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
[email protected] 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 [email protected]