Inclusion Officer (VCS)

Lambeth Council; London Borough of Lambeth; Hybrid; GBP 43,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Living Wage Employer

Stonewall diversity champion

Job summary

Lambeth Council is recruiting an Inclusion Officer (Voluntary and Community Sector) to join the Adolescent Early Support Team in a 12-month fixed-term secondment. The role is full-time with hybrid working and salary between £43,308 and £45,852 per year, including London Weighting.

In this role you will build partnerships with community organisations, connect young people to activities and mentoring, and promote inclusion and belonging while reducing barriers to engagement.

Qualifications

• Experience within the voluntary, community or youth sector.
• Understanding of community engagement and partnership development.
• Passion for inclusion and equity.
• Strong networking and communication skills.
• Committed to empowering young people and communities.

Responsibilities

• Develop partnerships with community organisations.
• Connect young people to positive activities, mentoring and support services.
• Promote inclusion, participation and belonging.
• Support community-based interventions.
• Strengthen pathways into local provision.
• Help reduce isolation and barriers to engagement.

Skills

Community engagement

Partnership development

Networking

Communication skills

Inclusion and equity

Job description

Inclusion Officer (Voluntary and Community Sector)

PO1: £43,308 pa rising in annual increments to £45,852 pa incl. LW

Fixed Term / Secondment Opportunity for 12 months

Full Time / Hybrid Working

Connecting Communities. Expanding Opportunities.

Located in the heart of South London, Lambeth Borough is a vibrant community of over 317,600 residents. Stretching from the dynamic neighbourhood of Streatham in the South to the iconic landmarks of Waterloo in the North, we are proud to be the 9th largest borough in London. Our diversity is our strength, with more than 130 languages spoken, making Lambeth the home of the Windrush generation, London's largest LGBTQ+ community, and a thriving Portuguese-speaking community.
It is an exciting time to join Lambeth Council, we have bold ambitions for the future of Lambeth’s communities and residents through our Lambeth 2030 Plan ‘Our Future, Our Lambeth.

With exceptional schools, lush green spaces including Brockwell Park, cultural gems like the Black Cultural Archives, and world-renowned institutions such as St Thomas's Hospital, Lambeth offers an enriching and dynamic environment.

Please have a look at our dedicated One Lambeth Values and Behaviours page.

About the Team:

Join the Adolescent Early Support Team (a 12 months pilot)

Help Us Change the Story for Adolescents

Some young people face increasing challenges long before they meet the threshold for statutory intervention.

They may be disengaging from education, experiencing family conflict, becoming vulnerable to exploitation, going missing, associating with risky peer groups, struggling with emotional wellbeing, or becoming involved in low-level offending behaviour. Too often, support comes only after risks have become entrenched.

The Adolescent Early Support Team is a prevention and engagement service for young people aged 11-18, designed to intervene at the point of emerging risk and prevent escalation into crisis or statutory services. Through assertive outreach, trusted relationships and adolescent-centred practice, we support young people to reconnect with education, strengthen family relationships and access positive pathways.

The team will operate as Lambeth's adolescent prevention, early support and engagement service, providing intensive, relationship-based support to adolescents who may not engage with traditional services. The team may offer some services out of hours and during weekends.

Our work is trauma-informed, culturally responsive, strengths-based and rooted in contextual safeguarding principles. Crucially for this team, we are also investing in a researcher role to help us understand how we shape the improvements and how we can locally arrange our adolescent services offer in ways that prevent crisis intervention.

Why Join Us?

• Help shape an innovative new service from the outset
• Work within a research-led, adolescent-focused model
• Deliver meaningful early intervention and prevention
• Be part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Influence system changes and improve outcomes for young people
• Contribute to a service that aims to reduce harm, inequality and escalation into higher-level services

The Inclusion Officer will strengthen links between the Adolescent Early Support Team and Lambeth's voluntary and community sector, ensuring young people can access meaningful opportunities and local support networks.

About the Role

You will:

• Develop partnerships with community organisations
• Connect young people to positive activities, mentoring and support services
• Promote inclusion, participation and belonging
• Support community-based interventions
• Strengthen pathways into local provision
• Help reduce isolation and barriers to engagement

About You

• Have experience within the voluntary, community or youth sector
• Understand community engagement and partnership developmentBe passionate about inclusion and equity
• Have strong networking and communication skills
• Be committed to empowering young people and communities

The Adolescent Early Support Team is more than a new service. It is an opportunity to redesign how we support young people at the point where timely intervention can make the greatest difference.

If you believe in the power of relationships, early intervention and adolescent-focused practice, we would love to hear from you.

Join us in helping young people stay safe, stay connected and realise their potential.

At Lambeth, we are dedicated to providing quality services and equal opportunities for all. We are committed to safer recruitment and are proud to be a Stonewall diversity champion, a Living Wage Employer, and to guarantee interviews for all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria of the role. For a full list of our accreditations, please click here.