Mentor - Midlands

AKG UK; West Midlands; Remote; GBP 21,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Job summary

AKG UK in Buckinghamshire is seeking a participant-centred Mentor to provide one-to-one employment support for young people aged 18 to 24. You will manage a caseload, deliver pre-employment and in-work support, and keep action plans and records up to date.

You will collaborate with Jobcentre Plus, local employers and training providers, travel across the area, and adapt support to individual needs while meeting contract targets and quality standards.

Qualifications

• Experience of providing one-to-one mentoring or employment support to young people.
• Experience in employability, welfare-to-work or youth employment.
• Strong ability to build trust and motivate participants across multiple channels.
• Knowledge of action planning, barrier removal, work-readiness and job matching.
• Able to manage a caseload, meet deadlines and contract targets.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Build rapport with young people and establish a supportive relationship.
• Manage a caseload and provide structured mentoring from referral to progression.
• Complete initial assessments, identify barriers, and set SMART action plans.
• Deliver confidence-building and work-readiness support (CVs, interviews, sector exploration).
• Match participants to funded opportunities with employers and support recruitment.
• Provide in-work support with regular check-ins and workplace coaching.
• Maintain In-Work Plans and up-to-date records in line with requirements.
• Collaborate with Jobcentre Plus, employers and training providers.
• Travel across the local area to support participants, events and placements.

Skills

Mentoring

Caseload management

Stakeholder engagement

Communication skills

IT literacy

Safeguarding knowledge

Data protection

Welfare-to-work

Travel

Job description

To provide participant-centred mentoring for eligible young people on the contract, enabling them to build confidence, overcome barriers, prepare for work, secure suitable funded employment and sustain their progress. The Mentor will coordinate tailored pre-employment and in-work support, maintain purposeful contact with participants and employers, and keep accurate action plans, support plans and case records in line with contractual, quality and compliance requirements.

Key Relationships/Interactions

Internal

• Service Manager and Team Leader
• Employer Engagement and Employer Services colleagues
• Quality, Compliance, Performance and MI teams
• Activity Co-ordinators, specialist support colleagues and wider delivery teams

External

• Participants (young people aged 18 to 24) and, where appropriate and with consent, their support networks
• Jobcentre Plus and DWP contacts
• Local employers offering funded employment opportunities
• Training providers, community partners and specialist support services

Key Responsibilities

• Build rapport with young people and establish a positive, supportive working relationship that encourages engagement, motivation and accountability.
• Manage a caseload of participants, providing structured one-to-one mentoring - from referral through pre-employment support, placement start, in-work support and progression planning.
• Complete initial assessments, identify barriers, agree SMART action plans and regularly review progress to ensure participants move towards suitable employment opportunities.
• 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 match participants to suitable funded employment opportunities and support recruitment, onboarding and day-one preparation.
• Provide in-work support for participants and employers, including regular check-ins, workplace coaching, reasonable adjustment discussions and review of support needs.
• Agree and maintain In-Work Support Plans with the participant and employer, subject to consent, and update records within required contractual timescales.
• Rapidly re-engage participants who fall out of work, taking prompt action to restart support and help them move back into employment, education or training.
• Maintain accurate, timely and audit-ready records on relevant case management systems, ensuring action plans, contact notes, evidence and outcomes meet AKG and contract requirements.
• Work collaboratively with Jobcentre Plus, employers, training providers and local partners to strengthen participant support and maximise sustained employment outcomes.
• Work flexibly across locations and, where required, outside standard hours to meet participant and programme needs.
• To deliver role responsibilities in line with AKG values and all relevant policies and procedures
• Any other duties appropriate to the level of this role, for which the post-holder has the necessary training or experience.

Essential and Desirable Skills, Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Experience of providing one-to-one mentoring, coaching or employment support to young people or participants facing barriers to work.
• Experience of working in 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 support, job matching, in-work support and sustained employment outcomes.
• Ability to manage a caseload effectively, prioritise activity, meet deadlines and achieve contract targets, quality standards and compliance expectations.
• Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills with participants, employers, Jobcentre Plus and wider stakeholders.
• Knowledge of safeguarding, data protection, equality and diversity, health and safety, and participant consent requirements.
• Good IT skills, with the ability to use Microsoft Office, digital communication tools, case management systems and performance reporting information.
• Ability and willingness to work from an assigned office location as well as to travel across the local area on a regular basis to support participants, employers, events, placements and contract delivery (no homeworking is available due to the nature of the role).

Desirable

• Good knowledge of the local labour market, employer recruitment needs and routes into employment, apprenticeships, education and training is desirable.

Inclusive Recruitment and Accessibility

AKG UK is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. We welcome applications from candidates with a range of backgrounds, experiences and working styles. Candidates are encouraged to let us know if they require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. Applicants do not need to meet every desirable criterion to apply; we are interested in relevant skills, potential and values alignment as well as direct experience.

Compliance

It is the responsibility of all staff to abide by organisational policies to ensure compliance with relevant standards e.g. ISO 27001 (Information Security), ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 14001 (Environmental) as well as adhering to statutory duties in relation to safeguarding, Prevent and health and safety.

Covering: Buckinghamshire, South Midlands, Leicester and Rutland