Employment Coach

Role Purpose

The Employment Coach will lead the recruitment, engagement and mentoring of young people aged 16–24 on the EFL in the Community Training Ground programme, supporting participants to progress towards education, training and employment opportunities. The role will also lead on the delivery of The King’s Trust Achieve programme and play a key role in the development of AFC Wimbledon Foundation’s Youth Hub, helping to shape a welcoming and engaging space for young people.

Through a combination of one-to-one and group mentoring, the Employment Coach will help young people overcome barriers, build confidence, develop employability and life skills, and access training, qualifications and work experience.

Working with schools, employers, referral agencies and community partners, the Employment Coach will strengthen referral and progression pathways, monitor participant progress and ensure mentoring activity and outcomes are effectively recorded.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the recruitment, engagement and mentoring of young people aged 16–24 on the EFL in the Community Training Ground programme, supporting participants to progress towards education, employment and training (ETE) opportunities.
• Lead the development and delivery of one-to-one and group mentoring sessions, building trusted relationships with young people and supporting them to identify their strengths, barriers and individual goals.
• Lead on the delivery of The King’s Trust Achieve programme, supporting learners to work towards relevant King’s Trust qualifications, including the completion of portfolios of evidence, assessment requirements and internal quality assurance processes.
• Play a key role in the development of AFC Wimbledon Foundation’s Youth Hub, supporting the Employment & Skills Manager to shape an inclusive and engaging space that responds to the needs of local young people.
• Support the Employment & Skills Manager to implement an effective volunteering and work experience framework across the organisation that enables young people to gain meaningful experience and take their first steps into employment.
• Plan and deliver employability, life skills and personal development sessions, including CV development, interview preparation, workplace readiness and activities that build confidence and resilience.
• Identify and develop meaningful training, qualification, volunteering and work experience opportunities, working with internal departments, local businesses and external partners to create progression pathways for young people.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with schools, colleges, employers, referral agencies, local authorities and community partners, developing effective referral pathways into Training Ground and wider Foundation opportunities.
• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of local education, training, employment and support opportunities, ensuring young people are appropriately referred and supported into suitable provision.
• Take ownership of achieving all Training Ground programme KPIs, contractual requirements and reporting deadlines. Maintain accurate and timely participant records, including mentoring notes, action plans, attendance, outcomes and progression data, ensuring all programme activity, progress and outcomes are effectively captured, evidenced and reported.
• Work closely with the Communications Team to capture case studies, success stories and participant journeys, supporting the promotion and impact reporting of Employment & Skills programmes.
• Work with the Head of Programmes and Employment & Skills Manager to identify development opportunities and service gaps within existing programmes, subsequently approaching suitable partners and/or funders. 
• To hold a strong knowledge of the companies safeguarding children policy, creating a safe environment, taking action to protect all young people and vulnerable adults that are either within the care of your programmes or attending club premises and report any concerns to the Safeguarding Lead.
• To adhere to the Foundation’s policies and procedures, including Health & Safety, Financial Authorisation, Confidentiality and GDPR.
• To act as an ambassador for diversity, equality, and inclusion, and demonstrate a positive commitment by treating others fairly in line with our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy and reporting any acts of discrimination through appropriate channels
• Deliver additional roles and responsibilities as agreed by Line Manager.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications:

• Hold a relevant higher education or industry recognised certification or have a minimum of 5 years’ experience working within charity, employment or education industry.
• Mentoring, Youth Work or Health & Social Care related qualification.
• Emergency Aid and Safeguarding Children Certificates.
• Ability to travel to activity & meetings across London and surrounding areas / Full Driving License

Experience:

• Experience of designing, delivering and leading employment, mentoring and training programmes to achieve set outcomes. 
• Strong project management skills able to manage multiple strands of work to a high level.
• Outstanding track record in developing employment and skills opportunities for hard to reach groups.
• Knowledge of M&E and quality assurance programmes relevant to the industry sector.
• Knowledge of Community Club Organisations and Football Charity Programmes.
• Good knowledge of ED&I practices and policies, local demographic and social needs.

Skills & Behaviors

·        Ability to lead, motivate and influence young people, participants, staff, and partners to work towards greater community outcomes.

• Ability to build strong cross-departmental and organisational relationships.
• Strong analytical skills, proficient in the use of ICT and ability to analyse data and create reports.
• Ensures the secure and professional management of confidential information.
• Good communication and organisation skills.
• Confident and outgoing personality.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Employee must at all times carry out his/her responsibilities with due regard to the AFC Wimbledon Foundation policies and procedures in particular Health & Safety, Financial Authorisation, Confidentiality and with regard to the Data Protection Act.

The Employee must act to protect all young people and adults at risk that are in their care or attending the Company’s premises.  The Employee must report any misconduct or suspected misconduct to the Safeguarding Manager.

The Employee must ensure a positive commitment towards equality and diversity by treating others fairly and not committing any form of direct or indirect discrimination, victimisation or harassment of any description and to promote positive working relations amongst Employees and customers.

The above Job Description is not intended to be exhaustive, the duties and responsibilities may therefore vary over time according to the changing needs of the Club.