Employment Specialist - Connect to Work Hampshire

Palladium International; Southampton; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

Palladium International is seeking an Employment Advisor to support the Connect to Work Hampshire programme. The role is based in Havant with travel across Hampshire to agreed venues and involves managing a small caseload to deliver tailored work plans that help customers secure sustainable employment.

You will engage employers, coordinate work experiences, provide in-work support, and keep detailed records while meeting KPIs and safeguarding standards. DBS check required prior to start.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting people facing barriers to employment including health conditions or disabilities.
• Ability to coach individuals one-on-one and challenge where needed.
• Proven track record building partnerships with stakeholders and employers.
• Flexibility to work occasional evenings and weekends.

Responsibilities

• Promote clients to employers and raise awareness of support available.
• Create and follow individualised action plans with customers.
• Regularly check in with customers before and after employment.
• Engage employers to create employment opportunities and work experiences.
• Provide ongoing in-work support to sustain employment and collaborate with employers.
• Address personal constraints to help customers access and progress to work.
• Identify vacancy and training solutions with the team and document the journey.
• Maintain high-quality customer records and understand safeguarding.
• Understand local signposting services and welfare information.

Skills

People skills

Barriers to employment

One-to-one coaching

Networking

Flexible hours

Organisation

Data protection

Job description

Employment Advisor - Connect to Work Hampshire

Location

• The role will be based in Southampton with travel expected across Hampshire throughout theweek to agreed venues.

Salary will be £27,976 - £29,500 depending on experience. Travel expenses over and above those to the base location will be reimbursed.

Primary Duties andresponsibilities:

Your responsibilities will include:

• Champion our customers as valuable candidates by actively promoting them to employers and raising awareness and support available through the programme
• Creating and following through with individualised action plans ensuring appropriate and effective activity is undertaken by and with each customer.
• Have regular check-ins with customers to track their progress before starting employment and once in employment
• Advocate for the values of our programmes by working in partnership with employers to view our clients positively and inclusively during recruitment.
• Build potential employment opportunities through proactive engagement with potential employers.
• Facilitate work experiences, such as placements, trials, and shadowing opportunities with suitable employers where appropriate.
• Provide ongoing In Work Support to customers who have successfully gained employment, helping them sustain and thrive in their roles, including working in partnership with employers.
• Address customer's personal constraints to employment, providing challenge, advice, and guidance where appropriate to develop customers capability in the recruitment process ensuring they have the necessary skills and confidence to secure employment.
• Identify,structure, and recommend vacancy and training solutions, working in close consultation with the team to meet the specific needs of customers and employers.
• Maintain customer records to a required quality standard to ensure the customer journey is documented in accordance with our quality standards and contractual requirements.
• Develop an understanding of specialist signposting services in the local area/region, building knowledge in areas such as specific disabilities, housing, benefits etc
• Meet personal performance targets, Key Performance Indicators and all Quality and Compliance measures by delivering high quality employability provision to customers

Skills and experience:

Required

• A passion for working with people and have a solution focused approach
• Experience working with people facing barriers to employment including health conditions and disabilities
• Experience of providing one to one support and coaching to individuals with the ability to constructively challenge where needed.
• Proven experience in developing networks and building strong partnerships with stakeholders
• A flexible approach to working hours is essential, including the ability to support occasional evening and weekend activities.
• Strong organisational skills including managing caseloads
• Knowledge of data protection and confidentiality requirements

Desirable

• Driving licence and access to a car given the community delivery of the contract
• A knowledge of domestic abuse (physical, emotional, physiological, sexual, financial, coercive control) and the importance of a trauma informed approach
• Track record of helping individuals progress into work
• Understanding of supported employment programmes, such as IPS
• Knowledge of the employment market in their area.
• Knowledge of welfare and benefits, although training will be provided
• Safeguarding: A strong understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures for both children and adults, and legal responsibilities regarding information sharing

KeyCompetencies:

• Creative intelligence;
• Ability to motivate, challenge and inspire;
• Proactive and solution focused;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Kind, personable and approachable
• Performance and target focused;
• Excellent organisation and prioritiseksills;
• The determination and drive to want to make a positive difference.

GuidingPrinciples

• Across our offices, our Guiding Principles define who weare and what we stand for. We are looking for candidates that resonate withthem:
• We are One Palladium: We are all accountable, we take responsibility for our actions, and celebrate the positive impact we create.
• Our business grows when our people grow. We seek out opportunities to develop ourselves, each other, and Palladium.
• Our strength lies in our differences: We harness our unique strengths by listening to and respecting each other.
• Making mistakes is part of learning: We admit our mistakes early, help to make things right, and learn from the experience together.
• We don't exist without results: We're driven by the outcomes we achieve and stay focused on what matters.

Project Overview and Role:

Connect to Work is a UKgovernment-funded initiative aimed at supporting individuals with disabilities,health conditions, or other complex challenges in finding and maintainingemployment. The program offers tailored assistance, including one-to-onecoaching, employer engagement and help with CV writing. Participants canreceive up to 12 months of guidance if they are seeking employment, or up to 4months if they are currently employed but at risk of losing their job. Supportis delivered through local partnerships, and individuals can either self-referor be referred by professionals and community partners.

In Hampshire we will be delivering Lot 2 - aimed at supportingvictims and survivors of Domestic Abuse. We will be working alongside StopDomestic Abuse and other local partners and domestic abuse charities across thearea to deliver a joined up and tailored support for this specific cohort.

The Employment Advisor will be based in Havant and play a vital role in the success of the programmefor those across Hampshire. They willmanage a small caseload, delivering person centred support to create and followan individualised workplan, engaging with employers directly to support peopleinto good and sustainable work. They will be enthusiastic and passionateabouthelping people to find that role that works for them.

This role is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The successful candidate will be required to undergo this check before commencing employment.

About Palladium -

You would be joining Palladium, a global impact organisation, with 3,000 employees in over 70 countries. We are a mission-driven business, for whom the impact of our work is as important as the commercial return; the common feature of all our work, regardless of contract size, is the requirement that it contributes to positive social and economic impact. We simply call this 'Positive Impact'. For the past 50 years, we have been helping our clients to see the world as interconnected in over 90 countries- by formulating strategies, building partnerships, and implementing programs that deliver lasting positive impact. We are experienced in implementing large, complex programmes supporting skills and employment and are currently delivering 30 programmes for the UK Government.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

- Palladium is committed toembedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcomeapplications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity todrive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcomeand seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all jobapplicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of theirbackground or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to)socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion,ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital orIndigenous status.

As a Disability Confident employer

we will ensure that a fair andproportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria forthis position will be offered an interview. Should you require any reasonableadjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or any othercircumstance, please let us know.

Palladium International Ltd. participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants' previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Safeguarding

- We define Safeguarding as "the preventative action taken byPalladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm". We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come intocontact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced selection processincluding safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.

Palladium International is a Real Living Wage Employer.