Employment Coach (Releasing New Potential) - Fixed Term until 31st March 2023

Funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and The National Lottery Community Fund, a position has arisen for an Employment Coach (Releasing New Potential) as part of the West of England Works Building Better Opportunities Project. This is a full-time post for 37 hours per week fixed term until March 2023.

The aim of the project is to support people who are long term unemployed and who face multiple and complex barriers to securing employment or training across the West of England. This role will require working with people either one-to-one or in small groups to support them to move closer to the workplace.

The role of the employment coach will be:

• To pro-actively attract suitable participants to the project through advertising, networking and engagement within local communities across the West of England.
• To provide support, advice and guidance for participants with a range of issues and barriers to the workplace.
• To work primarily on a 1-1 basis to:
• help participants identify barriers to accessing education, training and employment; set goals and create individual action plans; and provide support to overcome these barriers.
• provide support to access education and training/personal development courses.
• provide support to access voluntary work, work taster days and work placement programmes.
• provide preparation for employment support including CV writing, job search, job applications, interview prep and in-work support for new job starts.
• To support group activity through our community education and Solutions programmes.
• To be flexible and dynamic in their approach and develop support activities based on the needs of the participants.
• To work collaboratively with the rest of the team, other programme partners and specialist providers to provide a holistic package of support.
• To complete all necessary paperwork, input data onto a Management Information system, and maintain compliance with the programme requirements.
• To work closely with and report to the Manager for Releasing New Potential.

We require candidates who are passionate, professional and conscientious. The successful applicant must have experience of working with people who are long term unemployed and who have an offending background, they will have a good awareness of the potential issues faced and a good knowledge of the services, training and employment opportunities available in the West of England.

This is an exciting time to join Weston College. The College is Ofsted 'Outstanding', its Higher Education provision is graded 'Gold' by TEF, and Weston College has recently won the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, one of only two Further Education colleges in the country to be awarded this prestigious honour. Furthermore, the College is an Investors in People 'Champion' and has been awarded 'Platinum' by Investors in People, which demonstrates our commitment to invest in our staff to improve performance.

Weston College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.