Youth Advocate
Salary £ NJC points 19-24 £32,061 - £35,412
Belfast
Vacancy listed 06/10/2026
Application deadline 28/10/2026
Details
JOB PURPOSE:

To provide professional, independent advocacy support to children and young people living in kinship care, foster care, residential care, and to care-experienced young people across the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) and other Health and Social Care Trust’s as required.

As a Youth Advocate, you will ensure that children and young people are informed, empowered, and supported to participate meaningfully in decisions that affect their lives. The role promotes and safeguards children's rights and entitlements in accordance with the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, the Children (Leaving Care) Act (Northern Ireland) 2002, the Adoption and Children Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and other relevant legislation, policy, and guidance.

MAIN DUTIES:

Individual Advocacy Support

  • Provide independent, young person-led advocacy support to ensure children and young people’s views, wishes, and feelings are heard in relevant decision-making processes.
  • Maintain professional boundaries and ensure the advocate’s role remains independent from statutory services and other service providers.
  • Provide children and young people in care and leaving care with relevant user-friendly information about their rights and entitlements and support them in interpreting and understanding information so that they can make well-informed decisions. 
  • Clearly explain the advocate’s role, including confidentiality, to children and young people.
  • Support children and young people to develop the skills and knowledge to self-advocate and to represent their views to key decision-makers.
  • Link in with groups and forums for children and young people so that advocates share insight in the issues facing young people in care and work in partnership to develop solutions.
  • Ensure adherence to the advocacy charter, codes of practice and standards.

Visiting Advocacy

  • Maintain a visiting advocacy service for children and young people in residential care and across other settings.
  • Build and maintain positive, trusting relationships with children and young people through regular visits to residential care settings.
  • Promote awareness of advocacy services, children's rights and complaints procedures.
  • Ensure that children and young people in residential care are informed of their rights and provide individual advocacy support to children and young people as required. 

Rights, Safeguarding & Legal Frameworks
  • Promote and uphold children’s rights under the the Children (NI) Order 1995, the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2002, the Adoption and Children Act 2022 the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)and relevant guidance and standards.
  • Recognise, respond to, and report safeguarding concerns promptly in line with VOYPIC’s safeguarding policy and procedures.
  • Keep children and young people informed about safeguarding actions taken, in line with best practice and their safety.
  • Keep up to date with policy, practice, and legislative changes impacting children and young people in and leaving care.

Communication, Inclusion & Accessibility

  • Use a range of communication methods and tools (e.g., easy-read, visual aids, trauma-informed approaches, digital platforms) to enable meaningful participation by children, young people and care leavers with diverse needs.
  • Work with interpreters, communication aids, and specialist services where required.
  • Promote anti-discriminatory practice and ensure services are inclusive, responsive, and culturally competent.

Confidentiality, Data Protection & Information Governance

  • Adhere to confidentiality procedures and communicate their limits to children and young people.
  • Ensure compliance with UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018, and VOYPIC’s records management and retention policies.
  • Maintain accurate, timely, and high-quality case records, capturing outcomes and emerging themes.

Case Management & Quality Assurance

  • Manage a caseload effectively, prioritising according to need, risk, and timescales.
  • Actively participate in case management, supervision, and reflective practice, providing updates and outcome information as required.
  • Contribute to monitoring, evaluation, and quality assurance processes, including impact and outcomes reporting.
  • Record advocacy outcomes and the difference advocacy has made for children and young people. 
  • Contribute to contract monitoring requirements through accurate data collection and reporting.

Partnership Working & Influence

  • Work collaboratively with health and social care professionals, carers, families, education, and other partners to promote best practice in children’s rights and participation.
  • Provide information and advice to professionals, carers, and young people on rights, entitlements, and the role of advocacy.
  • Escalate concerns and challenge decisions respectfully where children, young people and care leavers rights, entitlements or welfare may be compromised.

Training, Workshops & Service Promotion

  • Prepare and deliver advocacy training and workshops to carers, professionals, and young people.
  • Support VOYPIC’s communications work in line with branding and style guides, helping to promote the advocacy service among children and young people, families, carers, and professionals.

Digital Competence
  • Use secure digital platforms for communication, recording, and remote engagement (e.g., virtual meetings, digital submissions), in line with data security policies.

Corporate Responsibilities

  • To comply with and implement VOYPIC’s policies and procedures.
  • To work in line with VOYPIC’s safeguarding, confidentiality, equality, GDPR and health & safety policies.
  • To attend and participate in team meetings and other relevant meetings as appropriate
  • To attend training courses as appropriate.
  • To contribute to the activities, promotion and development of VOYPIC as an agency. working on behalf of children and young people.
  • Undertake any other duties commensurate with the role.
  • The key responsibilities above give a broad outline of the functions of the post. However, these duties must be approached in a flexible manner. The post holder will be expected to adapt to changing circumstances and undertake other duties appropriate to the grade of the post as allocated by your line manager. The outline of responsibilities may change from time to time.
This job description outlines the main duties and responsibilities of the role. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list and may be reviewed and amended in consultation with the postholder to meet the changing needs of the organisation.

Attached documents
Title File
Youth Advocate Application Form Application_Form_Youth_Advocate.docx
Fair Employment Monitoring Form VOYPIC_Fair_Employment_Monitoring_Questionnaire.docx
Youth Advocate Candidate Pack VOYPIC_Youth_Advocate_Oct_26_FINAL.pdf
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