Employment Coach - Bedford

To support and progress participants into sustainable employment, working to challenging targets, in a compliant manner, whilst adhering to AKG company values.

Key Relationships/Interactions

• Internal: Quality and compliance, Customer Excellence Centre, Performance Excellence Team, Employer Services Team, Business Improvement Team
• External: Local Key stakeholders, JCP, External provision to support participants, Participants

Key Responsibilities

As an Employment Coach, you will be supporting individuals to progress into their chosen career paths by providing advice, support and guidance through assessments and implementing tailored support plans. Working with participants face to face, you will coach and support their journey to employment by providing employability sessions, interview skills advice, job search methods, re-building participant confidence following a period of unemployment, and identifying correct interventions that will remove barriers and enable them to regain employment. Monthly targets will be a part of your role for you to achieve. You will maintain participant records using the AKG CRM system and record regular contact with your participants, keeping them motivated and focused for the duration of the programme. Working with diagnostic screening, assessments, and skills analysis will be critical to the guidance you provide, allowing participants to consider all options available to them to gain employment. Familiarity with the local area labour market, training opportunities, and relevant support agencies is essential for success in the role. You will get to know the local employers in your community, understanding what they are looking for in an employee and encouraging them to interview your participant.

Essential/Desirable Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Experience in providing one-to-one support or coaching and positively influencing other people’s professional or personal development.
• Experience of working in the employment and skills sector and delivering to specified targets, quality standards, and compliance measures is essential.
• Experience of using motivational and action planning techniques to manage the progression of participants into sustainable work opportunities.
• The empathy it takes to engage with all sorts of people, and the confidence to challenge them if needed.
• The ability to handle complex cases simultaneously in an environment where you will have targets to achieve.
• The need to be organised and able to manage time effectively to ensure monthly targets are achieved.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to motivate and inspire others.
• An influencing approach, especially when it comes to bringing other people around to your way of thinking.
• A good understanding of the local and regional labour market.
• A practical understanding of the recruitment and selection processes.
• Comfortable with some local travel and using a range of digital channels including phone, video conferencing, and email.
• Good administration, IT skills, and experience of using MS Office software.
• Desire to work in a newly formed organisation where there is a need to be both creative and pragmatic.

Compliance

It is the responsibility of all staff to abide by organisational policies to ensure compliance with relevant standards e.g. ISO 27001 (Information Security), ISO 9001 (Quality), and ISO 14001 (Environmental) as well as adhering to statutory duties in relation to safeguarding, Prevent, and health and safety.