College Careers Lead

Frimley; Farnborough; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

The Sixth Form College Farnborough is seeking a dynamic, full-time Careers Lead to drive the careers strategy, work experience, and skills development for over 4,000 post-16 students. You will balance strategic oversight with practical delivery, including 1:1 guidance interviews, interactive workshops, and whole-college sessions, during term-time plus two weeks.

This senior role requires Level 6 careers guidance qualification (or willingness to train for leadership) and experience delivering

Qualifications

• Level 6 careers guidance qualification (or willingness to train for leadership).
• Experience delivering 1:1 careers guidance interviews and group sessions.
• Ability to collaborate across internal teams and with external partners.

Responsibilities

• Formulate, publish, lead and evaluate the College’s annual Careers Strategy and Action Plan.
• Act as the named Careers Lead, maintaining high visibility among students, parents, staff and partners.
• Lead Gatsby Benchmarks evaluation using Compass+ and report progress to senior teams.
• Lead UCAS and Higher/Degree Apprenticeships within the Aspire+ programme.
• Coordinate work experience strategy withWMAT Careers Service and employers.
• Deliver 1:1 careers guidance interviews, workshops and large group sessions.

Skills

Strategic leadership

CEIAG delivery

Stakeholder management

Public speaking

Education

Level 6 careers guidance qualification

Tools

Compass+ tool

Student record systems

Job description

Closing Date: Monday 28 September 2026 09:00

Location: The Sixth Form College Farnborough, Hampshire

Contract: 37 hours per week, term time plus 2 weeks (please see

below for further details)

Working Pattern: Monday to Friday

Start date: As soon as possible

Application Deadline: 9am, Monday 28th September 2026.

Interview Dates: 07/10/2026

We are proud to be a College with zero mean and median gender pay gap within teaching. Our commitment to gender neutral pay ensures that all staff have equal access to progressing and opportunities, regardless of gender, making the College an ‘employer of choice’.

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Are you a qualified careers professional ready to step into a high-impact, strategic leadership role? We are seeking a dynamic, full-time Careers Lead to spearhead the careers strategy, work experience, and skills development at our vibrant, large-scale Sixth Form College. Balancing strategic oversight with active client practice, you will be an integral part of the team supporting College students, for example delivering 1:1 guidance interviews, running interactive workshops, and leading dynamic college-wide sessions. This is a term-time-only role plus 2 weeks, perfectly structured to support our students during the vital summer results and enrolment period. While you will be embedded in our College community, you will benefit from working alongside our wider Trust’s central careers service - the WMAT Careers Service. If you hold a Level 6 careers guidance qualification (or are ready to train for the leadership element), we want to hear from you.

Key strengths of The Sixth Form College are:

‘Outstanding’ rating from Ofsted

Achievement of high grades with excellent value added;

Outstanding teaching by a team of experienced and motivated staff;

Exceptional levels of support for students both inside and outside of lessons;

Innovative use of IT to promote learning embedded as a regular part of normal teaching.

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The Role:

The Careers Lead is a strategic and operational middle leadership role. Working full-time during term time—with two critical weeks worked during the summer break—you will design, implement, and monitor a world-class careers education, information, advice, and guidance (CEIAG) program for over 4,000 post-16 students. You will ensure full compliance with the DfE’s statutory careers guidance for colleges, drive progress against all 8 Gatsby Benchmarks, and ensure a seamless, expert transition service for students progressing from the College and joining the College during the high-stakes summer results and enrolment periods respectively.

While leading the strategic direction, you will remain an active practitioner within the team supporting College students, for example personally delivering 1:1 careers guidance interviews, facilitating interactive employability workshops, and presenting large-group College sessions.

You will also play a key role in our school liaison and outreach programme, engaging prospective students in local schools to help them link current studies to future college pathways and beyond.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Leadership & Compliance

• - Formulate, publish, lead and evaluate the College’s annual Careers Strategy and Action Plan, ensuring alignment with the College Mission and Strategic Priorities, WMAT priorities and the DfE’s statutory guidance for colleges.
• - Act as the named "Careers Lead" for the College, maintaining high visibility among students, parents, staff, schools and external partners.
• - Lead and continuously audit the College's performance against the Gatsby Benchmarks using the Compass+ tool, presenting regular progress reports to the College Senior Leadership Team, College Local Governing Body and WMAT central teams.
• - Manage the careers budget allocated to the College, ensuring maximum impact and value for money.
• 2. Summer Results, Clearing & Enrolment Support
• -Manage the careers budget allocated to the College, ensuring maximum impact and value for money.
• -Lead and continuously audit the College's performance against the Gatsby Benchmarks using the Compass+ tool, presenting regular progress reports to the College Senior Leadership Team, College Local Governing Body and WMAT central teams.
• - Act as the named "Careers Lead" for the College, maintaining high visibility among students, parents, staff, schools and external partners.
• - Formulate, publish, lead and evaluate the College’s annual Careers Strategy and Action Plan, ensuring alignment with the College Mission and Strategic Priorities, WMAT priorities and the DfE’s statutory guidance for colleges.
• -Lead and deliver on-site specialist careers support during the August Level 3 and GCSE results periods, assisting students with UCAS Clearing, adjustment, appeals, and immediate post-18 destinations, whether higher education, apprenticeship, employment or elsewhere.
• -Lead and deliver expert guidance during the College's main student enrolment period, helping incoming students align their course selections with their long-term career aspirations and technical pathways.
• - Work in close, strategic collaboration with the Director responsible for College vocational curriculum and skills to align the College’s educational offerings with Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), and local, regional, national and international industrial strategies and labor market trends.
• - Jointly design and implement robust frameworks that explicitly embed core careers, employability and professional skills directly into the vocational, academic and pastoral curriculums, building students' awareness of diverse pathways, including higher education, degree apprenticeships, technical routes, and direct employment.
• - Collaborate with and support College curriculum leaders to lead the embedding of careers, employability and professional skills directly into the College’s vocational and academic curriculum.
• - Collaborate with and support College pastoral leaders to design and deliver careers, employability and professional skills and next-steps framework within the College's group tutorial/pastoral programme.
• - Collaborate on initiatives that map curriculum outcomes against employer demand, ensuring our students develop the specific competencies sought after by modern industry.
• UCAS and Higher & Degree Apprenticeships Leadership
• -Lead the College's operational framework for supporting university applicants via UCAS; providing expert advice and guidance, delivering structured personal statement support, overseeing the administrative checking and submission of applications, directly managing the College’s UCAS Administrators and working alongside academic teaching and pastoral staff in their guidance roles with applicants.
• -Act as the College’s strategic and operational lead for Higher and Degree Apprenticeships, as part of the Aspire+ programme, establishing the College as a center of excellence for technical and vocational pathways.
• -Design and deliver staff CPD (Continuing Professional Development) sessions to raise awareness among pastoral teams, academic staff, and senior leaders regarding the landscape, value, and entry requirements of modern degree apprenticeships.
• -Organise targeted student and parent awareness campaigns, myth-busting sessions, and promotional events to elevate the status of apprenticeships alongside traditional university routes.
• -Establish a structured support programme for apprenticeship applicants, providing hands‑on guidance on finding vacancies, navigating employer portals, writing competitive CVs, and mastering online tests.
• -Coordinate intensive interview and assessment centre preparation, including mock interviews, presentation practice, and group task coaching
• 5. Events, Work Experience & Employer Engagement
• -Support large-scale College events, including annual Careers Fairs, Higher Education days, and mock interview programs.
• -In partnership with the WMAT Careers Service work experience team, oversee the College’s work experience strategy, ensuring all students have access to high-quality, safe, and meaningful placements.
• -Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with local and national employers, universities, and training providers.
• 6. College CEIAG service
• -Act as the primary on-site coordinator for the provision of careers advice and work experience support for College students.
• -Liaise closely with the WMAT Careers Service Team Leads (for careers advisors and work experience teams) to schedule, target, and optimize resource allocation across the College student body.
• -Ensure accurate data tracking of student destinations, careers interventions, and encounters using the College's student record systems.
• 7. Direct Student Guidance & Delivery

- Work alongside WMAT Careers Service careers advisors supporting College students, for example:

• -Maintaining a caseload of students to deliver personal 1:1 careers guidance interviews in line with Gatsby Benchmark 8.
• -Designing, facilitating, and delivering engaging group workshops and masterclasses on core employability skills, CV building, personal statements, interview techniques, and career pathway exploration.
• -Leading and presenting large-scale College delivery sessions.
• -Providing drop-in advice, initial guidance, and targeted support during high-demand student periods.
• -Collaborate with the College admissions and marketing teams to design and deliver careers-focused outreach activities as part of the school liaison programme for local feeder secondary schools.
• -Actively contribute to college open evenings, taster days, and recruitment events, providing expert guidance to prospective students and parents to support recruitment and enrolment.
• -Help prospective students visualize the "picture beyond college," showcasing career trajectories, higher education options, and degree apprenticeship opportunities accessible through the college's curriculum.

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Contract Information: This post is a term time plus two weeks contract. Term time at the College starts the week after GCSE results day. The additional two weeks required to work will strategically be scheduled to cover GCSE/ A-Level results day and Student Enrolment in Late August..

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We are an equal opportunities employer that values diversity and encourages applications from all, aiming to build a respectful, inclusive culture.

We look forward to receiving your application and welcoming a dedicated Careers Lead to our team!

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Other Information

WMAT takes the control and processing of employee data very seriously and is committed to acting in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation ; please read the attached applicant privacy notice which explains how your data is processed.

Prior to the interview, an online search will be conducted by HR, to identify any past or current incidents or issues that might affect your suitability to work with children and undertake this role. Please note this online search will be carried out only on publicly available information and be limited to issues relating to your suitability to work with children and/or in an educational environment. Issues that arise will not automatically be a bar to your employment at the Trust but may be discussed with you at interview. This is in line with statutory guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education.

We are an equal opportunities employer that values diversity and encourages applications from all, aiming to build a respectful, inclusive culture.

We welcome applications from all suitably qualified applicants, however all disabled applicants who meet our minimum criteria will be invited for an interview.

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WMAT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and young people within our care and requires all staff and volunteers to share and demonstrate this commitment. The job description fully sets out the safeguarding responsibilities of the post. Any future offer of employment remains subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks, including enhanced DBS clearance, a health check and references.