Employment Co-Ordinator

Reporting ToEmployability Manager

Job TypePermanent, Part-Time

LocationThe Poppy Factory, Richmond, Surrey office

Salary£15,333 per annum

HoursPart Time, 25 hours pw, ideally Monday to Friday

Company Information:

The Poppy Factoryis an independent charity which was founded in 1922 with the object of providing paid employment opportunities for ex-Servicemen and women with disabilities. A factory was established in Richmond to make poppies and other commemorative items to achieve this purpose. The products are sold under special arrangements to The Royal British Legion (TRBL).

Whilst the charity continues to provide paid employment through its Factory it also facilitates paid and meaningful “client” employment opportunities for wounded, injured and sick (WIS) ex-Servicemen and women throughout England and Wales, via its employability service. It also provides assistance in Northern Ireland.

Purpose of the Role:

To work collaboratively with the immediate team and other Poppy Factory colleagues to deliver a high quality employability service to WIS veterans seeking paid employment.

To provide an efficient client (veteran) Registration process and manage Referrals received from external agencies, taking proactive steps to communicate clearly with clients and referrers in a sensitive, constructive and professional manner.

To manage the administrative flow of job vacancies on and off the Jobs Portal ensuring that the Portal is up to date and any other associated tasks.

To support employability service colleagues working in the field, by:

(i)acting as a central point of contact for general and/or first line queries, particularly from external contacts

(ii)providing colleagues with practical support for e.g. organising the central distribution of marketing materials and the co-ordination of attendance at Jobs Fairs and Armed Forces Day events.

To support the Employability Manager and other team members with the provision of Management Information (MI) data reports used to measure and evaluate the service.

Principal Responsibilities:

  • Client/customer facing telephone and email support for veterans seeking to Register for employability assistance as well as for Referrers from other organisations, including provision of additional service information, and support with medical and service evidence requirements.
  • Answering the telephone and responding to emails in the appropriate way, responding to client/customer needs in a timely manner, whether face to face or on the telephone. When it’s not possible, or it’s going to take longer, communicating this back to the client/customer.
  • Where necessary to provide information and ‘signposting’ to clients to connect them with other services if more appropriate to their needs.
  • Ensuring Harlequin (Customer Relationship Management) client records are up to date and accurate.
  • Manage vacancy list via the Jobs Portal, including where necessary, contacting employers to ensure vacancies are still live.
  • Co-ordinate the use of soft outcome measures (e.g. Client Survey, impact measures) for the team, and collate the data.
  • Provide weekly and monthly statistical reports.
  • Respond effectively to acknowledge and where possible promptly resolve first line complaints, escalating to the Employability Manager or a Lead Employability Consultant as appropriate.
  • Organising booking of meeting rooms for employability service team meetings, including the preparation and clearance of meetings rooms and organising refreshments, liaising with colleagues asappropriate.
  • General administration and support as and when required.

Please note this list is not exhaustive and will evolve with the role and the growth of the employability service.

Job Specification

Essential Skills & Qualities:

  • Organised and methodical approach to work, able to prioritise a varied and busy workload, with strong administrative skills.
  • Confident communicator both over the phone and in writing, with the ability to quickly establish rapport, and in particular with those from and within HM forces.
  • Ability to work effectively with a field based team and remotely from Line Management support, with only infrequent face to face contact.
  • Ability and empathy to work effectively with individuals facing challenges arising from disabilities.
  • Ability to maintain professional boundaries with clients.
  • Solution focused with a commitment to delivering a quality service to internal and external ‘customers’.
  • Familiar with Outlook, Word, Excel, and a Customer Relationship Management system or similar type of database (both data inputting and retrieval), as well as attention to detail.
  • Direct personal and professional experience of the HM forces.
  • Personal experience of health challenges / disability, an advantage.
  • Knowledge and experience of adult safeguarding requirements and practices, or willingness to learn.
  • Knowledge or experience of Data Protection requirements and practices, or willingness to learn.

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