Employment Advisor

Sovereign & Bale; Croydon; On-site; GBP 29,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Sovereign & Bale is seeking an Employment Advisor to mentor and support young people aged 18–24, helping them overcome barriers and move into sustainable employment. You will manage your own caseload, delivering tailored one-to-one support from assessment through to employment and in-work support.

You will build relationships with participants, employers and stakeholders to develop skills, confidence and experience for securing and sustaining employment.

Qualifications

• Experience providing one-to-one mentoring or coaching to young people or individuals facing barriers to work.
• Experience in employability, welfare-to-work, youth employment, skills, education, training or similar target-driven environments.
• Strong ability to build trust, motivate participants and maintain engagement across face-to-face, telephone and digital contact.

Responsibilities

• Build supportive relationships with young people and encourage engagement and accountability.
• Manage a caseload and provide structured one-to-one mentoring from assessment to employment and in-work support.
• Complete initial assessments, identify barriers and agree SMART action plans with progress reviews.
• Deliver confidence-building, work-readiness and job-search support including CVs and interview prep.
• Collaborate with employer engagement colleagues to identify opportunities and support recruitment and onboarding.
• Provide in-work support through regular check-ins, workplace coaching and adjustments discussions.

Skills

Mentoring

Employment support

Caseload management

Communication

Safeguarding & compliance

IT skills

Tools

Microsoft Office

Case management systems

Job description

Employment Advisor
Salary: £34,000
Contract: Permanent
Location: South West London

This role will require travel across the local area covering Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, Wandsworth

The Role

As a Mentor, you will support young people aged 18–24 to overcome barriers, build confidence and move into sustainable employment. Managing your own caseload, you will provide tailored one-to-one support from initial assessment and job preparation through to employment and in-work support.

You will build effective relationships with participants, employers and key stakeholders, helping individuals develop the skills, confidence and experience needed to secure and sustain employment.

Key Responsibilities

• Build positive, supportive relationships with young people, encouraging engagement, motivation and accountability.
• Manage a caseload of participants and provide structured one-to-one mentoring throughout their journey into and within employment.
• Complete initial assessments, identify barriers and agree SMART action plans, reviewing progress regularly.
• Deliver confidence-building, motivation, work-readiness and job-search support, including CV development, interview preparation, sector exploration and soft skills development.
• Work with employer engagement colleagues to identify suitable employment opportunities and support recruitment, onboarding and day-one preparation.
• Provide ongoing in-work support to participants and employers, including regular check-ins, workplace coaching and discussions around reasonable adjustments.
• Develop and maintain in-work support plans with participants and employers, subject to consent.
• Rapidly re-engage participants who leave or fall out of work, helping them move back into employment, education or training.
• Maintain accurate, timely and audit-ready records, including action plans, contact notes, evidence and outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with Jobcentre Plus, employers, training providers and local partners to maximise sustained employment outcomes.
• Work flexibly across locations and, where required, outside standard hours to meet participant and programme needs.
• Carry out responsibilities in line with organisational values, policies, procedures and relevant compliance requirements.
• Undertake other duties appropriate to the level of the role where the post-holder has the necessary training or experience.

Skills and Experience

• Experience providing one-to-one mentoring, coaching or employment support to young people or individuals facing barriers to work.
• Experience within employability, welfare-to-work, youth employment, skills, education, training or a similar target-driven environment.
• Strong ability to build trust, motivate participants, challenge appropriately and maintain engagement through face-to-face, telephone and digital contact.
• Good understanding of action planning, barrier removal, work-readiness, job matching, in-work support and sustained employment outcomes.
• Ability to manage a caseload effectively, prioritise activity, meet deadlines and achieve targets, quality standards and compliance requirements.
• Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills when working with participants, employers and wider stakeholders.
• Knowledge of safeguarding, data protection, equality and diversity, health and safety, and participant consent requirements.
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office, digital communication tools, case management systems and performance reporting.
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly across the local area to support participants, employers, events, placements and programme delivery.
• Good knowledge of the local labour market, employer recruitment needs and routes into employment, apprenticeships, education and training is desirable.