Head of Careers and Talent Development

About the Aziz Foundation        

We at The Aziz Foundation are a family charitable foundation established to support British Muslim communities to flourish and give back to our country. Through our flagship Master's Scholarships programme, the Foundation has invested over £8 million into more than 700 scholarships for British Muslims pursuing postgraduate degrees, as well as working with employers to facilitate work experience and internships for young British Muslims. We have also supported a wide range of charitable initiatives, including funding of historic buildings, community sports, research into discrimination, interfaith activities and the engagement of British Muslims in the democratic process of our country. 

Job Purpose 

This is a new and vital role for the Foundation, involving developing our work around employment, which will support British Muslims to access employment and develop their careers in fields in which we are currently under-represented. You will be part of a matrix-working team that will collectively develop this piece of work, so you will not be simply implementing an existing plan; you’ll be there from the start with key input into how this should be designed and implemented. 

Your key role will be to engage with graduates and those with advanced vocational skills, to support them to develop the necessary skills to access employment and to support them once they are in employment in partnership with employers. Our target industries are journalism, law, arts, public policy, and tech/AI. This will involve direct engagement with employers, with graduates and other job seekers, with Aziz Scholarship/Internship alumni and with intermediary bodies that provide links between job seekers and employers. 

Internal relationships 

You will report to the Director of the Foundation, who will work closely with you in the development of this new programme. The Foundation currently has five staff, now growing to eight.  We are a tight-knit team that goes over and above to support one another.  

This role will work closely with the Head of Employer Engagement, who we are advertising in parallel.  That role is more at the “demand” end – identifying and engaging employers to ensure that there are clear pathways for graduates and others seeking to develop their careers. 

Key Responsibilities 

Broadly, the main duties and responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, the following: 

• Build and manage engagement with British Muslim graduates/vocationally skilled job seekers in target sectors; journalism, law, arts, public policy, and tech/AI 

• Ensure our CRM system is maintained to track all external and internal communication for your area of work with graduates/job seekers 

• Convene and support development sessions for job seekers 

• Engage with the existing alumni network of Aziz Scholars and Interns 

• Collaborate with internal colleagues to support alignment of graduate skills with employer needs 

• Collaborate with the Communications function to ensure internal and external promotion of opportunities 

Person Specification 

When completing the cover letter as part of the application process, ensure that you address how you meet each of the “essential” criteria in the person specification and, where relevant, how you meet the “desirable” criteria. 

1. Experience

Essential 

• Minimum five years’ professional experience in a related role 
• Experience in recruitment, career development, or graduate programme management 
• Demonstrable commitment to equity and supporting underrepresented communities

Desirable

• Specific experience working in one of the target fields: journalism, law, arts, public policy, and tech/AI 
• Experience of managing networks of graduates or employees

2. Skills and Abilities

• Strong communication and facilitation skills 
• Solutions-focused – the ability to find ways to make things work rather than to find problems 
• An understanding of the challenges facing the British Muslim community