All jobs The deadline for applications is Sunday 8th September 2024.
Location: London preferable, but would consider other locations
Location type: Hybrid
Reporting to: Deputy Director of Programmes
Annual salary: £55K - £75K GBP, based on UK location
Contract type: Permanent, full-time role of 35 hours a week
Candidate level: Management
Background
Lumos is an international children’s charity founded in 2005 by the author J.K. Rowling to end the harmful practice of institutionalisation of children. Lumos’s mission is to fight for every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world. Our vision is for all children to grow up in safe and loving families. Our three-pronged approach is to prevent family separation, to protect children and to promote care reform.
Purpose of role
Meaningful participation of people with lived experience of the care system is central to achieving Lumos’ mission to realise every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world. The Head of Child and Youth Participation (CYP) is a key role responsible for shaping and delivering Lumos’ strategy on the safe and meaningful participation of children, young people, families and caregivers.
The Head will work across teams to ensure child and youth participation is mainstreamed throughout the organisation, strengthening Lumos’ internal capacity and approaches to meaningful participation. They will ensure that Lumos programmes demonstrate innovative and transferrable approaches to CYP and that children and young people are empowered to play a meaningful role in decisions affecting themselves and others at national, regional and global levels.
Primary responsibilities
The job holder will have the following key responsibilities:
Provide strategic leadership on participation (25%)
- Provide strategic leadership on participation by leading the development of a renewed Lumos CYP strategy and oversee its strategic implementation – working in partnership with self-advocates, CYP colleagues and other key staff including in Lumos’ country offices (currently Kenya, Colombia, Moldova and Ukraine) as well as external partners including CYP networks and associations.
- Develop annual strategic plans for CYP and ensure CYP is included and aligned across the plans, strategies, and projects of programme teams.
- Ensure that participation of children, care leavers, parents and caregivers is embedded as a crosscutting priority throughout the organisation’s work, including scoping the possibility of a CYP advisory board to sit alongside Lumos’ Board of Trustees.
- Build and strengthen CYP in country programming by leading on the development and oversight of country programme CYP strategies in line with Lumos’ 2024 - 2027 strategy, including working closely with the CYP Advisor to oversee the development and strengthening of youth advisory boards in Lumos’ programmatic countries.
- Lead on the creation and coordination of a Global Youth Advisory Board in close collaboration with the CYP Advisor and CYP Officers.
- Build and nurture relationships with relevant stakeholders in the care reform and connected sectors, to shape CYP initiatives and secure opportunities for the participation and meaningful involvement of children and young people.
- Cultivate and strengthen partnerships with existing CYP networks and alliances at all levels.
- Coordinate the planning and delivery of external and internal international child participation events and activities for self-advocacy groups, working closely with advocacy colleagues.
- Work with advocacy colleagues to ensure that children and young people are involved in regional and global campaigns, events and initiatives that inform child rights and care reform policy and programming. Advocate for and facilitate their inclusion in a meaningful, empowering and non-tokenistic manner.
- Lead the CYP team, which comprises staff across Lumos’ country offices and central function, including setting and implementing objectives, deliverables and KPIs that will motivate the team and achieve ambitious results, and monitor and track progress.
- Line manage the CYP Advisor and matrix manage the in-country CYP staff.
- Strengthen Lumos’ internal capacity and approaches to meaningful participation of children, youth, parents and caregivers.
- Coordinate and provide guidance and capacity-building to CYP staff in Lumos programme countries as they develop and strengthen their CYP work in line with Lumos’s Strategy 2024 - 2027.
- Promote opportunities for children, young people, families and caregivers to be more actively involved in all areas of Lumos’ work. For example, introducing young people to interviewing panels, and involving them in monitoring and evaluation and governance processes.
- Develop innovative grant proposals in collaboration with the fundraising team and work with teams across programmes to include CYP in their grant proposals.
- Manage CYP grants and programmes to ensure objectives are met, high quality deliverables are achieved and budgets are utilised effectively.
- Work with colleagues from the fundraising team to produce high quality reports and manage positive relationships with donors.
- Work closely with safeguarding colleagues to ensure Lumos has, and is implementing, appropriate systems to facilitate safe and ethical CYP that is compliant with Lumos safeguarding policies.
The following offers an aspirational view of our ideal candidate profile; however, we encourage applications from candidates with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, especially those from underrepresented groups.
Experience
- Minimum of 5 years in a management position, including experience in programme planning and oversight, monitoring, evaluation and learning, budgeting, and staff management.
- Experience working in an international NGO, ideally in the fields of children’s rights or child protection.
- Experience working directly with children, young people and adults with care experience in participatory policy, advocacy and programming work – ideally at an international level – and in building their capacities and promoting their empowerment and agency.
- Experience working with a range of stakeholders from different countries and backgrounds, working in a trauma-informed way, and of being inclusive of people with disabilities and ensuring that accessibility is at the forefront of project planning.
- Experience of involving children and young people in strategic processes in an organisation.
- Experience in developing successful donor proposals and in leading the implementation of donor grants.
- Experience in developing and implementing strategies across an organisation.
- Experience in leading a Child and Youth Participation team or equivalent is desirable.
- Direct care experience is desirable, or personal experience of other issues which are relevant to Lumos’ mission.
- Excellent leadership and management skills, with a demonstrated ability to lead a significant work area, and the ability to motivate and develop teams to deliver high quality and timely results.
- Excellent skills in working directly with children and young people, creating or overseeing the creation of child-friendly content, and facilitating youth involvement in projects.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and ability to collaborate and influence colleagues and stakeholders at all levels and between cultural and language barriers.
- Organisational skills to efficiently manage multiple tasks, documentation and deadlines.
- Facilitative leader, with a commitment to creating positive change for children and families.
- Passion for the Lumos mission and values, making a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable children and families. Sensitivity to issues that impact children, families and caregivers.
- Educated to degree level, equivalent in Social Work, Youth Work, or other relevant community, health, education & social care.
- Proficient with Microsoft computer applications - Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Power Point and ability to learn and master other computer technology /software programmes.
- Understanding of children’s rights, child protection and care reform.
Please note that some travel will be required for this role, particularly to Lumos’ programmatic countries, and as such the successful candidate must be willing to travel occasionally
Please contact Shoshana Grammer at shoshana@darylupsall.com for any queries you may have.
The deadline for application is Sunday 8th September 2024.
Stay updated on the latest jobs by subscribing to our Global Charity Jobs weekly bulletin and if you’re looking for a rewarding career in the non-profit sector register in our database.
Daryl Upsall International actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion. In recruiting candidates, we seek candidates with the proven skills required, irrespective of race, gender, religion or belief, age, disability or sexual orientation.