The Ember Project
Key Worker
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About The Ember Project
We're a new supported accommodation service for young people aged 16–25 across South East Wales - care leavers, young people on the edge of homelessness, and unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people.
We were built around one idea: that a young person should leave us measurably more capable than when they arrived. Not just housed. Not just safe. Actually able to run a home, manage money, hold down college or work, and handle the things that adult life throws at them.
That means we do things differently. We work to a model with genuine independence outcomes attached, we measure progress properly, and we report it honestly to the local authorities who place with us. Our whole business depends on young people doing well - so everything we build, we build around that.
Proactive support. Proven outcomes.
The role
You'll hold a small caseload of young people and be the person who actually makes their plan happen. Not a form-filler. Not a shift-filler.
Day to day, that looks like:
- Key work sessions that build real independence skills - budgeting, cooking, tenancy skills, healthcare, travel, self-advocacy
- Getting young people into education, employment or training, and keeping them there
- Writing support plans and risk assessments that are honest, current and useful
- Recording your work properly, because the evidence of a young person's progress is what keeps their placement funded
- Sleep-in and waking night shifts as part of a rota
- Safeguarding - spotting it, acting on it, escalating it without hesitation
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No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Be clear on this: you'll be lone working for much of your shift. There's always a manager on call and you'll never be unsupported - but there won't be a colleague in the next room. If that's not for you, this isn't the job, and we'd rather you knew now than in week three.
Who we're looking for
We can teach almost all of the technical side. What we can't teach is whether you give a damn.
The person who does well here:
- Takes the lead on their young people rather than waiting to be told
- Brings solutions to managers, not just problems
- Is unfazed by a young person having a bad day, or a bad month
- Holds boundaries warmly rather than rigidly
- Writes things down, on time, without being chased
Essential:
- Aged 21 or over - a genuine occupational requirement given the lone-working, overnight nature of the role and the age range of the young people we support
- Right to work in the UK
- Enhanced DBS check with children's and adults' barred list checks (we'll arrange this)
- Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle with business-use insurance
- Willing to work sleep-ins and waking nights
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Desirable:
- Experience with care leavers, homelessness, youth work, residential care or UASC
- Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care, or working towards
- Social Care Wales registration
- Welsh language skills
We're genuinely open to people from outside social care who have the right instincts and want to learn. Tell us why.
What you get
- £13.75–£14.25 per hour, above market rate for the area — deliberately, because we want people who stay
- Guaranteed minimum hours once your first placement starts
- Regular, structured supervision that's about developing you, not checking up on you
- Real influence on how a new service is built - you'll be one of the first through the door
To apply
Send a CV and a short note telling us about a time you took the initiative with someone you were supporting. That note matters more to us than the CV.
We reply to every applicant.
The Ember Project is committed to safer recruitment. All appointments are subject to an enhanced DBS check, full employment history, and two satisfactory references.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills