Penetration Tester (Volunteer)

Here at Youth4Youth, we have grown a strong, tight-knit community of individuals who are passionate about making a difference and improving the lives of young people across the UK. Our growing team of volunteers all contribute, significantly, to the impact that we have as a charity on our direct beneficiaries, regardless of the department that they work in of the level of time that they are able to commit. Our services primarily offer a peer-support network to young people right across the UK, allowing them to access a peer mentor who is of a similar age to them and somebody that they feel more comfortable speaking with.

If successful, you will be joining a growing team of diverse, but likeminded individuals, collaborating to increase the reach of the Charity and improve support provisions available to young people. All of our volunteers and employees are remote workers, but that doesn't stop us keeping in touch and maintaining a strong positive culture amongst our whole team.  

About the role

The role of Penetration Tester is responsible for identifying vulnerabilities in Youth4Youth’s systems, applications, and infrastructure. This involves simulating cyberattacks, conducting security assessments, documenting findings, and recommending mitigations. The role requires communication with other Youth4Youth team members, developing test strategies for penetration testing, executing tests, analysing results, and creating detailed reports on security weaknesses and solutions.

Responsibilities 

• Perform security-focused testing of Youth4Youth’s applications, including vulnerability assessments and penetration testing.
• Experience with web and chat-based applications.
• Collaborate with developers to validate fixes and retest vulnerabilities.
• Regularly liaise with the wider team to ensure that test plans align with user requirements and core charity objectives.
• Analyse test results and write detailed reports, communicating findings to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Identify areas for improvement and work proactively with the development team to increase security of software.
• Stay up to date with technological innovations and new testing tools.
• Identify vulnerabilities and provide detailed documentation of findings, including how these can be exploited and remediation steps.

Skills 

• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills to engage with team members.
• Understanding of OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and secure web application development.
• Experience with penetration testing tools such as Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP and Nikto.
• Experience with vulnerability reporting, including risk assessment and remediation guidance.
• Awareness of data protection principles, GDPR and ethical hacking practices.
• Adaptable mindset to handle changing priorities and technologies.
• Excitement to stay updated with new software applications and techniques.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure and AWS.
• Familiarity with frameworks and libraries such as React and AngularJS.
• Familiarity with APIs.
• Strong verbal and written communication.
• Organisational skills to deliver tasks on time and manage effectively.
• Proficient IT skills, especially with Microsoft applications.
• Understanding of software engineering, programming, and development.
• Knowledge of continuous integration/delivery (CI/CD) and version control systems like Git.
• Certifications such as Certified Ethical Hacker are beneficial.

Our mission is to continue to grow towards becoming one of the best charities in the UK. Our aim is to do this by building a diverse team, rich with different backgrounds and perspectives. Therefore, even if you feel you only are a 75% match, we would still love to hear from you. Skills can be learned, but diversity cannot.

Benefits of volunteering with Youth4Youth

We recognise that you will be joining us and giving your time as an 'in-kind' donation, but there must be benefits for you too. When joining our team, you will be open to the following benefits:

• Professional and personal development opportunities in a variety of skill areas through volunteering in real roles. This may be general development or tailored to your specific needs or ambitions
• Becoming a member of a strong network of likeminded individuals, spread across the UK, who you can connect with and collaborate with both within and outside of the Charity
• Access to bespoke discounts, specifically designed for non-profit workers and Youth4Youth volunteers
• Opportunities to truly shape the future of the Charity, having a direct influence over the impact that Youth4Youth has on its direct beneficiaries

The hiring process

Our hiring process typically has two stages 

1. Video or Written Application (when applicable) 
2. Interview with the Volunteering Coordinator for that role

Some roles will have extra stages but we’ll let you know as early as possible if so.

Please let us know if you require any accommodations for the interview process, and we’ll do our best to assist.