Senior Participation Adviser

Job Summary

Full Time, Permanent Position.

Role and Purpose

Work principally with young people aged between 13 and 19 (and up to 25 with Special Educational Needs) who are Not in Employment, Education and Training (NEET) or at risk of being NEET, ensuring they can participate and remain in education, training and employment opportunities. Provide advice, information, guidance and intensive support to remove barriers to learning and raise aspirations. Access additional support from a range of specialist services, operate a jobs‑with‑training broking service, and work in partnership with local stakeholders including schools, colleges, training providers and Job Centre Plus. Maintain records in the Local Authorities Client Caseload Information System (CCIS) and report to DfE and KHCC.

Responsibilities

• Promotes and safeguards the welfare of children, young people and/or vulnerable adults.
• Provides a range of specialist information, advice, guidance and intensive support to individuals and groups of young people to facilitate choice and access for opportunities in education, training and/or employment.
• Establishes and maintains effective relationships with young people on their caseload, challenging attitudes to employment, education and training where appropriate.
• Assesses the individual’s current situation and readiness to progress, using appropriate tools, evaluates the information and feeds this back to identify and agree next steps.
• Maintains a core knowledge base around opportunities in education and training, LMI, and the common barriers to learning. Develops and maintains a specialist knowledge base in accordance with agreed focus areas.
• Maintains contact with employers, training providers and Job Centre Plus to obtain and update information on opportunities and promote links between education and employment.
• Uses specialist knowledge to decide and make appropriate referrals to other specialists, including colleagues within Connexions and wider services.
• Assists young people to make effective applications to education, employment and training opportunities, advising on recruitment methods and selection processes.
• Works to raise the aspirations of young people, promotes the benefits of participation in learning and builds confidence and resilience.
• Maintains effective records in the Client Caseload Information System to ensure accurate, comprehensive and timely reporting.
• Maintains and manages own caseload, deciding appropriate follow-up intervals and intervention options, working through lists of “not known”, “currency lapsed” and “NEET” young people regardless of caseload status.
• Has in-depth specialist knowledge of local education and training provision; provides a dedicated link to providers across the city.
• Attends relevant meetings where a young person’s future options are discussed, providing advice to the individual, parents/carers and other professionals.
• Provides assistance and ongoing support to local, regional and national projects/initiatives which assist young people to participate and reduce NEET.
• Provides mentoring and coaching to colleagues in line with specialist knowledge as and when appropriate.
• Contributes to the service areas statutory requirements with a particular emphasis on Raising of the Participation Age.
• Ensures personal health & safety responsibilities are upheld in accordance with the Council’s Corporate H&S policy.

Benefits

• A competitive salary (£32,597.00–£35,412.00).
• Excellent pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
• Initially 23 days annual leave, plus eight public holidays, and three additional days off (May/August and Christmas/New Year).
• Career development and learning opportunities from a range of training courses and methods.
• A supportive and forward‑thinking culture with great career development opportunities.

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to increasing the diversity, equality and inclusion within our workforce and encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. The Council adopts a name‑blind approach to shortlisting so that recruiting managers do not access personal information until a shortlisting decision has been made.