For Jimmy’s head office in PLACE/Ladywell is an exciting and dynamic workplace environment, and a central hub from which we work both across the borough of Lewisham and nationally. The creativity, commitment and collaboration within the team makes working at For Jimmy an incredibly fulfilling experience, and we look forward to welcoming new team members and new skills. Any current vacancies will be listed below.

Peer Mentor

£8 per hour
Lewisham, London, Greater London

For Jimmy

Following the murder of 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen in May 2008, the Mizen family has been determined to focus on two outcomes; they will not be beaten by his death, and something good will come from it. Since the charity was founded, For Jimmy has worked tirelessly to create a legacy of peace in Jimmy’s name; inspiring and equipping others to build the safest communities for young people to grow up in.

The Safe Havens programme

We run several programmes in the borough of Lewisham to achieve our vision, one of which is the Safe Havens Programme.

Your role will be working as one of five Mentors in this programme, supporting the Programme Manager and facilitating the group of children or young people you are working with.

We run the Safe Havens programme across six weekly morning sessions in both primary and secondary schools, working with young people aged 9 - 13. Our Programme Manager delivers the programme with the support of four or five Mentors. At several points during each session, the class will break out into smaller groups and each Mentor will facilitate activities and discussion with their small group, gradually building a productive relationship over the course of the six weeks.

The programme inspires young people to reflect on their own actions towards others, taking individual responsibility, and especially focusing on expressing emotions in a healthy way. It also aims to develop understanding of difference and empathy through bringing different people together, both in the classroom and in the community. Finally, the team takes young people out to their local high street, engaging with shopkeepers to develop relationships and to sign them up as Safe Havens - spaces that young people can turn to when they feel unsafe.

Working as a Mentor you have the opportunity to speak life-changing words into the lives of some of the most vulnerable young people in London. Those that are disaffected or in danger or it, bullying others or experiencing bullying or living with abuse at home. We count it as such a privilege to do the work we do and are looking for those with a passion to walk with these young people in their journey with us.

Responsibilities and Duties

The role

In the role of Mentor in our Safe Havens Programme you will:

• Support young people through our six-session programmes in schools across the borough of Lewisham
• Manage a group of 5-7 young people between the ages of 9 and 13 (Year 5 to Year 8)
• Act as a positive role model for young people
• Facilitate discussion and provide a safe space for young people to express their emotions and opinions
• Be aware of health and safety hazards when taking young people outside of their school

Qualifications and Skills

About you

We are looking for individuals who are passionate about working with young people, and who care about making communities safer in Lewisham and Deptford.

The ability to quickly build rapport with young people and colleagues
Good communication skills and the ability to respond well to feedback
Enthusiasm, patience and resilience when working with, at times, challenging young people.

The ability to use an appropriate tone when speaking to young people, teachers, parents, members of the public and colleagues
A willingness to commit to the message of individual responsibility and connected communities that inspires For Jimmy’s work.

Employment Details

The contract is run on a programme-by-programme basis. Since each programme involves six morning sessions spread across six weeks, and is based on building progressive relationships with the young people, we ask Mentors to commit to all six sessions of each programme they sign up to.

• 1 session per week, 6 sessions in total
• Each session runs for at least 3 hours with paid hours usually from 8:45am – 12:45pm, however, due to the nature of our work these hours may vary
• Mentors must commit to completing a full programme
• Mentors are free to participate in as many programmes as they like, providing they can commit to all sessions
• Programmes are currently scheduled from September to July during school hours
• Mentors will need the flexibility to work in schools across the borough of Lewisham
• Induction, and subsequent training sessions, are usually 4-5 hours long, and are remunerated

Mentors who work beyond a certain number of hours in the year will also benefit from performance appraisals; any such supervision or debriefing sessions will also be remunerated.

Applicants will need to possess or be willing to apply for an Enhanced DBS certificate and will be required to read and adhere to our Safeguarding policy.