JOB DESCRIPTION

IN WORK SUPPORT ADVISOR-WORK PROGRAMME - Ealing

Salary £23,000 - £25,000 (+ benefits)

Responsible to: Work Programme Manager

MAIN PURPOSE

·  The post holder will focus on providing In Work support to Work Programme participants to ensure their sustained employment.

·  You will use a variety of techniques including effective diagnosis, individual coaching and personal support to maximise the number of Work programme participants in sustained employment. .

·  You will also liaise closely with Employers to ensure that they are able to keep Work programme participants in sustained employment (minimum 26 weeks) providing help, advice and support as required by the employer.

·  You will make telephone-based employer quality checks.

·  You will work to deliver agreed targets on numbers of individuals sustained in employment.

·  You will also work with a caseload of Work programme participants who have been employed but have not yet reached 26 weeks sustained employment to ensure they find further employment.

·  You will work towards strict targets and guidelines in accordance to the programme obligations and Reed in Partnership process.

CONTEXT

You will be a member of Action Acton’s Work Programme team working from our premises in Swainson Road, Acton, W3 7UP.

DETAILED TASKS

To:

  1. Plan for their appointments with Work programme participants to ensure effective use of time, rapport building and an adequate two way exchange.
  2. To identify with Work programme participants whether there are any barriers to remaining in Employment such as general work issues, finances, tax credits, health or issues at home.
  3. To explain the detail of the in-work support service the Work programme participant will receive on their first telephone call and reiterate in subsequent calls so as to appropriately identify, clarify and manage the Work programme participant’s buy-in to the programme e.g. frequency of contact, support available, confidentiality, employment information required from them.
  4. To Identify and utilise various approaches where appropriate such as Better Off Calculations (BOC), action planning, goal setting, and applicable financial incentives to sell the benefits of the Work programme and to adequately diagnose any barriers to remaining in employment.
  5. To identify appropriate short and long term solutions' and interventions as required by the Work programme participants needs, programme constraints and opportunities.
  6. To classify and progress Work programme participants in relation to red, amber, green risk rating utilising information provided by Employment Advisor or Employer Engagement Consultant
  7. To create and implement a daily call schedule to ensure that Work programme participants are contacted in accordance with their risk rating.
  8. To develop and manage Work programme participants commitment to employment using various techniques and questioning as necessary to assist with diagnosis and progression.
  9. To motivate, encourage and empower Work programme participants, identifying barriers, job goals and social training needs, utilising internal or external provisions as appropriate e.g. in-house training modules or health & well-being provision.
  10. To advise Work programme participants on barriers addressing practical and explicit barriers upfront, contacting employers directly where appropriate
  11. To utilise where appropriate the Employment Advisor’s and/or Employment Trainer’s and/or Project manager’s relationship with the Work programme participant to ensure sustained employment.
  12. To conduct operational site visits to raise awareness of the in-work support service available to Work programme participants and employers and to recommend solutions to bring about improvement in job and sustainment payment outcomes.
  1. To utilise your contact with Work programme participants and Employers to identify additional employer vacancy opportunities.
  1. To sell the benefits of Action Acton’s Work Programme service to Work Programme participants and Employers and to identify new business opportunities.
  2. To identify alternative employment options for Work programme participants who are likely to fall out employment in line with agreed job search strategy. This may include communicating appropriate Employer Services’ vacancies, supporting individual job search activities and business development calls.
  3. To verify the legitimacy of job outcomes through employer contact and to be responsible for ensuring all Employer and Work Programme participants’ contact is recorded accurately, in a timely fashion and in accordance with the administrative requirements of the programme.
  4. To Maintains Work Programme participants’ files and data (paper and database) to 100% accuracy at the first, and every subsequent instance of completion.
  5. To take appropriate steps to be agreed in Work Programme participants’ Action Plans and reviews constantly.
  6. To follow prescribed filing and data accuracy requirements to ensure the confidentiality of Member information and a robust audit trail for internal and external review.

General

You will be responsible for

·  Working specifically as part of Action Acton’s Work Programme team and generally as part of Action Acton’s staff group. .

·  Carrying out duties and responsibilities at all times with due regard to Action Acton’s Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety, Environmental and other policies.

·  Undertake any training relevant to delivering any of the above duties, and taking responsibility for own professional development.

·  Your duties may change and you will require being flexible in the interpretation of your remit as the Action Acton develops.

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IN-WORK SUPPORT ADVISOR- PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential :

·  Experience of working in a customer facing environment, e.g. Customer Services Assistant, Retail Assistant.

·  Entrepreneurial and committed approach.

·  Minimum of 5 GCSE’s (grade A - C) or equivalent.

·  Knowledge of the Welfare to Work Sector

·  Ability to work using own initiative.

·  Willingness to work flexible hours (e.g. to make retention calls, help run outreach activities outside of normal working hours).

Desirable:

·  Experience of having worked in a telephone based customer service or business to business sales or equivalent role.

·  Experience of working in a performance target driven environment, such as business to business sales or equivalent. Examples of such experience may include working as an Employment Advisor on a similar contract, being a Recruitment Consultant or experience of Business Development roles, etc.

·  Experience of working in a fast paced environment. .

·  Experience of exposure to client groups. These client groups may include incapacity benefit claimants, single parents, those with criminal records, mental health groups, ex-services, specific ethnic minority or faith groups and those with specific disabilities.

·  Direct previous experience of a similar role. Roles considered to be similar include the role of Employment Adviser on welfare to work contract or a publicly funded service.

·  Degree or relevant qualification . Relevant qualifications would include Information Advice and Guidance NVQs, Brokerage Standard, Social Work qualifications or qualifications relating to work with the specific client groups this role will involve.

CLOSING DATE: TUESDAY 26th November 2013. Interviews will take place on Friday 29th November Please e mail your CV and covering letter to tel: 0208 735 4775