Employment Advisor, Refugee Employability - Reading/Maidenhead

Project Overview and Role:

The Refugee Employability Programme is a new initiative that offers enhanced support to defined cohorts of legally recognised refugees in the UK. Starting in July 2023, the programme will provide tailored support for each participant focussed on gaining sustainable employment. Palladium will work with employers, local government, and other partners to ensure that individuals are fully supported with their employment and integration in UK society. The programme includes delivery of employability-focussed English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) tuition for some of the cohorts.
Palladium is responsible for delivering the programme in the South East of England.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

As Employment Advisor, you will be responsible for delivering the front-line support to customers on the Home Office Refugee Employability Programme, ensuring that they receive excellent service which is compliant with all Home Office requirements.
Your responsibilities will include:

Take responsibility for engaging with potential customers, explaining eligibility and bringing in referrals to the programme as part of a coordinated team approach.

Be accountable for your caseload of assigned customers and working with them to address their learning, integration and employment needs in line with both contractual requirements and the individual’s needs. This will include:Building rapport and a positive working relationship with each customer.Assessing the customer’s starting position to decide how to best meet their needs.Creating and following through with individual Personal Development Plans, ensuring appropriate and effective activity is undertaken by each customer.Providing challenge, advice, and guidance where appropriate, to develop customers’ capability in the recruitment process ensuring they have the necessary skills and confidence to secure employment.Develop an understanding of specialist signposting services in the local area/region, so that you are able to source and refer customers to additional support when needed;Cultivate a welcoming environment and ensure a high level of engagement / re-engagement with customers;Work collaboratively as part of a small team to ensure excellent support for all customers;Deliver programme in accordance with contractual Service Level Agreements and company standards;Maintain customers’ records in accordance with data protection requirements so that personal information is safeguarded, and the customer journey is accurately recorded;Meet personal performance targets, Key Performance Indicators and Quality and Compliance measures by delivering high quality employability provision to customers, both remotely and face to face;Develop relationships and networks with key local stakeholders including employers to provide the best possible support for customers.

Required Qualifications:

Required

A passion for working with peopleExperience of working in a customer engagement and support-focused roleExperience of providing one-to-one support and coaching to individuals with the ability to constructively challenge where neededExperience in the management of a caseload of individual customers according to a set of contractual standards and requirementsA level of independence and professionalism to work independentlyDetail-oriented with strong organisational and communication skillsThe ability to be based in, and travel around the Dartford area; candidates already based in Dartford are encouraged to apply.

Desirable

Exposure to the challenges experienced by refugees or asylum seekers, or personal lived experienceExperience delivering one-to-one employability support or ESOL assessments and trainingTrained in trauma-informed approaches and safeguardingAccess to a reliable vehicle and a full, clean drivers licenceKnowledge of languages including Amharic, Arabic, Albanian, Bengali, Dari, Farsi, Hindi, Pashto, Spanish, Tigrinya, Urdu or Yoruba

Location and compensation
This is a 6 month fixed term outreach role, with the expectation that you will primarily work remotely with frequent visits within the catchment area of Reading and Maidenhead to outreach locations, hotels, partner offices and/or locations which are convenient for meeting the customer group for this programme.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis so please apply early if you would like to discuss this role with us.

Company Overview:

About Palladium - Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value.  We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world's most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people's lives.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.  

As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that disabled applicants that meet the required criteria for this position will be offered an interview. Should you require any reasonable adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com

Safeguarding - We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse.  All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.

Palladium is a Real Living Wage Employer.