this role involves working in a regulated environment with young people, any offer will be conditional to satisfactory background checks, which include criminal record check and employment reference.