At a Glance
- Tasks: Support residents into meaningful employment and build relationships with local businesses.
- Company: Join Wakefield's STEP UP Team, dedicated to making a difference in the community.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, generous holiday, hybrid working, and extensive training opportunities.
- Other info: Enjoy a supportive work environment with great career growth and wellbeing initiatives.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by helping vulnerable residents find sustainable jobs.
- Qualifications: Passion for supporting diverse residents and strong communication skills required.
The predicted salary is between 30000 - 40000 £ per year.
Are you passionate about making a difference to our citizens and the district that they reside in? Then, we have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team.
About the Role
This is an exciting time to join Wakefield's highly successful STEP UP Team. STEP UP delivers truly Person Centred employment support with a "No Resident Left Behind" ethos. We are currently in a period of expansion as we further develop our new Connect to Work Service. This is the perfect time to develop your specialist knowledge to help some of our most vulnerable residents. We are currently looking for several Employment Specialists with an interest in supporting either residents with Learning Disabilities/Neurodiversities or previous offending background.
Key Responsibilities
- Support a caseload of up to 25 residents through the programme and into good quality, sustained employment.
- Build excellent working relationships with local businesses to secure good quality, sustainable job opportunities.
- Work in partnership with stakeholders (e.g. Probation Service, other council departments) to ensure best possible progress into work for your customer.
- Maintain high quality records which demonstrate compliance with contract and the Supported Employment Quality Framework.
What will be expected from me?
As a community based professional Employment Specialist you will be expected to provide a high quality service to your customers, ensuring their stated job requirements can be achieved with the use of reasonable adjustments where required. You will also be expected to be an active, positive and supportive team member who contributes to the development of the programme and the team by contributing ideas which will either support an improvement in outcomes, or the overall quality of the service. You will also be expected to develop high quality, lasting relationships with businesses which can be utilised across the STEP UP programme. This will involve working with other council departments and a contracted third party provider to ensure businesses receive a good quality co-ordinated service which results in good jobs for Wakefield Residents.
Essential requirements
- Positive, creative problem solving attitude to work.
- Passionate about supporting residents into work.
- Strong desire to work with either residents with learning disabilities or those with an offending background.
- Strong track record of supporting residents into work.
- Excellent ability to communicate and influence at all levels, both verbally and in writing.
- Ability to work effectively to understand a business' needs and to fill these creatively for the benefit of STEP UP customers.
- Strong team player.
- Ability to work to strict compliance and delivery standards.
What can I expect?
- A competitive salary.
- Generous holiday entitlement with the option to buy up to 10 extra days of annual leave.
- Hybrid working (subject to role suitability).
- Access to high-quality training programmes to advance your career to the next level.
- We are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our staff. We recognise that resilient teams need good work life balance as well as supportive leadership.
- Discounted and subsidised public transport (Arriva Bus Annual Travel Ticket, Northern Trains Limited (NTL), MetroCard).
- Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and a Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) scheme providing a tax efficient way to increase our pension.
- Great range of benefits including an Employee Assistant Programme, discounted membership to our excellent leisure facilities with free 12 weeks exercise programme, discounts for a range of retail, entertainment, health and leisure providers, a cycle to work scheme, and many more.
Want to know more?
If you would like to know more about the role, the recruitment process or working for Wakefield Council, feel free to contact.
Name: Sharon Booth
Tel: 07717 711329
E-mail: sharonbooth@wakefield.gov.uk
Employment Specialist (Supported Employment) in Wakefield employer: Wakefield Council
Wakefield Council is an exceptional employer dedicated to making a positive impact in the community, particularly through its STEP UP Team, which focuses on providing person-centred employment support. Employees benefit from a supportive work culture that prioritises wellbeing, offers generous holiday entitlements, hybrid working options, and access to high-quality training programmes for career advancement. With a strong commitment to employee growth and a range of attractive benefits, including discounted transport and leisure facilities, Wakefield Council stands out as a rewarding place to work for those passionate about supporting vulnerable residents.
