IAG Officer

Information and Guidance (IAG) Careers Advisor

Job Title: Information and Guidance (IAG) Careers Advisor

Salary: Up to £24,500 per annum

Based: Throughout Greater Manchester and Merseyside

Contract: Permanent

Hours of work: Monday – Friday (Agile working environment depending on diary)

Holiday Allowance: 25 days plus 8 Bank holidays

Our client is seeking to appoint qualified NCS Careers Advisors to deliver effective, labour market focused, careers information, advice and guidance to customers across Greater Manchester.

Key Responsibilities:

• Ensure customers receive a multi-channel National Careers Service (NCS) offer, personalised to meet individual needs, to develop career management skills, encourage independence and lead to sustained learning and job outcomes.
• Manage a wide range of customers by caseload to achieve targets, specifically sustained employment or sustained learning.
• Utilise labour market information and employer links in order to support customers to achieve required outcomes for sustained employment.
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with key partners and agencies in order to generate a flow of eligible and appropriate new customers.
• Receive referrals of new customers from partners or via the telephone and internet NCS Gateway, and carry out an assessment of need, identifying the type and level of support required.
• Deliver personalised support to customers via appropriate channels including through social media, email, telephone, SMS, group workshops, face to face sessions and webinars. The provision is ‘digital by default’.
• Produce a high quality action plan for each customer and ensure levels of service in initial interactions achieve customer satisfaction.
• Depending on experience and qualifications, plan, deliver and evaluate group sessions for appropriate customers, including webinars.
• Work proactively with colleagues (National Careers Service Assistants) to maximise the tracking of customer outcomes and ease the evidence generation process.
• Carry out associated administration work including report writing, usage of CRM system, collecting and analysing management information, evaluating service delivery and the audit and review of own records.
• Ensure compliance with requirements of the National Service Standards and ensure delivery exceeds minimum Skills Funding Agency, Ofsted and Matrix standards.
• Take part in observations, assess own delivery, and act on feedback, including undertaking CPD
• Work across multiple sites in Greater Manchester/Merseyside as required.

Customers include:

• Adults aged 19; Jobcentre Plus, FE Colleges and learning providers; Employers; specialist providers; Probation Service; providers of support for offenders and ex-offenders.
• There are no line management or budget responsibilities associated directly with this role.

Person Specification

The ideal candidate should have:

• NVQ level 3 in Advice & Guidance or above
• Ability to work in a target driven environment, with a focus on the successful achievement of outcomes for NCS customers.
• High level guidance skills to Ofsted Grade 2 standard with the ability to diagnose and assess customer needs, use LMI effectively, motivate customers, empowering them to progress, via 1:1, group and telephone
• Digital literacy, Ability to use digital channels and platforms in the delivery of information or advice and guidance. This includes the promotion of specific online tools and websites; other relevant social media channels as well as software packages to record and report information and support customer learning
• Effective networking and partnership skills
• High level of organisation and planning skills with effective caseloading
• Ability to follow procedures and meet compliance requirements
• Ability to work independently
• Good level written and verbal communication skills

Experience:

• Recent experience of delivering advice and guidance as well as job or learning outcomes in a target driven environment.
• Experience of proactively using a Customer Relationship Management System (CRM).
• Experience of managing a caseload of customers for whom specific outcomes are achieved in a guidance, skills or welfare to work setting.

Knowledge:

• Excellent knowledge of the local labour market – routes into the labour market and knowledge of progression routes including knowledge of local education, training and specialist service provision.
• Knowledge of Matrix and Ofsted standards and the application of these in a Careers IAG environment.