Start Date: January 2025

Salary: €19,892.60

Line Manager:  Social Innovation Manager

Duration: 12 month contract starting in January 2025 (May be extended subject to funding)

Hours: 17.5 hours per week.

Location: Remote (Head Office Dublin 9) 

               Region 1: Limerick, Clare, Galway

               Region 2: Meath, Westmeath, Offaly

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About Young Social Innovators.

Young Social Innovators is a non-profit organisation that believes in the power of youth. Its vision is to empower, equip and inspire young people to change the world for good. Through its programmes, training and events, Young Social Innovators enables young people to grapple with difficult social issues, advocating reform and advancing change. Each year, circa 15,000 young people are supported to explore social and environmental issues that concern them and come up with a variety of responses to these. In this way, Young Social Innovators builds social capital and helps young people create a fairer and more caring Ireland connecting into a wider global movement for change.

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Ignite Community Programme

The purpose of Ignite Community (IC) programme is to enable young people outside the main education system to drive and own innovations that will make a real difference in tackling inequality and creating new connections across communities in the target regions. The project is funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and will support young people to co-create solutions to social and environmental issues that impact upon them and their communities and to co-design and launch new and innovative solutions. This programme aims to replicate the significant impacts of Young Social Innovators’ social innovation education pedagogy in a whole new cohort of young people.

Purpose of Role

Ignite Community Local Leader (ICLL) will work closely with the Education and Programme team to deliver YSIs Ignite Community Programme in the target regions. The role requires a belief in the power of social innovation and a desire to facilitate opportunities for young people to develop social innovation projects in their communities. The purpose of the role will be to recruit young people to participate in and facilitate them through the Ignite Community Programme. Recruitment and delivery to target numbers will be achieved through a combination of direct engagement with young people and a train the trainer model where youth workers will be engaged, trained and supported to deliver the programme as part of their service by the ICLL. The ICLL will also build relationships with non-formal education settings, where they will support and cultivate social innovation and entrepreneurial learning opportunities for young people.  They will also build relationships with government, civil, academic and business communities in the region with the aim of developing a vibrant ecosystem where innovation can flourish.

The role requires a dynamic, driven individual with a strong commitment to making real change through youth led social innovation education. They will have experience of working in the youth/education sector with marginalised young people. 

This is a remote position with a requirement to travel to the Project Office in Dublin on occasion as well as a requirement to travel in the region to recruit young people/youth workers and deliver the programme. ___________________________________________________________________________

Duties of the Role

Programme Responsibilities (include and not limited to): 

• Recruit youth workers to deliver YSIs Ignite Community Programme in community settings engaging young people from the target regions.
• Co-facilitate training to youth workers so that they can act as YSI Guides for the Ignite Community programme and deliver the Programme in their own youth settings.
• Recruit a select number of young people from the target population & deliver the Ignite Community Programme to them. 
• Act as a point of contact for YSI Guides, offering support to ensure Ignite Community is delivered with fidelity to YSIs' Learning Framework.
• Conduct in person site visits to ensure outcomes for participants and funder are met.
• Connect groups of young people with stakeholders and mentors to ensure maximum impact of youth led social innovation projects.
• Support participants to advance through YSI offerings, including Elevate and YSI’s Social Impact Fund. 
• Build a support network for youth led social innovation across the target areas.
• Support recognition of participants in a local end of programme events.
• Write a summative report on the project, capturing pluses and deltas of recruitment, delivery, and recognition events.

Other Duties

• Ad hoc duties as required, in line with the purpose of the role. 

Person Specification

• A minimum of three years’ experience engaging or motivating young people (preferably in a youth work setting). 
• Relationship building and networking skills are essential. Experience with community groups and/or local enterprises is desirable.
• Passionate about young people’s involvement in social innovation learning and entrepreneurship.
• Strong interpersonal skills including an ability to present information, communicate clearly and facilitate information/training sessions.
• A self-starter with the ability to plan and use resources effectively to achieve specific objectives.
• Ability to plan and manage multiple project workflows and deadlines as per project requirements.
• Strong IT Skills including G Suite, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Understanding and appreciation of the not-for-profit sector context.
• Strong commitment to realising a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient world.
• Strong entrepreneurial interests and skills.
• Highly curious and creative with a growth mindset.
• Full clean drivers licence required.