Therapeutic Mentoring Lead, London - information for applicants

Contact for enquiries: Tom Bateman - Director Of Programmes, London, tbateman@footballbeyondborders.org 

Therapeutic Mentoring Lead

Reports to: School Programme Manager

Start date: February 2025 

Location: London HQ or Manchester HQ 

Hours: Full Time 

Salary: £28,733 - 31,925 (experience depending)

Deadline: Sunday 5th Jan 11:59pm

We’re seeking a driven and dynamic individual to lead the delivery of our innovative mentoring intervention in schools. Partnering with the Youth Futures Foundation—a leading government initiative—you’ll take charge of a 1:1 mentoring model designed to empower young people to thrive. This role requires someone who is committed to making an impact, bringing energy, adaptability, and empathy to every interaction.

You are motivated by high standards for yourself and others, with a passion for inspiring young people to achieve their potential. We’re looking for someone ambitious, eager to learn, and ready to lead with integrity. With a proven ability to build meaningful relationships and a track record of making a difference in young people’s lives, you’ll play a key role in transforming their futures.

Please remember you don’t have to tick all the boxes for the role to apply, in particular with this role, we do not require applicants to have therapeutic qualifications. At Football Beyond Borders, we value growth, potential, and passion over perfection. If this opportunity excites you and you believe you can create a lasting impact, we encourage you to apply or reach out to us for a conversation!

Who are we? EMBED VIDEO HERE

Football Beyond Borders (FBB) is not just a leading educational charity and youth brand—it’s a movement that’s redefining what’s possible for young people across the UK. Since 2014, we’ve grown rapidly, now reaching over 2,000 students across 130 secondary school programmes in cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, London, and beyond. Our partnerships with iconic brands like Nike fuel our mission, and we’re driven to become the leading organisation for disengaged young people while setting the standard as the best place to work with youth in the UK. In the next stage of our journey FBB aims to become the leading specialist charity for disengaged young people and the best place to work with young people in the UK. 

At FBB, young people are at the center of everything we do. From shaping strategy at the senior leadership level to designing impactful programs with our partners, we’re on a mission to inspire change in a system that too often limits potential. Our work is fast-paced and challenging, but we invest just as much in our team as we do in our mission. By fostering a supportive and dynamic workplace, we empower our staff to ‘Go Beyond’ in transforming young lives.

Relationships drive our success. Whether it’s connecting with young people or building strong bonds with colleagues, we believe meaningful relationships are the foundation of lasting impact. We’re not interested in business-as-usual workplaces—FBB is where you’ll embrace new challenges, work with people from all walks of life, and contribute to something truly transformative.

We’re passionate about learning and growth. Every week, we dedicate a full day to professional development, from training with industry experts to collaborative projects that stretch across teams. At FBB, you’ll gain hands-on experience in areas like brand, communications, and operations, while also exploring personal development through curated reading lists, reflection sessions, and training budgets.

Recognised as a thought leader in the sector, FBB is driven by innovation and ambition. We’re always looking for talented individuals who share our vision: to help young people thrive and reach their full potential. If you’re ready to be part of a forward-thinking, impact-driven team, we want to hear from you.

Lead the Charge in Transforming Lives: Be the Role Model Young People Need

Key Responsibilities: 

Role Overview

As a Therapeutic Mentoring Lead, you’ll deliver our newly designed, impactful 1:1 mentoring sessions in partner Secondary Schools across London. This will involve delivering programmes across up to 4 schools. This person will be based in schools facilitating 1:1 and small group sessions.

Main Duties: 

• Champion the delivery of up to 28 tailored mentoring sessions weekly across four schools.

• Forge partnerships with teachers, parents, and school leaders to create a network of support for students.

• Drive the monitoring and evaluation of student progress, ensuring measurable impact.

• Collaborate with teams to innovate and enhance our intervention programs.

Who You’ll be Working With: 

The beauty of this role lies in building meaningful relationships every day. You'll work closely with young people while collaborating with FBB staff across partner schools. Key connections include School Programme Practitioners, who will support your daily delivery, and School Programme Managers, experienced leaders who will guide your professional growth.

Development in you role: 

In 2022/23, we launched a cutting-edge development program to provide top-tier training for our practitioners. Every Wednesday is dedicated to professional growth, offering training in areas like counselling, SEN support, mental health, and football coaching. Practitioners can also specialise in a chosen area, positioning themselves as future leaders within FBB. As we continue to grow, this role offers unparalleled opportunities to enhance your expertise, take on new responsibilities, and shape the future of youth support.

Perks of the Job:

At FBB, we’re committed to investing in our team. Our annual Learning & Development budget offers opportunities for professional training and qualifications, while our wellbeing budget supports out-of-work activities to help you recharge and thrive.

Enjoy access to exclusive events and branded perks through our partnerships with Nike and others, alongside a generous annual leave policy, including 35 days of leave per year and a Christmas shutdown.

Our Health Assured package provides free support services, and regular staff away days and team bonding activities ensure a dynamic and connected workplace. As a respected leader in the sector, FBB is the perfect springboard for advancing your career and leaving a lasting impact.

Person Specification:

EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Important things about you...

• Passionate Advocate: You are deeply committed to supporting at-risk young people and driven to go above and beyond for their success.

• Experienced Mentor: You bring experience delivering 1:1 sessions with secondary school students and understand the diverse needs of adolescents.

• Collaborative Team Player: You thrive in a team setting, building strong relationships with colleagues, teachers, and young people based on trust, strengths, and shared goals.

• Empathetic and Emotionally Intelligent: With excellent interpersonal skills, you connect with others on a meaningful level.

• Adaptable Problem-Solver: You navigate fast-paced environments with ease, handling challenges independently and adapting to new situations.

• Keen Learner: You have a hunger to grow, embrace feedback, and learn from mistakes to continuously improve.

And also consider applying if any of the following apply to you...

• You have worked in schools supporting young people

• Have qualifications in counselling/mental health support for young people

• You have experience of delivering interventions to young people with SEN or and SEMH

• You have experience in youth work

Recruitment process

Football Beyond Borders aims to be representative of the community we are working with. We recognise that having the strongest workforce possible means hiring and developing the best people across all races, ethnicities, religions, age groups, sexual orientations, gender identities and abilities.

We’re not just committed to being an equal opportunity employer, we actively celebrate diversity in all its forms. Let us know if we can do anything to make the application or interview process more accessible. If you are invited to interview, we will at that point ask you for any accessibility requirements or preferences.

FBB is committed to adopting a safe recruitment process and follows the NSPCC safer recruitment procedures that have safeguarding at their heart. The appointment will undergo an enhanced DBS check.

Shortlisting, interviews and reference checking

All applications will be taken seriously and contacted regarding the outcome of their application.

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed. There will be 3 stages to the interview process:
Stage 1: A 30 minute online call to get to know candidates and talk more about the role
Stage 2: A selection day which focuses on candidates fit with FBB
Stage 3: Delivery of one of our sessions to an FBB group

References from the previous and current employer may be taken up for shortlisted candidates. Please let us know about the sensitivity of taking up references prior to an interview.

To apply:

Deadline for the receipt of applications is 5pm on 24th April.

Please complete the application form.

Find out more:

There will be a drop in session run by the Director of Programmes, Tom Bateman in which you will be able to find out more about the role and ask any questions. 

This will take place on Thursday 20th April at 5pm you can attend by joining this link.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact Pedro Correia on
tbateman@footballbeyondborders.org

Principles of our FBB Schools programme:

Our FBB Schools programme exists to transform the behaviour for learning and attitude to learning of students who love football but are disengaged at school. Our work builds on the strengths and potential of our young people.
Our programme is built on the following four theoretical foundations:

• Attachment Theory

• Adolescent Neuroscience

• Developmental Trauma

• Humanistic Therapy

The programme is targeted at Key Stage 3 students who are disengaged at school and come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. We know from the evidence that Key Stage 3 is the crucial time to work with disengaged boys and girls in order to prevent them from being excluded.

We believe real change can only be sustained through an embedded and holistic approach to our young people’s development. We work to become deeply embedded in the lives of our participants and in the communities we are based in. Our integrated approach is supported through intensive parental and teacher engagement achieved through parents’ evenings, teacher showcases and weekly text and phone updates.