EMPLOYMENT COACH/TALENT COACH
APPLICATION PACK – Dec 2014
SUMMARY
Back on Track ex-offenders and other disadvantaged adults in Greater Manchester, supporting them to change their lives through education training and employment. This post is focused on supporting clients into sustainable employment, with a particular focus on 18-24 year olds. You need to have a strong track record of both supporting individuals into employment, and effectively engaging young adults.
This post is partly funded by Greater Manchester Talent Match.
RECRUITMENT TIMETABLE
Application process - deadline for receipt of applications is 5pm on Tuesday 9 December 2014. Please send a completed application form, ensuring that you set out how you meet the person specification. Please note, CVs will not be accepted.
Please send your application form to:
Adrian Shaw, Administration Worker
Back on Track, 4th Floor Swan Buildings, 20 Swan Street, Manchester. M4 5JW
Email to
Informing shortlisted candidates
We will provide full details about the interview and practical task for shortlisted candidates by the end of the day on Thursday 11December 2014.
Back on Track is not able to acknowledge receipt of applications. If you have not heard from us by this date, please assume that unfortunately your application has not been successful at this point.
If you are not shortlisted and would like feedback on your application, please note that it can take us up to two months to send feedback as we will be busy with the rest of the recruitment process.
Interview and assessment – Tuesday 16December 2014
The interview and assessment will take the form of:
-a tour and informal discussion session with service users
-a practical task, such as a presentation or group activity
-an interview with a panel
Starting in the post
The postholder will need to attend compulsory Talent Match training on either:
26 and 27 January 2015, or 28 and 29 January 2015. We are only able to accept applications from candidates who are able to attend one of these training slots.
Any questions
If you want to find out more about Back on Track’s work, please take the following steps:
1) Read the application pack thoroughly
2) Visit our website
3) If you want to make an informal visit, please come along to one of our weekly drop-in sessions every Tuesday from 1pm-3pm. (Please note, this is an open drop-in session providing an opportunity to find out more about the organisation in general. You will not necessarily be able to speak to anyone about this role.)
4) If after reading the pack and checking our website you have any remaining questions about the post, please contact Samantha Tonner, Senior Employability Co-ordinator by email on
JOB DESCRIPTION – EMPLOYMENT COACH/TALENT COACH
BACKGROUND
Back on Track is a registered charity, providing first steps education and work experience for adults in Greater Manchester who face multiple barriers to employment. Back on Track’s services are targeted at adults who are going through a rehabilitation or recovery process, because of problems such as substance misuse, criminal conviction, mental illness or homelessness.
Back on Track’s services are:
-Outreach work (in probation offices, hostels, drug and alcohol services, etc) to engage disadvantaged adults in learning and skills activities
-A busy education centre in Manchester city centre, providing user-friendly courses in subjects such as computers, literacy and numeracy, cookery, art
-Introductory vocational training plus work experience sessions, enabling disadvantaged adults to gain skills for work
-Pathways into college, volunteering and employment, through partnership work with other organisations.
You will be working as part of the Employability Team which aims to support potential service users from our target groups to enter and sustain employment. The Employability Team provides opportunities to access further learning, work experience, volunteering, apprenticeships and employment.
Part of your role will be to act as a Talent Coach to a group of target clients aged between 18 – 24 years, supporting them to move forward in their journey towards employment. This part of the post is funded by the Greater Manchester Talent Match initiative, further information about this initiative can be found at
The Talent Coach approach requires intensive casework with a relatively small number of young adults to support their progress, enabling them to overcome barriers, make progress, and eventually to gain and sustain employment. You will work with clients from a wide range of backgrounds, and will need to have excellent interpersonal skills and a passion for helping disadvantaged young adults to fulfil their potential. You also need a proven track record of supporting individuals into employment. The GM Talent Match funding is partly funded under payment by results, and you therefore need to be committed to achieving the required outcomes. The post is funded for one year initially at Back on Track. However, the GM Talent Match scheme as a whole runs for several years. Any extension to Back on Track’s work on the project (and hence this post) will be dependent on your success at achieving the target outcomes for the project.
You will also be working with the wider Back on Track team to ensure there are effective access points and opportunities within Back on Track for young adults. This will include helping to run existing mechanisms for engaging new clients (e.g. drop-in sessions, guidance service, outreach visits to other organisations). It will also include setting up new methods and partnerships (e.g. surgeries held in other agencies’ premises, bespoke referral pathways from key organisations). You will need to be very well-organised and proactive about setting up new activities and initiatives.
In addition to your work on GM Talent Match, you will also be required to work as part of the Employability Team on other funded contracts.
Back on Track holds thematrix standard for information advice and guidance, and the Approved Provider Standard for mentoring and befriending. You will be expected to work to quality standards within these frameworks.
JOB DESCRIPTION – EMPLOYMENT COACH/TALENT COACH
JOB PURPOSE
To engage with and provide disadvantaged adults to enter and sustain employment, with a particular focus on young adults.
Responsible to:Senior EmployabilityCo-ordinator
Responsible for:Co-ordinating the engagement of 18-24 year olds
Delivering one to one mentoring and guidance to a caseload
Achieving employment outcomes according to targets
Deliveringother contracts and projects
Line manager to:Volunteers assisting with activities
Occasionally manage staff / placements on short term projects
Main place of work:SwanBuildings, Manchester. The postholder will also be expected to work regularly at other venues in Greater Manchester.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Develop engagement routes and access points for new service users
-Work with the Senior Employability Co-ordinator to create and implement a development plan for engagement pathways into Talent Match
-Create client-facing documents which summarise the services and access points available
-Work with colleagues to promote the access points available, and to develop new solutions to meet the needs of target groups.
2. Develop effective access points for engaging target clients
(Talent Match contract; others as agreed)
-Work with the Senior Employability Co-ordinator and staff from partner agencies to develop referral mechanisms and pathways into employment
-Develop strong and effective working relationships with key workers from partner organisations and employers
-Set up and oversee engagement activities delivered ‘on site’ in partner locations
3. Provide ongoing support to a caseload of target service users
-Take responsibility for a caseload of service users, to support their engagement, retention and progression
-Undertake initial assessment and guidance interviews to new clients
-Undertake mentoring support and advice/guidance sessions to a caseload of service users
-Liaise with colleagues to support the successful engagement of target service users in different activities at Back on Track
-Liaise with key workers / advice workers/referral agencies from partnership project about individual progress
-Keep excellent records of IAG and mentoring interventions
-Oversee tracking of target service users, to provide effective reports.
4. Support the delivery of employability activities at Back on Track
-Work with colleagues to develop and adapt employability activities which meet the needs of the 18-24 year old cohort
-Contribute to effective running of vocational training programmes
-Contribute to effective running of work experience activities
-Contribute to effective running of weekly work clubs
-Contribute to effective delivery of in-work support mechanisms
5. Develop effective pathways into externalopportunities
-Develop excellent working knowledge of the GM Talent Match Opportunities Hub
-Work in close partnership with the GM Talent Match employer engagement hub
-Undertake own research into opportunities and share information with colleagues
-Work with colleagues to set up preparatory activities
6. Support service users to gain and retain employment
-Undertake intensive work to support service users to gain employment
-Work with the Senior Employability Co-ordinator to set up agreed methods for providing in-work support for target service users
-Implement in-work support measures to enable target service users to sustain employment and continue to fulfil their potential
7. Deliver one-to-one coaching to designated trainees and volunteers
-Provide line management to designated volunteers / trainees
-Provide coaching support to trainees and volunteers, to enable them to succeed within their roles
-Provide careers advice and support to trainees towards the end / after the end of their placement, to support their progression
-Maintain contact with trainees and volunteers who have finished the scheme, to track their progress
8. Support the recording and celebration of success stories
-Identify success stories of target service users who have overcome significant barriers to succeed in learning and work
-Work with colleagues to celebrate success stories (e.g. via celebration events, publications, guest speakers)
9. Co-ordinate agreed elements of funded contract(s) which support this post
-Take responsibility for co-ordinating work to achieve targets
-Monitor outputs delivered on contract(s)
-Ensure effective records of activities and funding claims are kept
-Provide regular reports to designated Co-ordinator about progress on the contract(s)
-Provide agreed reports to the external funder(s) about progress on the contract(s)
-Work with the team to ensure good relationship management with the funder
10. Contribute to excellence and quality improvement within the service
-Maintain excellent records of activities, outcomes and feedback
-Participate in quality improvement activities, staff development opportunities, sharing of good practice, and self-evaluation
-Co-operate with observations of own guidance and training practice, and engage in constructive discussion about improvements to own practice
11. Contribute to the smooth running of Back on Track’s services
-Contribute to team meetings and the day to day running of services
-Deliver agreed volume of generic project work tasks at Back on Track (e.g. initial interview rota, drop-in rota, etc)
-Deliver agreed volume of training sessionseach year to volunteers / staff from other agencies/employers
-Provide cover in case of absence of other colleagues
-As Back on Track is a small organisation, it is expected that the postholder will be flexible and willing to take on other tasks as required.
Person Specification –EMPLOYMENT COACH / TALENT COACH
ESSENTIAL CRITERIA
Experience
-A strong track record of supporting disadvantaged adults to gain and sustain employment
-A strong track record of engaging and motivating young adults
-A strong track record of achieving results against targets
-A track record ofworking in partnership with other agencies to set up new approaches or activities
-Experience of delivering training to groups of adults or young people
-Experience of dealing effectively with challenging behaviour
Qualifications / knowledge
-A level 4 qualification in information advice and guidance
-Excellent understanding of the needs and barriers facing young adults coming out of a process of rehabilitation or recovery
-Good knowledge of the education, training and employability-support frameworks operating in the UK
Qualities / skills
-A proactive and flexible approach
-Good planning, organisational and time management skills, including managing own areas of work
-Excellent verbal and interpersonal skills
-Good written communication skills, including report writing
-Commitment to personal and professional development, including an ability to reflect on own performance and respond to constructive feedback
-Commitment to equality of opportunity
-Good ICT skills, including familiarity with the MS Office suite of programmes
DESIRABLE CRITERIA
-A qualification in teaching or training adults
-Experience of successfully delivering a Payment by Results contract
This roleissubject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. We will ask applicants to declare any past convictions (including spent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings.) We are not allowed to employ someone in this role who is barred from working with vulnerable adults.
We are very committed to the reintegration of ex-offenders into the workplace, and Back on Track has volunteers / staff who do have a criminal record. There are no convictions which would automatically prevent candidates from applying to for this role; but we do need to take any convictions into account when deciding if this role is suitable.
MAIN TERMS OF SERVICE
Accountability
The postholder will be responsible to the Senior Employability Co-ordinator at Back on Track.
Duration of Contract
This is a fixed term contract for 12 months.
Salary
The postholder will be appointed on points 27-31 on the NJC scale (currently £23,188 - £26,539 per annum), depending on qualifications / experience relevant to this role. Back on Track does not offer automatic annual incremental rises, which are only awarded to recognise a significant increase in responsibilities.
Pension
All staff are eligible (after passing probationary period) to join the Back on Track affiliated pension scheme. Back on Track will contribute 6% of your salary as long as you contribute 6% of your salary. (Please note, we are not able to contribute to a private pension scheme.)
Hours of work
Full time - 35 hours per week, to be worked across Monday to Friday daytimes. This post will involve a small amount of evening and weekend work (e.g. undertaking mentoring sessions in evenings for service users who are working in the daytime), for which time off in lieu applies.
Place of work
The person appointed will be based at Swan Buildings, Swan Street. Manchester, M4 5JW, but will regularly be required to travel to other venues across Greater Manchester.
Probationary period
There will be a three month probationary period to ensure that duties are being performed satisfactorily. Back on Track reserves the right to extend the probationary period if needed.
Period of Notice
During the probationary period, one week either way. After successful completion of the probationary period, notice of termination must be given at least one month in advance either way.
Holiday Entitlement
Full time staff at Back on Track are entitled to bank holidays plus an annual entitlement of 25 days per year (increasing by one day per year for each completed year of service at 1 April of each year, up to a maximum of 30 days per year), plus 3 discretionary days during the Christmas closure period.
Equal Opportunities
Back on Track is fully committed to the active promotion of equal opportunities in its capacity as an employer and in the provision of all its services, both to disadvantaged adults and to the community as a whole. It is the individual responsibility of every member of staff to seek to ensure the practical application of this policy.
Health and Safety
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, all employees are required both to take care of their own health and safety and to co-operate with their employers in complying with this act.