UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES

PRIFYSGOL DE CYMRU

Learning Services – Careers & Employability (USW Careers)

Work Placement Partner (0.7 fte)

Ref: U008686

Grade E, *£28,452 - £32,958 per annum pro rata

*appointment will be made to the minimum of the scale

Permanent Contract

The University wishes to appoint a Work Placement Partner to help students find suitable work experience as part of their undergraduate courses. Employer and student engagement will be a high priority and the role will primarily be aimed at matching the needs of USW students and courses to opportunities; as well as ensuring that students engage with employer events, which will be organised across campuses in partnership with Faculty. Experience of partnership working with employers andacademics is essential to this post.

The below points highlights the core purpose of this post:

  • Partnership working with Faculties and others such as USW Exchange, USW Alumni and the wider Careers & Employability Team, to raise the profile and communicate the benefits of a wide range of work experience and placement opportunities. To be aimed primarily at full time undergraduate students where placements are an integral part of the course.
  • Work Placement Partners will be aligned to Partner specific Faculties and will play a significant role in the strategic planning, development and delivery of employability within the Faculty, in relation to work experience and employability.
  • Consultation with Faculties on best and preferred University practice and procedures (to be compliant with QAA codes of practice). To include the development of online processes to manage work placements, which will be used by others within Faculties including legal issues related to Health and Safety.
  • Raise student aspirations through promoting the benefits of work experience through working in partnership with key stakeholders, to include Faculty, a diverse and wide range of employers and clients; USW Exchange, USW Alumni and other trusted and valued networks, to innovate Work Placements for the University.

This position is based at Cardiff Campus of the University of South Wales.

For informal enquiries please contact Matthew Evans, Careers Team Manager, .

The terms and conditions of the post (including grade and salary) will be those of the University of South Wales.

CLOSING DATE: 28th September 2017

JOB DESCRIPTION

Title:Work Placement Partner (0.7 fte)
Type of Contract:Permanent
Grade: E
Responsible to:Senior Work Placement Consultant (USW Careers) / Careers Team Manager
Main Purpose of the Job:
  • Employer and student engagement will be a high priority and the role will primarily be aimed at matching the needs of USW students and courses to opportunities; as well as ensuring that students engage with employer events, which will be organised across campuses in partnership with Faculty.
  • Partnership working with Faculties and others such as USW Exchange, USW Alumni and the wider Careers & Employability Team, to raise the profile and communicate the benefits of a wide range of work experience and placement opportunities. To be aimed primarily at full time undergraduate students where placements are an integral part of the course.
  • Work Placement Partners will be aligned to Partner specific Faculties and will play a significant role in the strategic planning, development and delivery of employability within the Faculty, in relation to work experience and employability.
  • Consultation with Faculties on best and preferred University practice and procedures (to be compliant with QAA codes of practice). To include the development of online processes to manage work placements, which will be used by others within Faculties including legal issues related to Health and Safety.
  • Raise student aspirations through promoting the benefits of work experience through working in partnership with key stakeholders, to include Faculty, a diverse and wide range of employers and clients; USW Exchange, USW Alumni and other trusted and valued networks, to innovate Work Placements for the University.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:
Strategic Planning:
  1. Contribute to the strategic direction, development and operational delivery of the Careers & Employability Services Team, with specific reference Work Placements, stakeholder engagement and best practice.
  1. Respond and contribute to a business planning culture in Careers & Employability Services to enable effective accountability, and timely delivery of objectives and plans by the team, through contributing specialist knowledge and expertise.
Strategic Partnership & Engagement:
  1. Provide advice and expertise on compliance with legislation and best practice in relation to placement management. In this respect, Work Placement Partners will act as consultants with specialist knowledge by providing advice and information; staff training and guidance on online resources for use by others within Faculties. This will include matters related to Health & Safety.
  1. Partnership working with senior staff within Faculties which include attending meetings with course leader and other senior staff to explain service provision; plan and deliver key events which promote a range of work experience opportunities across all campuses.
  1. Proactive development of the wider network of work placement providers which currently exists across the institution including USW Exchange and Alumni Services, to share best practice and online resources.
  1. Strategic partnership working with Faculties to deliver projects such as the development of ‘Live Projects’ ; Future Events; curriculum enhancement ; development and validation of new courses; ‘Showcase’ events; employer presentations and workshop delivery.
  1. Work in partnership with Faculty staff to deliver and support work placements and raise the benefit of work placements for students. E.g. networking, attendance at Faculty meetings, collaborative working and sharing best practice.
  1. Work in partnership with key stakeholders to contribute to the delivery of University strategy e.g. the Student Experience Plan to promote the benefit of work placements in skills development and student profiling
  1. Work collaboratively as a Team and with stakeholders, to deliver a proactive employer engagement strategy, (including the voluntary, private and public sectors), which is aimed and increasing the number of appropriate opportunities for students to engage in work experience and placements as part of their full-time undergraduate courses.
  1. Develop marketing plans and strategies (e.g. social media and digital content) to target and promote opportunities to students and staff across the University on a proactive basis, to promote the Work Placements agenda.
  1. Provide partnership advice to employers on best practice in relation recruiting students and graduates with a particular focus on work experience. This will involve promoting online resources for employers to advertise their opportunities in an effective and efficient way in partnership with Faculties – including the preferred use of social media.
  1. Developing an online ‘employer handbook’ for work placements which compliments the current employer guide for working with USW students and other resources. This will provide advice and information for employers in relation to all matters related to their role in managing effective placements.
  1. Attending employer and client networking events and meetings to promote work placements and the wider offer from Careers & Employability Team, on a flexible and ad hoc basis, to promote employability and University. E.g. attendance at conferences, receptions, business networking events.
People Management:
  1. Contribute to the effectiveness, professional standards and achievement of staff who are involved in delivering and supporting work placements within Faculties. E.g. by arranging and or attending networking meetings to share best practice; staff development and training opportunities; development of online resources in relation to key aspects of placement management and delivery including compliance issues related to Health & Safety; such as working collectively to develop an online H&S handbook for Faculty staff.
  1. Work in partnership with CELT and colleagues within the Careers Team to contribute to the delivery of the Student Experience Plan, especially in relation to the Raising Aspiration strand. E.g. To include the contribution of work placements in skills development and student profiling through the Grad Edge Award; and to develop a culture and implement actions for continuous improvement aimed at improving efficiency and effectiveness.
  1. Contribute to developing online resources and effective software, which enhance the delivery of placement management and support the use of this resource by others across the institution to ensure best practice and professional compliance including the benchmarking of standards and enhanced experience by students and employers.
Service Delivery with Students:
  1. Ensure that students have the essential toolkit of skills and knowledge to find their own placements with the advice and support from the Work Placement Team and other colleagues from USW Careers. E.g. delivering workshops; events and provision on creative ways of finding appropriate placements.
  1. Proactive approach to helping students prepare for placements including making available appropriate LMI information which can be sector specific if appropriate and providing practical help in applying for opportunities through CV advice working in partnership with faculty based Careers Consultants.
  1. Contribute to developing online resources and exploitation of relevant software, which enhance the delivery of placement management and support the use of this resource by others across the institution to ensure best practice and professional compliance including the benchmarking of standards and enhanced experience by students and employers.
  1. Develop learning resources which help students make the most of their work placements by developing their skills; knowledge and experiences, which contribute to their enhanced CVs and LinkedIn profiles, including the Grad Edge Award as appropriate, which make them able to effectively compete in the graduate labour market.
  1. Contribute to the development and delivery of a clear and robust Statement of Service for all client groups including students; academic staff and employers.
  1. Review and benchmarking of key services through agreed KPIs, which will be
monitored on a quarterly basis and will inform the strategic development of the Work Placement Team.
  1. Planning and delivering a programme of employer lead events in partnership with Faculties to ensure students effectively engage with a wide range of opportunities. To include partnership working with Careers Consultants and other colleagues from USW Careers to deliver workshops, which develop the skills and knowledge required by students to compete for opportunities.
  1. Responsible for attracting and matching students to work experience and placement roles positions with employers and other stakeholders as appropriate.
  1. Develop and promote the concept of a ‘Student Employability Journey’ with key aspects of work experience highlighted and integrated to ensure students are well prepared and aware of the various interventions that they need to engage with at different stages.
  1. Partnership working with course leaders and other Faculty staff who will monitor work placements as appropriate, ensuring arrangements are in place and to resolve issues as they arise.
The nature of the post is such that the post-holder is expected to work flexibly and the will need to be able to work effectively travel between campuses to meet the needs of the business and will need to attend external meetings and events as appropriate such as AGCAS events and employers networking meetings.
Any other duties as required by the line manager or Head of Employability /Director of Learning Services which are consistent with the broad purpose and grade of the post.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Essential / Desirable
a)Excellent and proven interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively as part of a team.
b)Excellent communication skills with the ability to deal effectively with a wide range of contacts including employers, students and graduates both orally and in writing.
c)Sound presentation skills with the ability to effectively to use online delivery tools (e.g. PowerPoint or Prezi).
d)Excellent IT skills, including the ability to use MS Office suite inclusive of MS Outlook (email and online calendar), the internet and effective use of social media
e)A high standard of organisational skills and the ability to meet deadlines, without compromising on quality.
f)Proactive and self-motivated; able to work effectively without close supervision.
g)Attention to detail with the ability to work within complex procedures, with accuracy.
h)Full Driving licence
KNOWLEDGE
Essential / Desirable
i)Knowledge of the issues facing students in HE and students seeking work experience and employment
j)Knowledge of the issues facing employers when recruiting students and graduates
k)Knowledge of business links, partnership development and stakeholder development issues / l)Knowledge of recruitment procedures and marketing techniques
m)Knowledge of student/graduate recruitment and associated issues
n)Knowledge of the local, national and global employment market
o)Experience of student placement co-ordination
EXPERIENCE
Essential / Desirable
p)Experience of working in a project based target driven environment.
q)Experience of working in a role related to the provision of work experience/placements/recruitment and /or funding training
r)Proven experience of business & student engagement / s)Experience of marketing promotions and organising events.
TRAINING
Essential / Desirable
t)Degree qualification discipline, or equivalent
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Essential / Desirable
u)An understanding of the current employability agenda within Higher Education / v)Ability to speak Welsh
w)Access to own car or vehicle

It is essential that when making an application, candidates specifically address the criteria set out in the Person Specification.

This information will be used in deciding those to be shortlisted.