Senior Project Officer / Job Coach

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board. Sheffield City Council has been nominated by Government as a Delivery Area Member in South Yorkshire's Connect to Work Programme, introduced in November 2024's Get Britain Working white paper. The programme, set to run from 2025 to 2030, will be externally funded through Department for Work and Pensions funding designated to South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

Connect to Work will comprise two elements - IPS and SEQF employment support which utilise the evidence-based place, train, and maintain models, designed to support participants with higher-level needs. This advert relates to the Job Coaches that will deliver on the Sheffield SEQF programme. From August 2025, Local Authority delivery and/or commissioning of SEQF provision targeted at individuals with a need for the highest level of supported employment, as a direct replacement for the Local Supported Employment programme currently commissioned by DWP and delivered (to July 2025) by the Local Authorities in Sheffield, Barnsley and Doncaster.

Sheffield City Council (SCC) has delivered the Local Supported Employment programme, providing SEQF services to higher-needs residents with Autism, LDD and/or neurodiversity, since 2022. During this period, the programme has supported 101 residents and successfully placed 31 in employment. In Sheffield, the SEQF programme will be required to support a minimum of 310 people over the next 5 years. Advisors will maintain smaller caseload sizes than on traditional keyworker provision. The maximum caseload size for an SEQF advisor will be 20.

Engagements are anticipated to be intensive and, in many cases, prolonged, as advisors work with participants to overcome multiple and/or complex barriers to employment, or sustained employment. Many of those targeted by Connect to Work will have no prior work experience or have a lengthy history of unemployment or economic inactivity, owing to employability barriers they face.

Opportunity Sheffield, Sheffield City Council's employment and skills service, are recruiting 2 Senior Project Officer/Job Coaches. We are looking for 2 enthusiastic, flexible and forward-thinking members of staff who can support and help people with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism to enhance their strengths and improve their job skills. The job coaches will be mentors who will be able to help people to identify their strengths and decide what job roles will be most suitable for them. They will work with employers to broker suitable job vacancies and support the individuals to gain and maintain employment, providing support within the workplaces.

The right candidates for the role will ideally have experience of working with individuals with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism and have experience of supporting people into employment, ability to inspire and motivate people, outstanding communication skills and be proficient in MS Office. Training in Systematic Instruction will be provided to the successful candidates.

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly. It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Disability Confident Scheme, disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria of this job are guaranteed an interview. Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part-time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide pay slip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare and safety of children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff to share this commitment. All successful candidates will be required to complete an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026.