Register Your Interest - Youth Mentor - Leadership Development Programme

Job Details

Register Your Interest - Youth Mentor - Leadership Development Programme

Realise your potential by helping pupils fulfil theirs

Join our year-long leadership development programme and contribute to tackling educational inequality, making a real difference to children’s lives, from August 2025-July 2026.

The role

Was there someone who made a difference in your ability to access education? Or perhaps you were a pupil who would have benefited from having a mentor? This is your chance to harness your energy, passion and creativity, in order to become that person for others.

As a City Year mentor, you’ll spend your year volunteering in schools and supporting children who need our help the most - by acting as a student success coach to them and integrating social, emotional and academic learning to realise pupils' potential.

Until July 2026, you will be a City Year mentor based in a school in a low-income area, whilst improving your own career prospects through work experience and personal and professional development workshops. Please note this is a full-time volunteering opportunity and therefore you must be available during school hours in term time from August 2025-July 2026 to apply.

As a City Year Mentor you will:

• Be integral to the school day and work as part of a team
• Act as a role model, mentor and coach to help struggling pupils succeed, providing 1:1 and small group support in class
• Lead clubs, projects and events to promote a positive school culture
• Support pupils’ academic and emotional wellbeing, creating a welcoming learning environment.

What you can gain from your City Year:

City Year is a life-changing experience. As well as having a huge impact on the lives of pupils, it's a year that will accelerate your career and give you the confidence to lead from the front. Over 90% of our volunteers go on to full-time employment or education after completing our leadership development programme.

Key benefits:

• Bespoke Friday training sessions to develop leadership and employability skills
• A designated professional mentor from our corporate partners
• Access to accredited leadership courses - CMI Level 3 in Leadership and Management and Coaching and Mentoring.
• £115-£125 living expenses per week, dependent on region, plus all travel expenses reimbursed
• Free uniform - one of our iconic red jackets

The application process:

City Year UK is built on inclusivity and is open to any 18 to 25-year-old with a minimum Level 2 qualification in maths and English (GCSE or equivalent). Kickstart your journey with these 3 quick steps:

1. Choose your location
2. Check if you’re the right fit by filling out a short, one-minute online form
3. Complete the full application form and get a call back from our recruitment team who will guide you through the process

Life after City Year: give a year, stay part of a unique community

Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds but are united in one common goal: to better themselves and to better the lives of pupils facing barriers to success.

This year marks City Year UK’s 15th anniversary. In 2009 the City Year UK pilot started in London with seven trailblazing young volunteers who were inspired by a simple offer: ‘Give a year. Change the world - by supporting children in your own community’. Our organisation has since expanded in the West Midlands in 2013 followed by Greater Manchester in 2015.

Since 2009, City Year UK has trained and supported over 1,800 young adults to coach and mentor over 17,000 pupils in need of extra help and contributed to a positive learning environment for over 136,000 children.

Our volunteers have then gone on to progress into careers within education, social work, law enforcement, finance, engineering, marketing and many others, as well as launching their own businesses.

About City Year UK

Who we are

City Year UK is a youth and education charity which empowers 18-25 year olds to tackle educational inequality through a year of full-time volunteering in schools.

What we do:

Diverse young adults give a year full-time in schools to support the pupils who need help most. They inspire, mentor and tutor children of all ages to overcome social, emotional and academic barriers to learning and, by realising pupils’ potential, realise their own. Often volunteering in their own communities, our coaches gain real world experience, leadership skills and new networks that will set them up for any career.

Why it works:

We believe that where you start in life shouldn’t determine your future and every young person should have the chance to succeed. We offer a unique solution to tackling educational inequality by partnering with teachers and schools to contribute to joyful, responsive and welcoming learning environments where all pupils can build on their strengths and fully engage in their learning. As ‘near peer’ role models and tutors, our City Year mentors complement the work of teachers and become an integral and flexible part of everyday school life.

Since 2009, City Year UK has trained and supported over 1,800 young adults to coach and mentor over 17,000 pupils in need of extra help and contributed to a positive learning environment for over 136,000 children.

Over 90% of our volunteers move into higher education, employment or training within three months of completing their City Year.

Our culture

City Year takes pride in having a very distinct culture, sense of purpose and a strong identity.

At the centre of City Year’s idealistic culture is an ever-growing collection of stories and quotations from many cultures and sources. They represent the civic values that guide City Year, set the organisation on course, and remind us of the most fundamental motivations for our work.