Race Equity Associate

Youth Endowment Fund - Race Equity Associate – Neighbourhoods Sector

YEF’s Commitment to Race Equity

Children from Black, Asian and other minority backgrounds are significantly overrepresented at all stages in the youth justice system. Black children are four times as likely to be arrested as White children. And, as of May 2019, more than half of the children in youth custody were from Black, Asian or other minority backgrounds. Clearly, there is a problem – in the criminal justice system and our wider society.

The Youth Endowment Fund’s mission is to prevent children and young people from becoming involved in violence. Because of this disproportionality, it’s clear that if we don’t challenge the role that racism plays in young people’s experiences of youth justice, education and access to employment and mental health support, we won’t be able to make the difference we’re here to bring about. This means that – both as an employer and a What Works Centre – we need to make sure that we are considering the impact on children from Black, Asian and other minority backgrounds in our decision-making.

You can find out more about our race equity commitments and review our published report on our progress here.

We know that we won’t have all the answers and that we’ll make mistakes. We also know that we’ll improve by partnering with those with lived experience of the issues we seek to address and those who have direct experience of making a difference on issues of race equity, within organisations, their communities or the wider systems and structures in which we exist.

We are therefore building a pool of Race Equity Associates, with specific areas of expertise, on a broad range of issues within sectors that matter to the mission of preventing youth violence. We want to be challenged, to work together and to use your suggestions on how to improve.

The role of the Race Equity Associate

At the Youth Endowment Fund, we’re here to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice. To make the most difference over the ten years of our endowment, we’ve selected a set of sectors where we’ll concentrate our funding and learning. In each area, we’ll review the evidence to see where the gaps are, we’ll invest in projects, research and evaluators to find out what does and doesn’t work, and we’ll build coalitions and partnerships to put what we learn into action. To learn more about our sectors, click here.

Within these sectors, we want to partner with a Race Equity Associate, with deep knowledge and understanding of the Neighbourhoods sector. They will work alongside us as we assess the current evidence, engage stakeholders and identify the best opportunities for change. They will help us to understand the specific role racism plays in the sector and what it looks like to design racially sensitive and equitable interventions to support children and young people. In doing so, they will give us the best chance at addressing racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system and understanding what works for children from Black, Asian and other minority backgrounds.

But we also know that we cannot address issues of racism and disproportionality as a funder without also looking inward, to our own practices and culture as an organisation. Therefore, we’re also work with the Race Equity Associate with specific expertise and depth of experience in driving race equity work within organisations. They will help us to fulfil our race equity commitments by looking at specific topics such as the way we retain and train our team.

The role of a Race Equity Associate will typically involve:

• Leading a training session with our team on the role racism plays in your area of expertise, sharing from your experience and knowledge on the issue.
• Partnering with the internal team tasked with understanding the area, identifying the opportunities for change.
• You will review and provide feedback and challenge on the materials we develop, serving as a critical friend and issue area expert.
• Making sure we’re talking to a broad range of stakeholders to help inform our understanding of racism within the area of focus.
• Helping our team to work through issues or questions as they arise throughout the entire lifecycle of a funding round or internal project.

For this role, in the first instance, the successful applicant should be available to review:

• Product Review Dates Practice Insights Guides X 3 1-7 October 2025
• Practice Insights Guide X 1 1-5 December 2025

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for a Race Equity Associate with expertise and experience in:

The Neighbourhoods sector. We see the Neighbourhoods sector as including Community Safety Partnerships, local authority neighbourhood and community engagement teams; neighbourhood policing; the housing sector; local Voluntary, Community, Faith & Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sectors; community leaders; amongst others. We also include Violence Reduction Units in our Neighbourhoods sector. The main area of support from the Race Equity Associate in this area, will be on our Area Leaders Programme – a support and development programme for multi-agency violence prevention partnerships at local authority level.

Applicants can be freelancers, sole contractors or working as part of organisations, provided they can commit to a minimum involvement of five days on any focus area or project they are commissioned to support. For this work, YEF will compensate the Race Equity Associate at a rate of £650 per day.

Your application to become a YEF Race Equity Associate will be most successful if you have:

• A significant degree of expertise in the role race and disproportionality plays in one of YEF’s sectors. For example, this could look like someone who has worked previously to address racial disproportionality in the care system.
• Experience and a proven track record working to improve racial diversity, equality, and inclusion within your area of expertise.
• An understanding of the historical and political context in which the YEF’s research and evaluation work operates.
• Ability to work independently, seeking input from relevant team stakeholders throughout.
• While not a requirement, we do encourage applications from individuals (or individuals within organisations) with lived experience of violence.

How to apply

To apply, submit the following information, complete the monitoring form and click here by 5pm on 12 September 2025

• A CV or organisational summary
• A cover letter including the following:
• Your interest in race equity. You can link to websites and social where we can read more about you on the internet.
• What knowledge, personal attributes or skills you possess that you can offer to one of YEF’s sectors or internal practices.
• Short summaries of two different projects that you have been directly involved in that is relevant to this role and the sector you are applying for. For each initiative or project, please describe your role (e.g. team leader, team member), the purpose of the activity (i.e. its aims), the major contributions you personally made.
• Two professional references who are happy to be contacted.

It’s important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background.

Interviews

We will be interviewing on Monday 22 September 2025. If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact us on recruitment@youthendowmentfund.org.uk.