Participation Officer

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, LE3 8RA 

Salary: £32,070 - £34,359 per annum (pro-rata for part-time) (pay award pending)

Working Hours: 37 per week 

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 2nd September 2026

Interview Date(s): Friday 11^th September

About the Role

This is a fantastic opportunity for a care experienced individual to use their experience to make a real difference in the lives of children in care and care leavers across Leicestershire. Working as part of the Corporate Parenting Team, you will support young people to share their views, influence decisions and shape the services they receive. 

You will build positive relationships with children and young people, organise participation activities and events, and help create opportunities for young people to have their voices heard by senior leaders, elected members and partner organisations. Whether supporting a Youth Voice Council meeting, helping a young person prepare for a presentation, or celebrating the achievements of care experienced young people, you will play a key role in ensuring every young person feels valued, listened to and connected. 

We are looking for someone who is passionate about improving outcomes for children in care, understands the importance of belonging and participation, and can inspire young people to reach their potential. This role offers the chance to turn your experience into positive change, helping to ensure that the voices of care experienced children and young people are at the heart of everything we do.

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.

About You

To apply for this post, you must be able to evidence in your application how you meet the following criteria:

• Care experienced, with a desire to use lived experience to support and inspire young people. Passionate about improving outcomes for children in care and care leavers.


• Good standard of written and spoken English, to write letters, newsletters and reports to a high standard. And a good standard of maths and spreadsheets, sufficient to produce basic statistical information 


• Able to build positive relationships with young people and professionals


• Committed to amplifying young people’s voices and encouraging participation


• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.


• Able to organise and coordinate activities, events and projects effectively.


• Committed to creating a sense of belonging, ensuring children and young people feel valued, included and connected.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents.  You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Nicola Madgett - Childrens Rights and Participation Team Leader

Telephone: 0116 305 0456

Email: [email protected] 

How to Apply

At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. 

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support. 

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.