Project Co-ordinator

Candidate Pack

Candidate Pack

2

Contents

The Key – Who we are today & how we inspire young people

Past, present & future – Where it all started and where we are going

Why work for us? – Our top reasons to work for The Key

Project Coordinator vacancy

3 - 4

5

6 - 7

8 - 9

Page

Candidate Pack

3

About The Key Our Vision & Mission

The Key exists to inspire belief in young people. We want to create a world where young

people are inspired to believe in themselves and achieve their potential, no matter what their

starting point.

We support young people to believe in their ideas and take responsibility for living them, by

discovering what they are capable of and generating the drive and determination to do

something meaningful with it.

Who we are here for

The Key supports 11-25 year olds from across the North East who face challenging

circumstances. These include young people who are: living in areas of deprivation, looked

after or leaving care, young parents or carers, from a minority ethnic background, affected

by disability or mental illness, or in the criminal justice system.

The problem we are trying to solve

Social immobility is arguably the most important and challenging issue facing British society

today. Too many young people do not believe in themselves and are not achieving their

potential. On an individual level, this is caused by the fact that many young people lack

opportunities to be inspired, to develop their autonomy, to build supportive relationships

and to acquire life skills. Consequently, these young people often develop fixed mindsets and

poor emotional wellbeing, and many disengage from their communities and wider society.

How we’re trying to solve it

Candidate Pack

4

Practically, we provide young people with the opportunity to engage in our tried and tested,

youth-led, skills development framework. This is designed to meet the three psychological

needs posed by Self-Determination Theory (Autonomy, Relatedness and Competence) and

inspire them into action. The framework enables them to progress towards a growth mindset

and positive emotional wellbeing as well as engaging in their community and wider society.

The Key Framework

The Key Framework is simple, but highly

effective. Young people work together in

small teams with the support of a trained

Key Facilitator. Using their individuality,

curiosity and imaginations, they think, plan,

budget, pitch (to a panel), do and review

their very own project ideas.

We do not prescribe to young people what

they can do but rather let them take the

ownership and explore their passions on

their own terms. This level of autonomy

can be life changing for our young people.

It gives them a sense of control and

ownership previously beyond their reach.

The projects that young people plan may be ambitious (planning a community-wide oriental

festival) or simple (organising a youth club trip to Beamish). Either way the projects must

present group members with a stretching challenge and the opportunity to build twelve vital

personal and social skills. Groups can repeat the cycle up to 4 times as long as they can

evidence incremental challenge and personal growth.

The Key Framework is currently delivered through a network of nearly 120 diverse member

organisations across the North East. We train their volunteers and staff members as Key

Facilitators, who then use The Key Framework to add value to their work and increase their

impact.

Whilst our delivery model has evolved and improved over time, we are proud to have always

kept the core Key Framework at the very heart of our work with young people. Over the past

five years 10,141 young people from the North East region have benefitted from completing

The Key Framework.

Candidate Pack

5

Past, Present & Future

Where it all started

The Key Framework began life in the late 1980s when an ambitious group of young people

and detached youth workers from Newcastle, Durham, Sunderland and Northumberland

collaborated with social research academics from Northumbria University. Together they

invented The Key Framework. Since then, it has been delivered as a kind of movement and

youth-led philosophy across the North East region by a huge range of professionals and

volunteers working with young people, who are facing difficult circumstances.

Where we are going

The Key is proud of its achievements in the North East, and young people tell us that they

want access to opportunities, like The Key Framework, that they can truly make their own.

We are an ambitious organisation and are passionate about expanding our reach and

deepening our impact with targeted groups of beneficiaries. We have developed a long term

plan to enable us to achieve this vision which the Project Co-ordinator will be actively involved

in delivering.

‘By 2025 we want to be sustainably engaging 6,500 young people a year with The Key

Framework, reaching our target audience and without compromising our impact or our

core values.’

Candidate Pack

6

Why work for The Key? We are looking towards a bright future with big ideas, as we work together to achieve our

vision. We would love to have you join us on our exciting journey and make your mark on the

future of The Key.

The permanent vacancy for a Project Co-ordinator has arisen following the departure of our

previous Project Co-ordinator creating an exciting opportunity for someone with relevant

experience to join us at this pivotal point in our organisation’s journey.

As Project Co-ordinator, you will be working as a member of The Key’s Delivery Team

supporting the Project Manager to:

• Recruit, train and support our network of member organisations and volunteers.

• Develop relationships with local businesses and community based supporters.

• Engage with young people to include them in the governance of The Key.

• Coordinate delivery of external activities to meet contract and organisational targets.

• Contribute to the ongoing development of The Key as an organisation and our future

plans.

You will have the opportunity to witness the difference our support makes to young people

each and every day and to see the inspiring stories of their ideas, development and

progression. This is the fuel that drives and motivates us to achieve more. Here is just a

flavour of the things we hear from our young people…

“Organising things is harder than you think. I wasn’t very good at it before The Key has

given me some great organisational skills.”

“Thank you for this opportunity. One of us had never been to the cinema before and had

a pick’n’mix. This was such a great day.”

“It’ll be a big help for the future. It’s good to see how much effort you’ve put into one

thing. It gave me an opportunity I thought I’d never have.”

“I had the best day of my life – first time for Go-Karting, McDonalds and Kaspar’s. I’m

definitely doing that again! The Key is probably the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Candidate Pack

7

Our top 5 reasons to join our team:

1. An opportunity to inspire belief in young people from across the North East and see

them use their imaginations and creativity first hand through The Key Framework.

2. Work alongside a fantastically skilled and dedicated team and Board of Trustees who

promise to challenge, empower and support you to deliver great results.

3. This is a unique chance to play a role in a long-serving North East youth charity.

4. Great personal development and profile raising opportunities.

5. Excellent team spirit with a cracking selection of cake and biscuits.

Candidate Pack

8

Project Co-Ordinator

Main purpose of the role:

To work as a member of The Key Delivery Team to coordinate delivery of external activities

to meet project milestones, contract obligations and operational objectives.

Main responsibilities:

• To support the Project Manager with the recruitment and retention of our network of

members and volunteers, including training and supporting Key Facilitators to directly

deliver The Key Framework and ensuring they reflect the ethos and values of The Key.

• To support the Project Manager to deliver on new and existing contracts on time, on

budget and to target.

• To recruit, train and support volunteers from businesses, alumni and other

appropriate sources so that volunteers are available to support young people to

develop projects.

• To support the delivery of The Key’s Youth Engagement Strategy, including working

with member organisations and young people to develop effective ways of including

young people in the governance, decision making, impact management and

marketing of The Key.

• To support the Project Manager to gather and interpret stakeholder feedback and

conduct project evaluations.

• To collect, collate, interpret and report on qualitative and quantitative data.

• To support the development and delivery of events and activities to promote The Key.

• To contribute to the development of new markets for utilising The Key with young

people, including identifying new initiatives and areas where The Key can increase its

reach and the number of young people gaining access to The Key Framework.

Skills and experience

Essential:

• Project co-ordination skills including appraisal and monitoring/evaluation.

• Strong interpersonal, written and oral communication skills.

• Ability to build relationships with people from a variety of backgrounds and abilities.

• Excellent organisational skills and ability to work under pressure to consistently meet

deadlines

Candidate Pack

9

• Ability to regularly prepare and present quantitative and qualitative information,

interpret data and actively use it to contribute to The Key’s decision making and

planning.

• IT skills including Microsoft Office and database management.

• Experience of recruiting, training and managing volunteers.

Desirable:

• Experience of working in in the voluntary and community sector particularly the youth

sector or with children and young people.

• Training qualification or experience.

• Experience of organising or planning events.

• Access to transport and ability to travel throughout the region

Personal characteristics:

• Passionate about inspiring belief in young people.

• Drive, determination and genuine desire to go the extra mile.

• Ability to use initiative and proactively solve problems.

• Reliable, flexible, adaptable with a good attendance record.

Package:

• 39 hours per week (including one-hour lunch break per day)

• Permanent contract

o £19 - 21K per annum

o 27 days annual leave

o 6% employer contribution pension scheme (employee contribution of 3%)

Application process and timescales:

• To apply, please send a CV (no more than 2 pages) and a one page covering letter to

theteam@thekeyuk.org or The Team, The Key, 32 Kingsway House, Kingsway, Team

Valley, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE11 0HW.

• Closing Date: 3pm Friday 25th October 2019

• Interviews to be held on Monday 11th November 2019

Contact:

Please contact Una MacDermott (Project Manager) if you have any questions regarding the

role, or for an informal discussion, on 0191 7317832 or una.macdermott@thekeyuk.org