Job Introduction
22.2 hours per week over 3 days
About the Play and Youth service:
The Play, Youth and Community Service (PYC) sits within Portsmouth City Council’s Housing, Neighbourhood and Buildings Directorate. Play and Youth provides six staffed adventure playgrounds and four youth clubs across the city as well as a variety of additional youth projects and provisions. We also administer the HAF programme on behalf of the Children’s, Families and Education Directorate.
Play and Youth spaces support from early childhood into adulthood, providing safe recreational spaces which are also informal educational environments, where children and young people are supported with their mental health and wellbeing. Our staff receive specialist training in safeguarding and restorative practice, and in supporting children, young people and their families.
Our service offer diversionary activities for children thereby contributing as an early intervention service, reducing anti-social behaviour, risk of harm and improving life chances. The objective of the adventure playgrounds is to offer ‘freely chosen play’ giving the child the right to engage in play and recreational activity and participate freely in cultural life.
Youth work offers young people safe spaces to explore their identity, experience decision-making, increase their confidence, develop inter-personal skills and think through the consequences of their actions. This leads to better informed choices, changes in activity and improved outcomes for young people. Please visit our website for more details on our service: PYC Portsmouth - Play Youth Community
What is the role?
This is a fantastic opportunity to be the lead officer within a locality and to directly line manage the site managers and buildings across a locality, and to provide specialist expertise in Play and Youth and lead on this across the service.
- Play – to lead on RoSPA inspections, play qualifications and to ensure a diverse programme of activities and opportunities for children, expanding on work to support families, sharing play specific knowledge across the service
- Youth – to be responsible for provision of youth facilities and projects across the service, ensure a diverse programme of activities and opportunities for children, expanding on work to support families, sharing youth specific knowledge across the service
Please see the full job profile attached at the bottom of this page for the full details of the role and what it will involve!
Who is the person?
You will be someone who:
- Has some management experience in a play or youth services position and are looking for a new challenge.
- Has a passion for providing high quality services for children and young people.
- Has a good understanding of safeguarding and how to embed safeguarding practice within a workforce.
- Understands the importance of listening to the needs of children and young people, especially in play and youth services.
- Is aware of the challenges faced by those who live within our communities and has the emotional resilience to be able to deal with the impact of being exposed to the difficult circumstances experienced by children young people and their families.
- Is able to support a workforce that shares this emotional resilience.
- Being able to remain professionally detached and focused even if the message you deliver involves saying no in difficult circumstances.
- Has experience of using initiative and judgement to problem solve and make decisions in a structured and transparent way.
- Can communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and in writing.
- Works proactively and is able to remain motivated, working on your own initiative in coordinating multiple tasks.
- Has experience working in partnership and building relationships with internal and external organisations
- Is able to manipulate and analyse data to understand the performance of the system.
- A relevant children's workforce qualification is preferred
When completing the application form, please thoroughly tailor your application to the 'Who is the Person' points with the use of examples from your experience. This is really important or you are likely not to be shortlisted. The full job profile is attached at the bottom of this page.
Interviews w/c 14th April 2025.
About Portsmouth City Council
What we can offer you:
Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act.
Read more about working at Portsmouth City Council and our benefits on our careers portal homepage: Careers Portal - Find jobs with Portsmouth City Council
Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
DBS Disclosure at Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership safer recruitment procedures.
Should you require any support in completing the application form please contact recruit@portsmouthcc.gov.uk. or call the recruitment team on 023 92 616800
