Residential Project Worker

Join Our Team at The Whistlestop and Make a Real Difference!

We're excited to offer rewarding opportunities within our Residential Short Break Services for Children with Disabilities — and we'd love you to be part of our dedicated, compassionate team.

Whether you're looking for a permanent role (up to 30 hours per week) or a flexible ‘As and When' position, we may have the perfect fit for you!

Where You'll Work🏡 The Whistlestop (Randalstown) – Offering short breaks for children and young people with disabilities within the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.

Who We're Looking For

We're searching for kind, committed and motivated individuals who:
✅ Have experience working with children and young people, especially those with disabilities.
✅ Understand safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of care.
✅ Are confident in record-keeping and documentation.
✅ Hold a full driving licence (or can meet the mobility requirements of the role).

🌟 Come Along to One of Our Information Sessions! 🌟 

We'd love to welcome you to one of our upcoming Information Sessions, where you can explore what The Whistlestop Service is all about.

These relaxed, informal sessions give you the chance to:
✨ Meet our friendly team and get a real feel for the work we do
✨ Learn more about our service, the children we support, and what the role involves
✨ Ask questions, get honest insights and discover whether this role is right for you
✨ Complete an application form on the day, if you feel inspired to join us!

Whether you're exploring a new career path or looking for a role where you can make a meaningful impact, this is the perfect opportunity to find out more.

Location: Arches Association - Arches Lane, Main Street, Randalstown ,BT41 3AB.

Available Sessions:

Tuesday, 17th February 18:30-20:30

Tuesday, 24th February 18:30-20:30

Saturday, 21st February - 09:30-13:30

Why Join Barnardo's?

✅ Make a tangible impact – Your work will shape young lives, providing the care and support they need to thrive.
✅ Grow professionally – We offer opportunities for training, career progression, and personal development.
✅ Enjoy a competitive salary – Starting from £13.58/hour (£21,196.54 annually for 30 hours) and rising up to £15.31/hour (£23,889.50 annually). The full-time equivalent salary ranges from £26,142.40 - £29,463.72 FTE per year.
✅ Extra rewards for your dedication:

• £62.64 for every sleep-in shift.
• Premium Waking Night allowance of ‘time plus one-third' for each waking night shift 

✅ Enjoy great benefits, including:

• 26 days of annual leave plus 10 statutory holidays (pro-rata).
• A contributory pension scheme to secure your future.
• A holiday purchase scheme and staff discounts to support your well-being.

Job Details

🕒 Hours: A range of contracts available (see Additional Information Sheet for details).
💷 Salary: £26,142.40 - £29,463.72 FTE.
⏳ Closing Date: Midnight, 25 February 2026
📅 Interviews: TBC

📩 Ready to Apply?
Make sure to outline how you meet the essential criteria listed on the additional information sheet in your application.

For any questions, feel free to reach out: 📧 recruitment.support@barnardos.org.uk

The waiting list will be held in the event that similar vacancies arise for a period of up to 12 months.

The successful candidates will also be required to undertake an Enhanced Access NI with Child Barred List check

Applicants must be registered with the NI Social Care Council (NISCC) or willing to register by appointment.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values.  We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people. 

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay. 

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours.  More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application. 

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.  

Our basis and values