People want to work at St Christopher’s in order to make a difference to young people’s lives. But we also invest in our staff so they can learn new skills, progress in their job and represent the best of their profession.

Find out more about our front line roles with children and young people, as Ned our Participation & Life Skills Manager for St Christopher’s in the UK tells his story.

Why did you want to work at St Christopher’s?

I wanted to do a job where I could have a practical impact and a job that would involve working with people. When looking at different organisations in my job search, the values that St Christopher’s described itself as having seemed really well thought through and genuine. At my first interview I felt really welcomed, and on my first visit to a home I felt it to be a really warm environment where great work was being done.

What do you enjoy about your job?

I like the variety of my work. I get to do different activities and workshops with young people at different homes, and it is interesting and inspiring to get to know such a range of people with a range of ways of seeing the world. I really appreciate that I get the opportunity to learn and see others learn. I also like that there is a solid set of values that our team works on the basis of which inform what we do.

What other development opportunities have you had?

I was supported by the manager at the semi-independent service that I worked at to pursue different development opportunities: shadowing managers at homes around the organisation, working with the therapeutic team to better understand the practical and theoretical sides of their work, getting involved in St Christopher’s wide projects such as helping compile parts of our submission for the Care Review. From fairly early on I felt that I was being offered opportunities to develop within the organisation, even though I found aspects of the work tough initially. The fact that I was ultimately able to progress to a managerial role is testament to colleagues who have helped me to learn, improve my practice and develop assurance and confidence.

What is next in your career?

I’m still fairly new to my role so I’m not really in a place where I’m thinking beyond continuing to ensure we have the best possible impact we can.

What would you say to someone interested/ looking to join the profession?

I would say that while the work can be challenging sometimes, getting involved in this type of work for an organisation with a solid set of values is not something that you will regret. I think people can sometimes get the wrong idea about what it is like to work with young people in care. Without denying that the work can be difficult and upsetting, that you are often confronted with obstacles, and that you will have days of doubt where it can feel like you’re not making a difference, primarily what you are doing is building relationships – and a lot of the time having fun whilst doing so.

I’d also say that there are a lot of different ways to approach this work, and that differing personalities and skillsets are what make teams who do this work effective. So an individual might not think they are the typical person who works in this profession – that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider it.