Careers Advisor

Access Creative College; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday allocation

Wellbeing benefits

Staff discounts

Paid leave

Job summary

Access Creative College seeks a Careers Advisor to drive student progression across its divisions. The role combines campus presence with flexible remote work and travel to campuses nationwide, engaging tutors, employers and learners to guide progression into employment, self-employment or higher education.

You will deliver impartial CEIAG, run employability workshops, coordinate employer visits, and monitor progression using Compass+ and Labour Market Information, while championing inclusion

Qualifications

• Experience delivering impartial Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG), ideally within FE or post-16 education.
• Ability to build instant rapport with young people and inspire confidence and ambition.
• Proactive networking with teaching staff, support teams and local employers.
• Comfort tracking student progress data via systems like Compass+ and using Labour Market Information.
• Commitment to equity, diversity and delivering accessible guidance for learners with SEND or additional needs.

Responsibilities

• Deliver impartial, structured careers interviews with learners and collaborate with external partners for impactful target setting.
• Design and lead workshops on core employability skills like CVs, portfolios, interviews, freelancing.
• Coordinate local employer visits, guest speakers, mock interviews and industry insight days.
• Track learner interactions and progression using Compass+ and internal systems for Gatsby Benchmarks.
• Partner with campus teams to prepare and monitor high-quality industry placements (T-Levels).
• Collaborate with SEND coordinators to provide accessible guidance for care leavers and vulnerable learners.
• Help design and deliver campus enrichment activities to raise student aspirations.
• Support collection and analysis of destination data for SAR and share labour market information resources.
• Champion employability across campuses and share best practices with teaching teams.

Skills

CEIAG

Student rapport

Networking

Tech literacy

Inclusion

Job description

Location: Hybrid/Campus Based - role can be based anywhere in the UK

Contract Type: Permanent, Full-time (37.5 hours/week)

Salary: £28,000 - £32,000 per annum

Department: Curriculum & Quality (Careers & Employability Team)

Reporting To: Head of Careers, Employability & Skills

DBS Requirement: Enhanced DBS Check required

About The Role

Are you passionate about helping young people unlock their potential and turn their ambitions into real-world success?

As our Careers Advisor, you’ll be on the front line of student transformation across Access Further Education’s three dynamic divisions: Access Sport, Access Industry, and Access Creative College. You won't just be sitting behind a desk, you’ll be out on campus, collaborating with tutors, engaging local employers, and working directly with learners to guide them through their individual progression journeys.

From initial campus induction right through to final destination planning, you will equip our students with the practical tools, confidence, and industry insights they need to step smoothly into employment, self-employment, or higher education.

Location & Flexibility

Unlike traditional careers roles tied to a single desk or campus, you can be based anywhere. This is a dynamic, agile position designed around flexible working. You will combine remote/home working with targeted, hands‑on visits across Access Further Education’s campus network (spanning Access Sport, Access Industry, and Access Creative College). Wherever you live, as long as you're adaptable and ready to get out and about to engage with our staff and learners, this role can work for you.

What You’ll Be Doing

• 1-to-1 Guidance: Deliver impartial, structured careers interviews that help learners map out realistic goals and actionable progression plans, collaborating with external partners to ensure impactful target setting.
• Engaging Workshops: Design and lead interactive sessions on core employability skills, from CV writing and portfolio building to interview prep and freelancing/self-employment basics.
• Employer Engagement & Events: Coordinate local employer visits, guest speakers, mock interviews, and industry insight days to help secure high-value work placement opportunities.
• Gatsby Benchmarks & Data: Track learner interactions and progression using Compass+ and internal systems to ensure full campus compliance with Gatsby Benchmarks.
• T-Levels & Industry Placements: Partner with campus teams to prepare, facilitate, and monitor high-quality industry placements.
• Targeted Support (EDI): Collaborate with campus Support Teams and SEND coordinators to provide accessible, tailored guidance for care leavers, vulnerable learners, and those with additional needs.
• Enrichment & Aspirations: Help design and deliver vibrant campus enrichment activities that raise student aspirations and strengthen real-world readiness.
• Destination Tracking & Resources: Support the collection and analysis of student destination data (contributing to our Self-Assessment Report) while creating modern digital and physical resources packed with up-to-date Labour Market Information (LMI).
• Cross-Campus Advocacy: Serve as a champion for employability across campuses, sharing best practices with teaching teams and maintaining college-wide quality standards.

What We’re Looking For

• Qualified Careers Professional: Experience delivering impartial Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG), ideally within a FE or post-16 educational setting.
• Student-Centred Communicator: Able to build instant rapport with young people, inspiring confidence and encouraging big ambitions.
• Proactive Networker: Skilled at building strong working relationships with teaching staff, support teams, and local employers.
• Organised & Tech-Literate: Comfortable tracking student progress data via systems like Compass+ and utilising Labour Market Information effectively.
• Inclusion Champion: Dedicated to equity, diversity, and delivering accessible guidance for learners with SEND or additional support needs.

Why Join Us

At Access Further Education, we do education differently. You’ll be joining an energetic, creative environment where real‑world experience meets innovative teaching. If you're ready to make a tangible difference to young lives and help build the future workforce of the sports, creative, and industry sectors, we’d love to hear from you.

Who are we

We are Access Creative College, formerly known as Access to Music, and we were founded in 1992. We're an Ofsted-inspected provider that reaches every corner of the country, with 7 campuses and over 2,500 students nationwide. We're proud to have achieved the national benchmark for education quality, recognised across the vast majority of our provision - Ofsted's 'Expected Standard' under the new inspection framework. We are part of Access Education Group, which boasts 32 campuses nationwide with over 5,000 students & apprentices across Access Creative College, dBs Institute (Higher Education) & Access Sport College.

What we offer

• Generous Holiday Allocation
• Wellbeing Benefits: Health Cash Plan, Doctorline GP Service, Employee Assistance Programme, Access to Counselling and Cycle to Work
• Staff Discounts & Benefits: access to Accolade, our benefits platform which offers discounts at over 800 retailers!
• Paid Leave: Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and Sick pay.

Diversity and open expression are fundamental to creativity. We are committed to promoting a culture of diversity and inclusivity for all our employees and potential employees.

DBS Checks: Enhanced DBS clearance will be required.