Head On - Senior Youth Participation Officer

Youngminds; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 42,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Christmas and additional leave

Employer pension matched up to 5%

Parental leave and sick pay

Health and wellbeing benefits

Professional development

Job summary

YoungMinds seeks a Senior Youth Participation Officer to coordinate a nationwide youth advocacy program. You will support young people’s engagement, wellbeing and voice, ensuring co-production informs delivery and that safeguarding is embedded across all activities.

Working with partners, you will organise sessions, manage logistics, track progress and produce updates for funders, while championing inclusive, anti-oppressive practices.

Qualifications

• Experience in youth participation or co-production with young people has been demonstrated.
• Experience coordinating projects with planning, logistics and delivery to deadlines.
• Experience as main point of contact for participants, supporting accessibility and safeguarding needs.
• Experience facilitating sessions/workshops and using feedback to improve delivery.
• Ability to collaborate with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Understanding of anti-oppressive practice and supporting marginalised groups.

Responsibilities

• Lead coordination of co-production activity, plan sessions, manage venues and travel, communicate with participants.
• Act as central contact for all young people, provide support, check-ins and respond to feedback.
• Work with Safeguarding to ensure safe delivery with consents and risk assessments.
• Coordinate internal and external partners, align contributions, meet deadlines.
• Capture learning, report updates for stakeholders and funders.
• Apply feedback to improve programme.
• Act as delivery lead across the programme to ensure plans are executed.
• Maintain project documentation and records.
• Embed AJEDI best practice centering youths’ voices in delivery.
• Apply safeguarding policies and support safe working practices.
• Collaborate across teams in a matrix management structure.

Skills

Youth participation

Co-production

Engagement with young people

Safeguarding

Stakeholder collaboration

Communication

Anti-oppressive practice

Public engagement

Project coordination

Job description

YoungMinds and its coalition partners are delivering a Welcome Trust-funded program designed to support young people aged 18–25 to take part in a meaningful, skills-based journey into mental health advocacy and influencing.

Part of the Head On campaign, the program responds to the urgent need to build stronger public and political pressure for improved mental health provision, by supporting young people most affected by current narratives to engage confidently with decision-makers and wider audiences.

The program will bring young people together to co‑produce and shape a youth advocacy pathway, followed by a structured training offer and opportunities to apply their learning in practice.

Participants will explore and use a range of public engagement approaches—including media, creative campaigning and direct engagement with MPs—to design and deliver advocacy activity at constituency and national level. Through a blend of co‑production sessions, training workshops and real‑world activity, young people will develop the skills, confidence and connections needed to influence change.

The Senior Youth Participation Officer will play a key role in coordinating delivery across all phases of the program, ensuring activity is well‑organised, inclusive and rooted in strong youth participation practice. Acting as the primary point of contact for young people, you will support their engagement, wellbeing and experience, while ensuring their voices shape program development. Working closely with internal teams and partners, you will support the transition from co‑production into delivery and real‑world advocacy, helping to create a safe, empowering environment and embedding anti‑oppressive approaches throughout.

Responsibilities

• Lead the coordination of co‑production activity, including planning and organising sessions, managing logistics (venues, travel, access needs), and ensuring clear and timely participant communications.
• Act as the central point of contact for all young people involved in co‑production, providing consistent support, check‑ins and ensuring their experiences and feedback are heard and responded to.
• Work closely with the Safeguarding team to ensure that all activity is delivered safely, with appropriate processes, consents and risk assessments in place.
• Coordinate and bring together internal stakeholders and external partners, ensuring contributions are aligned, deadlines are met, and sessions are effectively planned and delivered.
• Capture learning from co‑production activity and support the development of programme updates and reporting for internal stakeholders and funders.
• Gather, synthesise and apply feedback from young people, partners and colleagues to support continuous improvement and refinement of the programme.
• Act as the activity delivery lead across the programme, ensuring plans are implemented effectively and delivery remains on track.
• Maintain clear and accurate project documentation, including plans, trackers, feedback and participant engagement records.
• Embed youth participation and AJEDI best practice, ensuring that young people’s voices, lived experience and ideas are central to programme delivery.
• Apply YoungMinds safeguarding policies and processes to support safe working practices across all activity.
• Work collaboratively within a matrix management structure, building strong relationships across teams and contributing to joined‑up delivery.

Selection Criteria

• Relevant experience of youth participation, co‑production, or engagement with young people with lived experience of ill mental health
• Experience of coordinating projects or programmes, including planning, logistics, and delivery to deadlines
• Experience of acting as a main point of contact for participants, supporting engagement and responding to accessibility, wellbeing and or safeguarding needs
• Experience of facilitating sessions, workshops or group activities and using feedback to improve session delivery
• Experience of working effectively with a range of internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders
• Understanding of youth participation and co‑production principles
• Understanding of what anti‑oppressive practice is and what role you play in supporting marginalised, minoritised and racialised people in the work you do, including challenging the systems that impact them the hardest
• Knowledge of common safeguarding practices relevant to direct work with young people

EEO / Diversity

We welcome applications from Black and Minoritised, LGBTQ+ groups and those with disabilities, as they are currently under‑represented.

Safeguarding

YoungMinds is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and we therefore expect all staff and volunteers to do the same. We ask all staff to undertake safeguarding training when they join us.

Benefits

• 25 days paid holiday entitlement (plus Bank Holidays)
• three days additional leave over Christmas and New Year
• auto‑enrolment onto pension scheme where YoungMinds will match your contribution up to five per cent
• statutory benefits such as parental leave and sick pay
• a wide range of other health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits
• a dedication to continued professional development, training and shared best practice

Salary

The salary for the role is £21,856.50 - £24,285 (£43,713 - £48, 570 FTE ).

Interview

Interviews will be held in week commencing 23 November 2026.

Application Deadline

Deadline for applications is 23:59, Sunday 8 November 2026.