M13 YEF Detached Youth Work Project Lead

Application and Selection Process

Application deadline: 12noon Thurdsay 8th October 2026

Interview Date: tbc (likely Friday 16th October 2026\)

See below for how to apply.

Job Overview

Thank you for your interest in joining M13 Youth Project.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead M13's delivery of the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) Detached Youth Work Pilot. As YEF Detached Youth Work Project Lead, you will combine outstanding detached youth work practice with day\-to\-day leadership of an ambitious programme that will help shape the future of detached youth work nationally.

You will spend much of your week building trusted relationships with young people in parks, streets and neighbourhoods, while developing strong relationships with local residents, community organisations and partner agencies across the project's neighbourhoods. Alongside this, you will lead a small team, coordinate delivery, support reflective practice, oversee monitoring and evaluation, liaise with community groups and ensure high\-quality implementation of the YEF Shared Practice Model.

If you are passionate about detached youth work, committed to social justice and excited by the opportunity to make a lasting difference to young people's lives, we'd love to hear from you.

About M13 Youth Project

M13 Youth Project exists because relationships matter.

Every young person deserves trusted adults who believe in them, walk alongside them and help them discover who they are, what they have to offer and the difference they can make. Yet, in the communities where M13 works, too many young people are growing up amidst deep\-rooted inequality. For many, trusting and supportive relationships with adults can be difficult to find, and opportunities to thrive are limited.

Our response is simple and radical: we go to where young people are.

For more than 30 years, M13 has worked alongside young people through detached youth work, meeting them on the streets, in parks and in the places where they choose to spend their time. We believe trust is built on young people's terms, not ours. Through conversation, curiosity, fun, informal education and collective action, we nurture belonging, belief and hope, creating opportunities for young people to flourish and shape their own futures.

Our purpose is to be a consistent, trusted presence in communities experiencing deep\-rooted inequality. Through relational detached youth work and purposeful informal education, we support young people to develop their voice, discover their strengths and work together to create lasting change in their communities.

Our values shape everything we do:

• We walk alongside – building trusted relationships rooted in respect, consistency and care.


• We care actively – creating welcoming, non\-judgemental spaces where young people belong.


• We nurture hope – believing in every young person's potential and holding hope through adversity.


• We give our best – striving for excellent youth work through professionalism, reflection and continuous learning.


• We speak up with courage – standing alongside young people and communities to challenge injustice and create lasting change.

About the YEF Detached Youth Work Pilot

M13 is proud to be leading the Greater Manchester consortium delivering the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) Detached Youth Work Pilot, working alongside local authorities, Greater Manchester Police, community organisations and the Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI).

The pilot is one of four regional programmes across England and aims to build the strongest evidence to date about detached youth work. Whilst detached youth work has a long history of supporting young people and communities, there is currently limited quantitative evidence of its impact. The pilot will test a Shared Practice Model and the feasibility of evaluating detached youth work through a randomised controlled trial, laying the foundations for future national research.

Detached youth work is a community\-based approach that enables qualified youth workers to engage with young people in the public spaces where they choose to spend their time. It is voluntary, relational and strengths\-based, with trust built through consistent presence, authenticity and informal education rather than programmes delivered within buildings. The Shared Practice Model places particular emphasis on working with peer groups, understanding local communities, building trust over time and responding flexibly to young people's needs and priorities.

This is an opportunity to be part of a nationally significant project that combines excellent youth work practice with robust evaluation, helping to strengthen the evidence for an approach that youth workers have long known can transform young people's lives.

Who We're Looking For

We're looking for an experienced detached youth worker who shares our belief that relationships change lives.

You'll enjoy being out in communities, meeting young people where they are and building trust through consistency, conversation and genuine care. You'll be equally comfortable modelling excellent detached youth work practice and supporting colleagues to grow through encouragement, reflection and shared learning.

You'll be organised, proactive and dependable, with the confidence to take ownership, make day\-to\-day decisions and solve problems. You'll be comfortable coordinating people, information and activity, ensuring monitoring, evaluation and reporting are accurate, timely and of a high standard. You'll recognise that good leadership means creating the conditions for others to do their best work, while maintaining high standards yourself.

You'll also be confident building positive relationships with local residents, community organisations, partner agencies and professionals, representing M13 within the Greater Manchester consortium and working collaboratively to support the successful implementation of the Shared Practice Model and the wider research requirements.

Above all, you'll share M13's values. You'll believe in every young person's potential, lead with integrity, humility and hope, and understand that the relationship is the work. You'll be excited by the opportunity to combine frontline detached youth work with leadership of an ambitious project that transforms young people's lives locally while contributing to a national evaluation of detached youth work – helping more young people and communities benefit from high\-quality relational youth work for years to come.

Job Description

Job Title: YEF Detached Youth Work Project Lead

Responsible to: Founding Director

Responsible for: Detached Youth Workers delivering the YEF Detached Youth Work Pilot

Hours: 35 hours per week (full\-time equivalent 37\.5 hours)

The role includes delivery of six neighbourhood detached youth work sessions each week (three afternoon sessions, 3\.30\-5\.30pm/4–6pm, and three evening sessions, 7\.00–9\.00pm), alongside planning, supervision, monitoring, evaluation, partnership working and operational leadership of the project. This is an office\- and community\-based role. When not delivering detached youth work or attending meetings in local neighbourhoods, the postholder will normally be based at the M13 office, working alongside colleagues to support collaborative planning, reflective practice and day\-to\-day project delivery.

Salary

JNC Scale Points 20\-21: £38,016–£38,945 FTE, Pro rata (35 hours): £35,482–£36,349

Contract: Fixed term contract to 31 March 2028\.

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Founding Director, the postholder will be responsible for the day\-to\-day leadership of M13's delivery of the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) Detached Youth Work Pilot.

The Founding Director retains overall strategic responsibility for the project and leadership of the Greater Manchester consortium. The postholder will lead M13's operational delivery of the pilot, ensuring high\-quality detached youth work, effective leadership and supervision of the detached youth work team, robust monitoring and reporting, and fidelity to the YEF Shared Practice Model and wider research requirements.

Alongside leading the operational delivery of the project, the postholder will model outstanding relational youth work practice, deliver regular detached youth work sessions, support reflective practice within the team, develop strong relationships with community partners across intervention and control neighbourhoods and ensure M13 fulfils its commitments as a consortium partner.

Key Responsibilities

1\. Deliver high\-quality detached youth work in accordance with M13's values and the YEF Shared Practice Model, building trusted relationships with young people and responding to their needs through relational practice and informal education.

2\. Lead the day\-to\-day operational delivery of M13's YEF Detached Youth Work Pilot, ensuring safe, consistent and high\-quality implementation across intervention neighbourhoods.

3\. Lead, supervise and support the detached youth work team, including planning delivery, coordinating rotas, approving annual leave, facilitating reflective practice, supporting staff development, and liaising with the Operations Manager regarding sickness absence and staffing matters.

4\. Ensure fidelity to the YEF Shared Practice Model and wider research requirements, supporting consistent delivery and helping maintain the integrity of the evaluation across intervention and control neighbourhoods.

5\. Oversee the collection, quality assurance and submission of monitoring, evaluation and reporting information required by YEF, CEI and consortium partners.

6\. Develop and maintain effective relationships with young people, local residents, community organ

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