Summer Intern - Children and Young People

London, England, United Kingdom

4/2/2025

Job Description

Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities!

We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

Introduction

As we are offering six different internship positions, you must choose and apply for only one that best aligns with your interests and skills.

What’s the role?

This project is based in the Children and Young People directorate in the Council. This directorate works in partnership with other public sector and voluntary organisations to provide a wide range of services for children, young people and families, including the most vulnerable in the borough, which help them to stay safe, make a positive contribution and achieve their full potential. One of the services in Children and Young People is Families, Quality and Commissioning. Their work includes collaborating with small voluntary groups, working in partnership with statutory agencies to deliver services and activities that give our children and young people the best possible start in life.

Overview of the project(s)

You will primarily work on the local authority development of a multi-building children’s home where care and accommodation will be provided for up to six children across three separate buildings. The residential home will be designed specifically for children that are at risk of being, or are currently, deprived of their liberty due to their multiple, complex needs. The project would see the refurbishment and other essential costs to transfer the use of three buildings into suitable accommodation for the needs of the young people. Beyond the building development, the project also includes developing the operating model, including designing the staffing structure and ensuring regulatory compliance.

In addition, you will support the programme and engagement team with a range of projects in areas as varied as ICT and Data transformation, social care reforms and engagement with young people on service co-production sessions.

What’s in it for you?

Excellent training and development opportunities, plus a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday allowance
• Flexible working and family friendly policies
• A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
• Supportive staff networks
  
  

Skills we're looking for:

• Communicate effectively, building relationships with stakeholders in local and partnership organisations to foster collaboration.
• Eager to learn and develop new skills, taking initiative to expand your knowledge.
• Showcase strong organisational skills, adeptly prioritising tasks to deliver accurate work within deadlines.
• Engage actively in meetings, presenting information and ideas clearly and persuasively to contribute meaningfully to discussions.
  
  

Location

The job is based in Laurence House, Catford, SE6 4FN although there might be opportunities for visits to our satellite sites across Lewisham borough

Special conditions

• You must be a 2nd year undergraduate student AND have a Lewisham-registered home address (these details will be verified prior to interviews)
• You'll earn 4 days' annual leave which must be taken during your 8-week placement. If you have any other holidays booked beyond the 4-day allowance, these will be unpaid.
  
  

The recruitment process is anonymous, and we don’t accept CVs.

Applicant handbook - please read the guidance in this handbook when applying. It is essential that you complete the application fully and that your supporting statement covers how you meet each of the person specification criteria listed.

For an informal discussion about this job, please contact Agnes Bailey at [email protected]

Please click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification

Salary

London Living Wage - £13.85 per hour; 35 hours a week

Diversity

Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme; further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply

The Council has a dedicated employment support service, Lewisham Works , which offers Lewisham residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you want to join Lewisham Works, please email [email protected] and an advisor will be in touch with you.

We encourage early applications, as we may close the advert before the deadline if we receive a high volume of strong applications.