Youth Work Alliance

John was appointed CEO of Youth Work Alliance in March 2022.
He has been involved in youth work from a very young age, attending St Marys Youth Club as a young person, volunteer and part time worker.
John started his journey as a paid youth worker 20 years ago and has held many roles within the statutory and voluntary youth service.
He has a wealth of experience in working alongside partners and key stakeholders to move the youth service forward in a direction to meet the ever changing needs of young people and communities.
John is passionate and committed to working to better the lives of all children and young people to inspire them to be the best version of themselves.
His vision for youth service is for every section of our sector to come together as one, to provide young people with pathways for progression and encourage and enable them to be the best they can be.
He played an instrumental role in the development of the Collaborative Model to outline a way of working for all key stakeholders, including PSNI, Social Services and local community activists. This model ensures good working practice and partnership approaches to supporting and advocating for young people within communities.
“Every child needs at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about him or her.”

Keith is proof that youth work works. Keith is a product of youth service, having come through his own local youth centre, progressing into a leadership role, then a paid role, and then onto professional training to become a full-time youth worker. During his 23 years of experience he has worked across multiple youth centres in the Greater Belfast area, both statutory and voluntary sector, and also facilitated street-based youth work and work with those marginalised and on the periphery of their communities. Keith believes that every young person needs a champion - needs someone in their corner who sees them for who they could be and not where they are presently.

Claire rejoined Youth Work Alliance in May 2022 as Membership Support Officer (Corporate). She has 11 years’ experience in the direct delivery of HR, Finance, organisational development, governance and compliance functions. She holds a Masters degree in Administration and Law and her previous roles have included Head of Business Services for Homeless Connect, Policy Manager, Charity Commission NI and Deputy Director (Corporate Affairs), Youthnet. She has over 6 years’ experience providing support to charity trustees through workshops/training and the development of guidance, covering good governance practice, compliance, organisational/policy development and quality assurance.

Clare has been a member of a youth club since her teenage years and benefitted greatly from the personal and social development programmes afforded to her during this time. She has worked in youth centres and community settings for 18 years in both Derry and Manchester and holds a degree in Social Policy, MA in Social Work and PG Dip in Youth and Community work. Clare has a keen interest in youth development and learning pathways for young leaders as well as a passion for youth work training and development. Clare joined the Youth Work Alliance in June 2022 and she is now sharing her knowledge and experience and delivering training and support to youth work staff across the region in Understanding Digital Spaces.

Derryn is a product of the youth service and has been involved in it from the age of 5 years old. In June 2011 he completed his BSC Honours in Community Youth Work. Derryn have 15 years of hands-on experience in working within disadvantaged communities, with young persons of all ages which has enhanced his skillset and helped him gain valuable lived experience. Over the years through various posts, he has been working professionally in the voluntary sector funded through EA. Derryn has experience in using various methodologies, including experience in embedding the collaborative model to enhance educational outcomes for young people. Derryn is excited for this new position in Youth Work Alliance and aims to maximize young people’s full potential through embedding the core principles of youth work.

Helen has extensive experience working across the Community & Voluntary Sector in the development and delivery of Youth Work programmes to a wide range of young people over the last 30 years. Within her career Helen has undertaken the coordination of various projects, some of which required the delivery of training to either young people, staff, and volunteers. One area of her employment, that she has become a major advocate for, and which has had a big impact on the Youth Work Sector has been the development and delivery of inclusive youth work (disability) to the statutory and voluntary youth sectors across Northern Ireland. She has worked at Youth Work Alliance for nearly 4.5 years initially offering Inclusive Youth Work Practice training to Youth Work Alliance members to currently delivering a Gambling/gaming harm prevention training to youth facing professionals on behalf of YGAM (Young Gamers & Gamblers Education Trust)

Amanda is the Personal assistant to the CEO of Youth Work Alliance, she started working for Youth Work Alliance on July 1st 2022. The Main aspect of her role is to provide support to the CEO through a variety of tasks related to working life and communications. Amanda have worked in finance and administration for over 15 years and has found that the role of personal assistant within Youth work Alliance has been a fantastic opportunity for her as each day can be different and exciting with so many different projects ongoing. She is delighted to be a part of the Youth Work Alliance team and is very excited for the future.

Paul joined Youth Work Alliance in September 2022 as Clerical Officer. He has 15 years experience in administrative roles in various sectors and has worked for companies/organisations including: Ulster Bank, Prudential, the Irish Football Association and formerly Stranmillis University College. Paul has also previously volunteered with young people as a football coach for a Junior club and as a youth worker with Taughmonagh Community Forum, with whom he was employed as an administrator as part of the National Lottery-funded Live and Learn Open Doors Project.