Project Worker 1 - Outreach Worker

Barnardos; Banbridge; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A community support organization in Banbridge is looking for 3 Project Workers to support children and families with disabilities. As part of a fixed term role until March 2026, you will provide vital home and community services to enable young people to thrive. This position requires strong experience working with children, an understanding of safeguarding procedures, and a UK driving license. Competitive salary and benefits included.

Benefits

26 days annual leave

Contributory pension scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Employee assistance program

Qualifications

• Experience in a paid or voluntary capacity working with children.
• Ability to apply safeguarding and child protection procedures.
• Knowledge about disability and its effects on families.

Responsibilities

• Work with families on a one-to-one basis for positive outcomes.
• Develop knowledge of local disability services.
• Conduct assessments of needs for the families.
• Motivate and mentor families for available opportunities.
• Apply safeguarding and child protection procedures.

Skills

Experience working with children and young people

Understanding of safeguarding and child protection

Knowledge of disability impacts

Accurate recording and report writing

UK driving licence

Job description

Overview

Would you like to make a real difference to the lives of children and young people with disabilities, and their families?

We are seeking 3 Project Worker 1 - Outreach Workers to join our team. The positions are on a fixed term basis until March 2026, with possible extension.

The service, aligned to Willowgrove - short breaks residential children's home, is commissioned by Southern Health and Social Care Trust, and seeks to provide families with a short break from their caring role. The outreach workers will work in families' homes and in the community outside of school hours. The postholders will provide practical home and community-based supports to young people with learning disabilities. The service will be available to families in the SHSCT locality area.

Duties

• Working with families on a one-to-one basis to achieve positive outcomes
• Developing and maintaining a sound knowledge of local provision for disability
• Working in partnership with parents and carers to achieve better outcomes for their children
• Carrying out assessments of need and motivating and mentoring families to avail of opportunities
• Applying safeguarding and child protection procedures
• Working flexibly in line with the service requirements

You will have

• Demonstrable experience either in a paid or voluntary capacity of working with children and young people
• Understanding of and ability to apply safeguarding and child protection procedures
• Knowledge of disability and how it impacts upon children, young people and their families
• Experience of timely and accurate recording and report writing
• Full UK driving licence, business insurance and access to a car for work purposes (this criteria will be waived for candidates with a disability who can demonstrate alternative means of meeting the mobility requirements of the post)

Please ensure you reference how you meet the essential criteria detailed in the attached Additional Information Sheet in your application.

Barnardo's offers a reward package that includes a competitive salary, 26 days annual leave and 10 statutory/public holidays (pro-rata) per annum, a contributory pension scheme, an additional holiday purchase scheme and staff discounts.

Location of Service/Support Offered: Base - Willowgrove, Banbridge, working in SHSCT locality

Salary: £25,492.40 - £29,726.27 (full time equivalent)

Positions: 3 x 25 hours per week (3 evenings and 1 weekend shift with potential for flexibility outside of term time)

Contract: Fixed term 31 March 2026 (May be extended subject to funding)

Closing date: Midnight 21 September 2025

Interview: 30 September 2025 - Banbridge

Waiting List: A waiting list of applicants will be compiled for any similar posts arising in the next 12 months.

Contact Details:

The successful candidate will also be required to undertake an Enhanced Access NI with Child and Adult Barred List check.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

Our world of work and hybrid working initiative

Continued details on pay framework and benefits are provided in the Benefits section.

Benefits

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

The world of work has changed. We are understanding of what works best for our colleagues both current and future as we look to embrace this new way of working. Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or any combination of these.

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days after 3 years of service, 29 days after 5 years, and 30 days after 7 years. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including maternity, paternity and adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from high street shops via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

About Barnardo's

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We are a Disability Confident Leader, advancing anti-racism commitments, and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Basis and values

• Reference number: 21570
• Job Title: Project Worker 1 - Outreach Worker
• Location: Banbridge
• Locality: Southern Trust Area
• Contract type: Fixed term
• End date: 31/03/2026
• Hours: 25
• Salary: £25,492.40 - £29,726.27 FTE
• Closing Date: 21 September 2025