Student Progression Mentor

Ashford College; Canterbury; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An educational institution in Kent seeks a Student Progression Mentor to support the personal and academic development of students. The role involves mentoring disaffected young people and requires excellent communication skills and empathy. Flexible work hours of 30 hours per week, with available employee benefits including development opportunities and competitive pension scheme.

Benefits

Learning and Development Opportunities

Exclusive Discounts & Perks

Flexible Personal Leave

Wellbeing and Health Support

Culture and Recognition

Competitive Pension Scheme

Qualifications

• Experience supporting young people with mental health difficulties preferred.
• Flexibility to adapt to changing tasks.

Responsibilities

• Support students in their personal and academic development.
• Help disaffected young people optimise learning opportunities.
• Maintain documentation and communication records.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Empathy

Ability to work with young people

Record keeping skills

Competency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel

Job description

About The Role

Support Students, Unlock Potential, Empower Success - Join us as Student Progression Mentor

As a Student Progression Mentor you will play a key role supporting students in their personal and academic development, helping them to reach their full potential as independent learners.

Your responsibilities will also include support for disaffected and disengaged young people, helping them to optimise their learning opportunities.

Mentoring at EKC is a rewarding role offering the successful applicant opportunities to gain qualifications in Mental Health First Aid, Autism Awareness, Counselling Concepts, Safeguarding & DUST Referrals.

The details:

Hours and Days:30 hours per week, Monday to Thursday

Weeks per year:38 (following our term time calendar)

Salary:£15,900

Holiday Pay:£2145 (paid in 12 monthly instalments in addition to the salary)

Alongside our priority of excellent student experience, we also focus on our employees. Here are just some of our benefits when working for the East Kent Colleges Group:

• Learning and Development Opportunities - 3-4 annual paid group development days, bespoke programmes e.g. Next Steps Mentoring Programme and strong internal progression - 1 in 3 roles are filled internally
• Exclusive Discounts & Perks - Inc. restaurant, grocery, retail and holidays discounts as well as car leasing and tech purchasing schemes, on site nursery
• Flexible Personal Leave - Time off for your child's first day at nursery, school or college, moving homes and for interviews
• Wellbeing and Health Support - Generous sick pay, counselling services, discounted gym membership at Canterbury College
• Culture and Recognition - Being part of Community Days, an annual Staff Celebration Day, and an eco-friendly organisation dedicated to reaching net-zero by 2030
• Competitive Pension Scheme - 18% employer contribution

About You

The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills and be committed to ensuring our students are supported to achieve and progress throughout their time at College. You must have the ability to deal effectively with students, relevant professions (including external agencies), parents and colleagues. You will also be responsible for ensuring that all documentation and details of contact are recorded & reported to the relevant staff & departments.

The role can be challenging and requires the post holder to be empathetic, supportive and non-judgmental. Experience of supporting young people with mental health difficulties would be a distinct advantage.

Excellent record keeping skills are essential as is competency in computer programs including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint & Excel. You will need to have a flexible approach to your work as the tasks demanded can change from day to day.

If you feel this role suits your skills, experience and aspirations to support our students then we look forward to hearing from you.

No need to spend time updating your CV, just click apply and complete our short application form. You can save your progress as you go, and we’ll review all applications and get back to all candidates after the closing date.

If you are interested in an informal chat about the role, or have any queries, please email us on [e-mail]

About Us

Outstanding Ofsted Provider

East Kent Colleges Group is an Ofsted Outstanding rated provider. It is proud to be the first General Further Education college organisation in the country to have received the Outstanding grade against each of the strands under the new Ofsted inspection framework. An inclusive provider, our colleagues place our students and the communities we serve at the heart of everything they do across EKC Group and this is illustrated in our ‘Strong’ skills grading by Ofsted.

Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and we ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for upholding these principles.

As a designated establishment, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore have an obligation to carry out checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. These checks include conviction/caution self‑declaration, Enhanced DBS check and obtaining sufficient referencing.

It is a criminal offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so.

If you are successful in being shortlisted to interview, your suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults will be explored as part of the interview process.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

East Kent Colleges Group is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of our communities. We are particularly keen to increase the diversity of our staff body and encourage applications from candidates where there is underrepresentation in our workforce.

We are proud to hold the Positive About Disability Award and are a Disability Confident Employer. This confirms our commitment to interviewing all applicants who declare that they have a disability and who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. With any successful candidate, we will explore any reasonable adjustments to a role due to a health needs or disability.

Similarly, we have a commitment to Care Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge) and to current or previous Armed Forces personnel (Armed Forces Covenant Pledge) with a commitment to interview applicants who meet the position’s essential criteria and have declared this on their application.

We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break.

We do not engage with agencies for permanent staff and have an in-house recruitment team.