Tips on how to apply

Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We seek to recruit, retain and develop staff from all sectors of the community and will ensure that no applicant or staff member receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, social status, caste, race, ethnic origin, religious belief, age, HIV status, disability, or any other factor that cannot be shown to be relevant to performance.

We are committed to inclusive and accessible recruitment, including making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process for people who have a disability. Please contact us if you require recruitment or application information in an alternative format or need additional support at the interview stage.

Application tips.

Our recruitment process

As an agency, we believe in the potential of young people and believe they have the motivations, enthusiasm and dedication to lead change and development. This is also reflected in how we recruit for positions within our agency. We understand that it is not always necessary to have had direct experience of a role, instead in each stage of the application process we look for transferable knowledge and skills plus the motivation and passion which align with our values. We are also dedicated to the professional and personal development of our staff and have a wide variety of training and development opportunities to support staff to grow into their role and develop as leaders.

How to Apply

When a role is advertised, we ask all candidates to complete an online application form. You’ll need to supply your name, an email address and a phone number as part of this application.

We may also ask you to provide:

  • a Resume/CV (of no more than 2-3 pages)
  • a Cover letter that provides tangible examples of how your skills, knowledge and experience will support your ability to perform the key priorities outlined in the job description. Your examples can be from your working, volunteering or personal life.  (using no more than 750 words).

If you like, you can structure your cover letter using the ‘key priority’ as a paragraph heading and addressing each priority individually by giving examples. You can also use the ‘STAR’ technique to help you answer:

Situation: set the context for your example – when and where was this and what happened? 

Task: what was required of you/ what was your involvement?

Action: tell us what you did and how you did it.

Result: what was the outcome of your actions?

Where possible, the example should highlight either a positive result, an achievement or a situation where you have reflected you would do things differently.

  • To provide a short answer on how your own motivation and passion aligns with Restless Development’s Values and the role being applied for. What we’d love to see is what makes you who you are. Tell us about a cause you’ve a proven passion for or what makes you excited about what you can achieve with this role and with Restless while referring to our Values.
  • You may also be asked some additional questions, such as whether you have any criminal convictions or gaps in your employment history. Any information shared will be shared internally on a need to know basis and will not automatically disqualify you from the recruitment process. It will allow us to make an informed decision about your suitability for a role in line with our funding requirements.
  • Depending on the role there may also be some specific and context related questions you have to answer, or a request to submit examples of previous work eg reports/ proposals/ portfolio. This will all be used to help shortlist candidates.

Shortlisting

Once the deadline has closed, the hiring manager and interview panelists will review each application. Applicants will be shortlisted based on how well you’ve met the advertised priorities of the role and a rating will be given to each candidate. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to interview.

Unfortunately, due to the volume of applicants we normally receive and our limited resources we’re unable to provide specific and individual feedback to applicants not invited to interview. We will however provide an outcome decision via email and strongly encourage subsequent applications for other vacancies in the future.

Interview & Assessment

Our structured interviews ask all candidates the same competency and scenario-based questions relevant to the role. Each interview panelist scores candidates against the same criteria using an application scoring form.

To prepare for the interview we recommend doing some research. What do you know about the agency, the team and the role? Think about what might be expected of you in the role. 

Read through the Job Description and your application again. Don’t be afraid to repeat what you’re said in your application. Think about the key successes or achievements relevant to the role that you would like the interview panel to hear about. 

Depending on the role level you may be asked to interview a number of times. The assessment process may also involve written and interactive exercises. You will be informed of these in advance so you’re able to prepare. These assessments are designed to demonstrate your ability to perform in the role as well as giving you an idea of what the role will involve.

We will provide detailed feedback to all interviewed candidates

Pre-employment checks

If successful, an offer of employment will be made which is conditional upon our ability to secure at least two satisfactory references, one of which must be from your current or most recent employer. As part of our commitment to safeguarding, we also require you to carry out a basic criminal background/police check in each of our locations.

Your Restless Way Induction

After successfully meeting the employment offer conditions, we’ll formally contract you. We have a global Restless Way induction package that all of our global staff complete. This will help you settle into your new role, get to know your colleagues and what makes the culture and performance of Restless Development unique. Find out more about Life at Restless here.

Frequently Asked Questions 

  • How can I work for Restless Development?

We currently operate in nine countries, see ‘What we Do’. In each of these countries we have opportunities for people passionate about youth led development to work with us, volunteer with us and support our campaigns.

We advertise all our job opportunities on our Opportunities page, so be sure to check this page regularly. We also advertise positions across social media including our  LinkedIn jobs page, so be sure to follow us to stay updated on other opportunities.

  • Do you accept speculative applications for roles not advertised?

We do not accept prospective CVs or Cover Letters for roles not advertised.

When a role is advertised, we ask all candidates to complete an online application form. You’ll need to supply your name, an email address and a phone number as part of this application.We may also ask you to provide:

  • a Resume/CV (of no more than 2-3 pages)
  • a Cover letter that provides tangible examples of how your skills, knowledge and experience will support your ability to perform the key priorities outlined in the job description. Your examples can be from your working, volunteering or personal life.  (using no more than 750 words).
  • You may also be asked some additional questions, such as whether you have any criminal convictions or gaps in your employment history. Any information shared will be shared internally on a need to know basis and will not automatically disqualify you from the recruitment process. It will allow us to make an informed decision about your suitability for a role in line with our funding requirements.
  • Can I apply for more than one job at a time?

Yes, you can apply for an unlimited number of jobs, but please ensure that you meet the criteria for each post you apply for.

  • How will I know that Restless Development have received my application?

Once your application has been sent via email, you should receive an automatic email reply confirming your email has been received by the relevant jobs email account for the Restless Development hub you’ve applied for.

  • I missed the application deadline. Will you accept a late application?

Due to the number of applications we receive per vacancy and our shortlisting window, we can only consider applications received within the deadline.

  • Do I need a work permit to work for Restless Development in a country I am not from? Will you sponsor visa applications?

We will clearly specify in the role description if we are able to sponsor applicants without a work permit. It is role and country dependent, and not possible for all roles. We anticipate the majority of our roles will be filled by local people in our areas of operation.