Head of Careers Guidance and Work Experience

Description

About Us

We are a charity based in East London. We inspire children and young people across London and beyond, using data to understand the barriers they face and connecting them with a range of employers and opportunities to open doors to their success.

We have over 30 years of experience in delivering high quality services and programmes to children, young people, schools, local authorities and employers. Working alongside our large network of employer volunteers, we design and deliver programmes that inspire and support children and young people to create a positive future for themselves in their journey from the classroom to workplace. We provide them with independent careers guidance, high aspirations and strong employability skills.

Our guiding principles are:

Work with integrity – doing the right thing for young people

Be bold – using challenges to drive innovation

Drive equity – challenging our thinking to increase diversity

In partnership – working with others to achieve goals

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced senior manager looking to make a difference to young people’s lives. If you are passionate about outcomes, impact and delivering service excellence then this role is for you.

This is an exciting opportunity to join us in a new role. As the Head of Careers Guidance and Work Experience you will be a key member of our Senior Management Team and play a pivotal role in leading our dedicated teams, driving quality and delivering operational excellence. You will lead and manage development, implementation, and evaluation of our work experience and careers guidance programmes ensuring they are efficient, impactful and align with our charity values and mission. This role is crucial in ensuring that students receive high-quality support to raise their aspirations, enhance their employability and achieve their career goals. The role will also focus on supporting and contributing to others in meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks, ensuring high standards of careers guidance.

Working alongside our other Heads of Department, you will support and contribute to the overall success of our charity through provision of opportunities and inspiration for young people that enable them to achieve their potential, create a positive future for themselves and open doors to their success.

If you are a dynamic and collaborative leader, with experience in managing and developing services for young people and have a strong understanding of work experience programmes and careers guidance services, then we would love to hear from you.

Head of Careers Guidance and Work Experience – Job Description

Responsibilities
Leadership and Management

• Form part of our Senior Management Team (SMT), attending meetings, driving company-wide improvements, working collaboratively with services and sharing contributions.
• Lead, proactively manage and develop the Work Experience and Careers Guidance teams, providing direction, support, and professional development opportunities, ensuring the team has a diverse and dynamic mix of skills and development focus for continuing personal development to achieve individual, team and charity-wide objectives.
• Develop and implement strategic plans to enhance effectiveness of services.
• Monitor and evaluate programme outcomes, ensuring alignment with organisational goals and objectives.
• Ensure that programmes and delivery provide high quality impactful services with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Maintain a strong knowledge of education legislation and policy, especially in relation to Careers Guidance and Work Experience.

Service Management

• Responsible for day to day running of Careers Guidance and Work Experience services.
• Management of staff allocation and workloads to ensure contract requirements are met and high quality services are delivered.
• Design and oversee work experience programs that provide meaningful opportunities for skill development and career exploration.
• Oversee and quality assure recording of service data.
• Collaborate with local businesses, educational institutions, and community organisations to create partnerships and secure work experience placements and further opportunities to engage with our services.
• Responsible for development of resources and materials for the delivery of services and to support students in their career development journey.
• Ensure programmes contribute to meeting Gatsby Benchmarks, providing a structured and high-quality career guidance framework through delivery of Careers Guidance services.
• Retain quality marks including Matrix award.
• Ensure programmes comply with relevant regulations and best practices.
• Prepare and present programme performance reports.
• Manage all administration and resources in relation to Careers Guidance and Work Experience delivery, ensuring maximum efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Stakeholder Management

• Build, manage, develop and maintain positive relationships with stakeholders, including employers, schools, and community partners.
• Manage Careers Guidance and Work Experience contracts, meeting regularly with contract leads and stakeholders to ensure services are well considered and secure.
• Represent the charity at external events and meetings, advocating for the needs of young people.

Business Development and Retention

• Drive continuous improvement to the service, including overseeing the annual quality review.
• Retain and grow new business in line with future need.
• Seek opportunities to grow service delivery and establish new partnerships, ensuring future stability.
• Work collaboratively across departments to ensure that our Careers Guidance and Work Experience programmes add value and maintain our USP with service customers.
• Ensure Careers Guidance and Work Experience programmes are fully costed and charged appropriately.
• Assist and support with preparation of tenders and grant applications when required.

Other responsibilities

• Carry out any other duties in line with the purpose and grade of the role.
• Complete all tasks in accordance with our policies and procedures, particularly those relating to Safeguarding, Equal Opportunities, GDPR and Health and Safety

Requirements

Qualifications

• A minimum of 5 GCSEs at A* to C grade or equivalent (including English and Maths)
• A Levels or equivalent qualification
• Educated to Degree level or able to demonstrate equivalent experience

Person Specification
Essential

• Strong understanding of work experience programmes and careers guidance/IAG services.
• Proven ability to motivate, manage and build positive relationships and partnerships with direct reports, stakeholders and colleagues.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrable project management skills and experience, ideally in an education context.
• Ability to negotiate and influence with a range of audiences and stakeholders.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of GDPR / Data Protection legislation.
• Ability to plan, prioritise and organise own and team workloads effectively.
• Proactive approach to learning new skills and leading service enhancement.
• Ability to adopt a flexible approach in managing conflicting demands.
• Ability to meet strict deadlines ensuring contractual compliance and requirements are met.
• High degree of proficiency implementing delivery of services to external clients.
• Excellent administrative skills and attention to detail.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Sharepoint and Teams.
• Ability to retain, grow and directly line manage contracted services and service areas.
• Commitment to our mission and values
• Experience of managing a diverse team.
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic and confident.

Desirable

• Proven experience in a leadership role in a non-profit or similar organisation.
• Experience of budget management.
• Experience of working in the education and/or charity sector.
• Experience of marketing products both on and offline, including social media platforms.
• Level 6/7 Careers Guidance qualification.
• Experience of delivery of Careers Guidance programmes.
• Experience of delivery of Work Experience programmes.

Benefits

29 days annual leave plus bank holidays

3 volunteering days per year

Family friendly policies

Hybrid working arrangements

If you have the skills and desire to join our team, please see our job description for further details.

How to Apply

If you wish to apply for this role, please provide your CV and a covering letter outlining why you are suitable for the role, clearly addressing the requirements of the person specification.

Closing date

Interviews will be held on a rolling basis. We will review applications as we receive them and aim to appoint as soon as we meet the right person. We reserve the right to close the application process early if we find a suitable candidate.

Unfortunately, due to the number of applications we receive we are unable to contact unsuccessful applicants.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The successful candidate will be required to apply for an Enhanced Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service.