Role
***ringfenced to LJMU students and recent graduates only***
As part of the Faculty of Society and Culture SHAPE innovation fellowship we are recruiting six Social Innovation Associates to support a creative youth-focused entrepreneurship project delivered by LJMU with partners in the Liverpool City Region. This is a live social innovation project - Phase 1 of the project took us into the community, where we found that local hubs are already achieving outstanding results getting young people into work — but that employer-side rejection is causing young people to disengage. Phase 2 is about running honest, creative experiments to test whether that can change. You'll be part of a small team creating and testing ideas in uncertain situations and doing meaningful work in a real community context.
Duties and responsibilities
Working with your team, you'll help design and test new approaches to one of the most stubborn problems in youth employment: the gap between a young person being ready for work and an employer being willing to take a chance on them. Day-to-day this means building relationships, developing and running small experiments, capturing what works and what doesn't, and contributing to a team that treats honest reflection as part of the job. Some coordination and logistics will be involved, but this is primarily a thinking-and-doing role in a community setting.
Skills and experience
Essential:
Strong teamwork and communication skills. Reliable and well-organised.
Able to engage respectfully with young people.
Comfortable working flexibly and adapting when plans change.
Desirable:
Experience in youth work, volunteering or community projects.
Interest in social innovation, entrepreneurship or inclusive growth. Creative or facilitation skills. Curiosity about why interventions succeed or fail — and what to do next.
Suitable for students from creative industries, engineering, business, entrepreneurship, and social sciences.
Location
LJMU/ Home Based
Additional information
***ringfenced to LJMU students and recent graduates only***
Applications will close at 11.59pm on Tuesday 21st April 2026.
Interview dates TBC
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