Our vision
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A world where no young person feels alone with their mental health.
We want to see a world where every young person who is struggling feels able to reach out, and has people and services around them who can really help.
The Youth Social Action Manager leads YoungMinds' youth social action and participation programmes, ensuring that young people's lived experience shapes organisational strategy, campaigns, policy, services and public engagement. The role is responsible for developing meaningful, safe and inclusive opportunities for young people to create change, while embedding high-quality participation practice across YoungMinds.
Reporting to the Head of Youth Participation & Safeguarding, you will line manage three members of the Youth Participation team and work closely with the Strategic Participation Manager and Senior Safeguarding Manager. You will also work collaboratively with colleagues across communications, campaigns, policy, income generation and service delivery teams to ensure young people's voices influence organisational priorities and external influencing work.
You will develop and maintain strong relationships with external partners, youth-led organisations, community groups and sector networks to strengthen opportunities for participation and social action.
Key information
- Application closing date
- 13 Sep 2026
- Interview date
- 29 Sep 2026
- Working environment
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We are currently working with a hybrid working model, where there is the option of working from home combined with 4-12 days a month of working in the office.
About this role
As the Youth Social Action Manager, you will lead YoungMinds' youth engagement and social action work through four key areas:
1. YoungMinds Activist Programme
You will lead the operational development, delivery and growth of YoungMinds' Activist Programme, creating meaningful opportunities for young people to influence campaigns, policy, services and organisational decision-making. You will strengthen the diversity of lived experience represented within the programme while embedding co-production and youth leadership approaches across YoungMinds.
2. Expansion of Youth Engagement Opportunities
You will design and develop innovative and inclusive opportunities that enable young people to engage through:
- Creativity and storytelling
- Digital engagement
- Campaigning and influencing
- Policy participation
- Lived experience leadership
You will broaden routes into participation to ensure a wider range of young people can contribute to creating change.
3. Participation Partnership Model
You will lead the implementation and ongoing development of YoungMinds' Participation Partnership Model, supporting teams across the organisation to embed meaningful participation, co-production and youth voice in their work. You will help drive organisational change by ensuring participation influences strategic decision-making, projects and programme delivery.
4. Organisational Participation and Lived Experience Leadership
You will act as an organisational expert on youth participation, social action and lived experience involvement. This will include supporting colleagues to embed youth voice in the design, delivery, evaluation and governance of their work and ensuring that young people's experiences inform organisational priorities and decision-making.
In addition, you will:
- Lead, support and champion the Youth Participation team.
- Oversee programme evaluation and reporting.
- Manage designated project budgets.
- Represent YoungMinds within external networks and partnerships.
- Lead recruitment, engagement and retention activity within youth programmes.
- Act as Lead Safeguarding Officer for organisational events involving young people.
- Work collaboratively with safeguarding colleagues to embed safe working practices and a culture of care across all youth-facing work.
Please note that this role requires regular evening work and occasional weekend work to support activities and events involving young people.
About you
Candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of:
- Experience of designing and delivering social action programmes that build voice, skills and opportunities for young people for young people to take part in social action and activism
- Experience of implementing safeguarding practices in work with young people, including managing safeguarding concerns, supporting safer working practices and promoting a culture of safeguarding within a team or organisation
- Experience of managing or supervising people
- Experience of working with young people who have a diverse range of needs and experiences, including Black and minoritised young people, disabled young people and young people with mental health problems
- Experience of facilitating sessions, workshops or activities with young people with lived experience of mental ill health
- Understanding of what anti-oppressive practice is and what role you play in supporting marginalised, minoritised and racialized people in the work you do, including challenging the systems that impact them the hardest
Further information on the post can be found in the attached job pack. To apply for this role, please download the recruitment pack and follow the guidance on the application form.
We welcome applications from Black and Minoritised communities, LGBTQ+ communities and disabled people, who are currently underrepresented within our workforce.
YoungMinds is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
We believe that all staff have a responsibility to contribute to a culture of care that supports wellbeing and prevents harm.
All staff are required to undertake safeguarding training as part of their onboarding and ongoing development.
As part of our safer recruitment commitment, this role is subject to pre-employment checks, including an Enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.
Apply now
One of our values is: “We celebrate what makes you you – whoever you are, we welcome you and encourage you to be true to yourself”.
If you are excited about helping us to achieve our mission, passionate about working at an organisation that puts the lived experience of young people at the heart of everything we do and want to be part of our drive to become a truly anti-racist organisation we want to hear from you.
To apply for this role, please fill in the application form - downloadable below. Applications should be sent to recruitment@youngminds.org.uk by the deadline listed, with the job title included as the subject.
Key Dates
Applications open: 7th September at 10:00am
Applications close: 13th September at 11:59pm
AJEDI (Anti-racism, Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion): 16th - 23th September
Interview 1: 29th - 2nd October
Interview 2: 5th - 7th October
About YoungMinds
You’ll be part of a passionate, hardworking team that cares about the work they do and you’ll be part of making a real difference to the lives of children and young people. In addition to becoming part of the YoungMinds team, you’ll get:
- 25 days paid holiday entitlement (plus Bank Holidays)
- three days additional leave over Christmas and New Year
- auto-enrolment onto pension scheme where YoungMinds will match your contribution up to five per cent
- statutory benefits such as parental leave and sick pay
- a wide range of other health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits
- a dedication to continued professional development, training and shared best practice
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