Young People and Families Worker (Wales and South West England)

Location (UK): Office Hybrid* - Cardiff
Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week
Salary: £29,742 per annum 
Benefits: Read more about the excellent benefits we offer
Contract type: One year, Fixed term
Travel: Regular travel around region with occasional UK travel
Closing date: 23:59 hours, Monday 23 February 2026

Join us and use your skills, knowledge, passion and energy to help us achieve a future free from arthritis.

Are you passionate about improving the lives of children, young people and their families? 
Are you experienced in creating inspiring programmes and offering life-changing one-to-one support? 
Are you committed to putting children and young people at the heart of decision-making? 

About the role

We are looking for a dynamic, creative, innovative team player to join our Young People and Families Service.  This role will be based in Wales (Cardiff office) and the South West of England, but will also support service delivery across UK. 
 
As a Young People and Families Worker you will work with colleagues, partners, healthcare professionals, schools, volunteers, and – most importantly – young people and families to co-plan, deliver and evaluate a high quality, holistic support offer, both locally and nationally. 
 
You will help young people living with arthritis to build their confidence, make friends and achieve their personal goals.  This will be achieved by providing one-to-one support, creating a community of peer support for young people and families and working with volunteers to co-deliver self-management activities on a variety of topics. 
 
You will also co-design an exciting program of social events, youth voice opportunities, digital content and residential events.  You will act as the bridge between young people, their families and professionals – especially in healthcare settings where you will play a unique role working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to meet a range of needs.  You will support young people during the pivotal transition from paediatric to adult services, making sure it is a time of empowerment and growth.

About you

If your knowledge, skills and experience include the following then we would love to hear from you:

  • Experience of working with the third sector, preferably within the fields of youth/community development work and/or health and social care – with a passion for improving the lives of both children and young people as well as their families.
  • Experience of delivering interventions to people living with long term conditions, understanding the importance of self-management.  
  • Experience of taking a person-centred approach when providing support.
  • Experience of using a community development/youth work approach to co-design and deliver a quality service/project that is inclusive, inspiring and makes a difference.  Engaging colleagues, funders, supporters and partners to make it happen.
  • Knowledge and experience of safeguarding and safe working policies and procedures.

*As a hybrid worker the expectation is that you will spend around 40% of your working time in our office spaces or working in community settings.

As an inclusive employer we will consider home-based working for anyone where office-based hybrid working would be a barrier to being able to work for us, for example for someone living with a long-term health condition or disability.

Download the job description and person specification for the Young People and Families Worker (Wales and South West England) role (Word 167KB).

Benefits

Your excellent benefits include:

  • Flexible hours, environments and working practices to promote a healthy work/life balance.
  • Health and wellbeing support – including the Employee Assistance Programme (free confidential 24/7 support with mental health, legal and financial queries).
  • Simplyhealth cash plan.
  • Supportive and inclusive culture, with a wide range of employee networks and support groups available to join.
  • Learning and personal development opportunities.
  • Competitive annual leave, with the option to buy/sell up to five days per year.
  • Generous pension plan, with employer contribution of up to 10%.
  • Life Assurance plan (4 x salary).

How to apply

You must be based in and hold the right to work in the UK to apply for this position.

To apply you MUST submit:

  1. a concise, up-to-date CV
  2. along with an Application form (Word 157KB) demonstrating how you meet the key requirements set out in the job description and person specification for the Young People and Families Worker (Wales and South West England) role (Word 167KB).
  3. All sections of the application form must be fully completed.

Email both documents as Word or PDF attachments by 23:59 hours, Monday 23 February 2026 to recruitment@arthritis-uk.org.

If you have a health condition that prevents you from following the steps above, please email us regarding alternative ways to apply, recruitment@arthritis-uk.org. 

Application deadline and shortlisting 

  • We advise candidates to apply early as we reserve the right to close applications ahead of this date.  
  • Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 

We do not wish to receive contact from agencies or media sales. 

Please note that we do not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) during our recruitment and selection processes, and we would respectfully ask that you also refrain from using AI during the selection process. Whilst we do recognise that AI may be a beneficial tool for some when aiding research and preparation for an application or interview, we want to maintain a fair, inclusive and positive recruitment experience at Arthritis UK where candidates can feel supported to demonstrate their experience, knowledge, and skills without the use of AI generated answers. 

Interview

Interviews will take place in the Cardiff office on Thursday 5 March 2026.

Our Cardiff office address is Quest House,​ St Mellons Business Park, Fortran Road, ​Cardiff, CF3 0EY.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee you will be offered an interview if you disclose a disability and demonstrate sufficient evidence within your application that you meet the essential criteria for this role. We will also make any reasonable adjustments you may require for your interview.

About us

We have made a commitment in our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to increase the diversity of our charity and we welcome candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We want our employees, volunteers and trustees to represent the broad diversity of the communities of which we are a part.

There are over 10 million people living with arthritis. That’s one in six, with over half of those living in pain every single day. The impact is huge as the condition slowly intrudes on everyday life – affecting the ability to work, care for a family, to move free from pain and to live independently. Yet arthritis is often dismissed as an inevitable part of ageing or shrugged off as ‘just a bit of arthritis’. We don’t think that this is OK. Arthritis UK is here to change that.

Arthritis UK is committed to keeping children, young people and vulnerable adults safe from harm. During the recruitment process we will undertake safer recruitment practices and relevant checks to ensure applicants are suitable to work with children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Read more about working for us.

Arthritis UK is a Registered Charity No: 207711 and in Scotland No. SC041156.