Senior Pastoral and Activity Leader

Fixed term contracts available between 29th June and 29th August:

• Full summer contract employment dates: 29th June – 18th July, 23rd July – 8th August, 14th August – 29th August.
• Medium term contract employment dates: 29th June – 18th July & 23rd July – 8th August.
• Short term contract employment dates: 20th July – 8th August.

Our Senior Pastoral and Activity Managers play a crucial role in the smooth operation of our centres. They will manage a team of 3-4 Pastoral and Activity Leaders (PALs), supporting with the day-to-day care of the students and taking responsibility for the delivery of our students’ social programme.

During the summer holidays, we deliver immersive Summer Experiences designed to give students a 360-degree insight into their dream career. Led by industry professionals, our programmes offer up to 65 hours of hands-on experience, including visits to real workplaces, professional development coaching, and exclusive networking opportunities. Our Summer Experiences are based on-campus in central London at some of the UK’s most prestigious universities, including University College London (UCL), the London School of Economics (LSE), and the University of London. Students can choose to attend a one-week, two-week, or two-week Premium programme, with the option to study on a non-residential or residential basis. This on-campus setting provides students with a safe, supportive, and inspiring environment while offering an authentic taste of university life in the heart of London.

Ways we support our Senior Pastoral & Activity Leaders:

• We will cover the full cost of a new Enhanced DBS (if required) for your first contract working with InvestIN.
• We encourage all staff to sign up for the Update Service.
• Extensive, paid, on-site training prior to student arrival.
• Accommodation included.
• Appraisals.
• Access to Employee Assist Programme (EAP).
• Continual support for all staff from the Summer Experience Directors, both on the ground and via phone/email.
• Online safeguarding and prevent training.
• Professional, fun and supportive environment.

Remuneration: £650 per week, plus 2 meals per day and accommodation. You will accrue Annual Leave throughout your internship at a standard rate (25 days per year pro-rated).

Working Hours: 55 hours per week on average (you will be asked to ‘opt out’ of the 48-hour Working Time Directive).

Main Duties:

• PAL Cover: Cover the duties of the PALs you manage, including taking responsibility for their group of 25 students, supporting their wellbeing and escorting them to programmes. Facilitate handovers between Programme Team and Centre Team, including briefing PALs returning from days off. Support with student registration, communicating absences with relevant parties and supporting with door knocks and Missing Persons Protocol.
• People Management: Line manage 3-4 Pastoral and Activity Leaders, including regular check-ins and providing support throughout their contract. Support PALs with any queries, including helping them find relevant resources and put them in touch with relevant points of contact. Act as a triage point for PALs, escalating relevant issues to Assistant Centre Managers. Attend regular meetings with the Senior Centre Staff team. Keep track of any overtime worked by team members, facilitating TOIL where needed. Support with the organisation of staff socials to boost morale.
• Social Programme Management: Act as the lead for an activity each night, taking accountability for relevant resources and logistics. Delegate to other staff members working to maximise excellent facilitation of the activity. Take charge of behaviour management and student engagement during the activity. Work closely with the Activity Manager for your site to ensure students have an enjoyable and safe experience. Coordinate and lead on a UCAS study hall for all accom students with UCAS add on.
• Other: Ad-hoc support of Senior Centre staff team. Attend daily full-team meetings. Maintain up-to-date and clear records on all InvestIN’s reporting platforms. Understand and act in accordance with InvestIN’s ethos and cultural values. Adhere to InvestIN’s safeguarding policy and staff/student Code of Conduct procedures and practices. Undertake mandatory safeguarding and child protection training and other professional development activities to ensure that you remain compliant in meeting InvestIN’s duty of care in safeguarding practice (KCSIE 2024).

About You:

Our ideal candidate is proactive, energetic and adaptable, with the ability to motivate and inspire others. We’re looking for people who are resilient and thrive under pressure and have the ability to maintain a positive attitude and high standards of professionalism. They should be a strong team leader, looking to develop their people management skills in an exciting fast-paced setting. We would anticipate that due to the senior nature of this role, the strongest candidates would be early-career professionals, fresh graduates, mature students or those with extensive experience either at InvestIN or similar institutions.

You have, and can demonstrate, the following skills and interests:

• Experience working with young people aged 15–18 in summer camps or boarding settings.
• Experience delivering or coordinating activities for large groups, such as coaching, teaching or running workshops.
• Experience leading or supervising teams.
• Strong pastoral skills with experience and interest in supporting both young people and young professionals with their wellbeing.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to inspire confidence and trust in students and staff.
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to remain calm and solution-focused under pressure.
• A high level of vigilance when working with young or vulnerable people and working knowledge of safeguarding for 15–18 year olds.
• A desire to work in education, childcare or a related field.
• A deeply-entrained sense of personal pride in your work, and a commitment to giving students a 5* experience in every interaction.
• A deeply-invested belief in InvestIN’s sense of purpose and our programmes.

About Us:

Since 2012, InvestIN has equipped over 70,000 students from across the UK and 100+ countries with an immersive experience of their dream career. Co-Founders Hitesh Chowdhry and Shameer Thobhani are former professionals in corporate law and investment banking respectively. They were inspired by the opportunity to provide students with a realistic insight into their own fields, by equipping young people with the insider knowledge they both wished they’d had when they were at school. Today, InvestIN delivers immersive work experience programmes across 15 competitive industries, including medicine, engineering, architecture and entrepreneurship.

Our Mission: Life beyond education can feel daunting, as students are expected to make big decisions at a young age that will inevitably shape their future. InvestIN programmes empower students to:

• Make the right career decisions by experiencing an industry first-hand and gaining exposure to real professionals, students can better determine whether an industry aligns with their goals and skills.
• Increase their chances of breaking into a competitive field by developing key employability skills, as well as gaining a certificate and industry reference letter, students can boost their university applications and CVs.

What We Do: InvestIN delivers immersive work experience programmes in London for students aged 15-18. With 15 competitive careers to choose from, each programme is delivered by accomplished industry experts to equip students with a 360-degree insight into their respective fields. Our programmes provide students with the ultimate work experience.

Our Impact: Three in four of our alumni who referenced InvestIN on their university application received a spot at their first choice university.

Our Advocates: We’ve built a network of over 1,200 Partner Schools across the world.

Our Feedback: We have excellent ratings based on over 1,500 Trustpilot and Google reviews and 93% of last year’s summer students said they would recommend InvestIN to their friends.

Our Accreditations: We’re the only accredited summer school that enables students to gain UCAS points for work experience. We’re also accredited by the British Accreditation Council, as well as listed as approved activity providers for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Residential Award.

TO APPLY: We want to make sure we do all we can to set candidates up for success in this process. If you require any adjustments to help you at interview and/or you have any questions at all, please contact us at: recruitment@investIN.org

Please note, as this post involves direct contact with vulnerable children, it is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. However, amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975 (2013 and 2020) provide that certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’. These are not subject to disclosure to employers and cannot be taken into account.

SHOULD YOU BE SUCCESSFUL: Any gaps in your CV will be enquired about and must be explained satisfactorily. You will have to prove your Right to Work in the UK. You will provide the details of two recent and relevant, professional or academic referees who we will contact and specifically ask about your suitability to work with children and any concerns. You will be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS), and equivalent if you live, or have lived, outside of the UK. You will be asked to state that you have no known reason why you cannot work with children. Official identification and certificates will be required for our records.

Safer Recruitment, Safeguarding and EDI statement: InvestIN is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, seasonal workers, and external professionals to share this commitment. InvestIN are committed to making our recruitment processes as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values difference, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to InvestIN’s culture. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to work with InvestIN will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of Police records via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and barring Service helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable candidates gaining access to minors or vulnerable adults.

Open Source Searching Guidance: InvestIN are committed to ensuring that we follow and implement legislation and advisories as set out in the KCSIE 2024 framework.