Staying Close Life Skills Coordinator
Salary of £29,762 per annum
37.5 hours, Monday to Friday
Putney SW15, with travel to UK Homes and Services
Fixed Term Contract to 31st March 2026
This DfE funded role is an opportunity to work with young people across our UK homes and services. As a Staying Close Life Skills Coordinator, you will support young people in creative ways, to help them to develop the skills needed to overcome barriers and thrive in life.
About Us
Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe, loved and happy, to achieve their potential and have a bright future.
St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people and we are proud of our history for providing fostering, children's homes and a range of innovative leaving care services across the UK & Isle of Man. We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do. We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home.
We are an equal opportunity employer and keen to develop an inclusive workforce were people feel they belong. We hope to attract application from under- represented groups including people from different cultures, nationalities, socio economic backgrounds, ages, disabilities, religion, faith, sex, orientation, child care responsibilities and with gender diverse identities.
About the Role
As a Staying Close Life Skills Coordinator, you will work across our UK homes and services, delivering a programme or tailored, creative Life Skills activities. You will be responsible for creating resources and session plans to support young people’s development of crucial life skills; finding creative and innovative ways to deliver the sessions; building relationships with young people to allow the sessions to be meaningful and impactful; working with staff teams to improve their understanding of the life skills support needed by young people, and how this can be delivered; ensuring young people are aware of their own progress and that their achievements are recognised; recording the details and outcomes of your work, so that its impact can be demonstrated and learned from; listening to young people and supporting them to share their thoughts on what matters to them, and taking responsibility for ensuring the feedback of young people leads to meaningful change.
St Christopher’s Academy
At St Christopher`s we can provide more than just a care job. We can offer you a career where you can develop your skills and knowledge while making a difference to young people’s lives.
When you join St Christopher’s, we will set you up in your career with a tailored development plan. Whether you want to move across to a different service, become a Manager or just explore further your current role, we will support you to map out your career trajectory and help you achieve your professional ambitions. If you want to learn more about St Christopher’s Academy, please click here
We are proud that 84% of all our Team Leaders, Deputies and Managers are internal promotions.
Applicants should have
- Experience of delivering Life Skills work to young people
- At least one year experience working with young people
- The ability to collate data in order to monitor and evaluate outcomes
- Experience of leading and managing group activities
- Experience of using creative methods to support young people
- An understanding of the issues affecting looked after young people and care leavers
- A basic understanding of relevant legislation
- Understanding of good safeguarding practice, children’s rights, and the importance of participation
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- The ability to build honest and supportive relationships with young people and fellow professionals
- The ability to deal with sensitive issues sensitively and appropriately
- The ability to create resources across a range of areas to support learning
- Good time management and organisational skills
What you should expect from us
- Salary of £29,762 per annum
- A friendly working environment, a fun, open and honest culture.
- 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years’ service, plus Bank Holidays, pro-rata.
- Industry Leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children’s right and participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health and Social Pedagogy,
- Contributory pension scheme, Enhanced Maternity and Company Sick Scheme.
- BUPA Employee Assistance Programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
- Interest-free season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme.
- Discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK.
- Discretionary Funded Training Programs.
- Employee Awards based on performance and length of service.
- Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services
Recruitment Process
At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements.
Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification. For the full Job Description and Person Specification click here
For more information or assistance during the application process, please contact recruitment@stchris.org.uk
We advise to apply as soon as possible as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
St Christopher’s Fellowship has a minimum age requirement of 21 for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and semi-independent Homes.
It is against the law to apply for work with Children/Young People if you are barred from working in Regulated Activity and if your name is added to a Children Barred List.
All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit a Self-Declaration and Disclosure form which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked.