Aspiring Professionals Programme Coordinator (Birmingham and Newcastle)

The Opportunity:   

The Aspiring Professionals Programme Coordinator (APPC) postholder is responsible for supporting the delivery and development of the Social Mobility Foundation’s programme of activities for young people through their S5-6/sixth form and university years.   
The SMF offers in-person and online support and opportunities, so this role will involve providing virtual and in-person support to students and working with employers across the UK.

Key Responsibility Areas:
1. Project Delivery 

• Deliver key projects including recruiting and onboarding students, creating digital resources and student events  
• Support with programme pilots, scoping (and delivering on) new activity   
• Collaborate and build relationships with our employer partners, schools, and universities to support our young people in their applications for university, internships and graduate roles  
• Deliver on allocated events relating to our programme model (university applications, skill development, work experience and mentoring), presenting content to a high standard and in line with the Social Mobility Foundation messaging

 2. Monitoring and Evaluation  

• Follow established procedures to monitor the progress of your work area, using accurate data to inform decisions  
• Maintain accurate records across relevant databases, updating data accurately and in a timely manner  
• Contribute to evaluation for key work areas (residentials, events, internships etc), produce high quality evaluation reports where required.

3. Stakeholder Management

• Communicate to internal and external stakeholders in a timely and professional manner
• Proactively update external partners (i.e. employers) on your work areas, flagging risks in a timely manner with relationship managers
• Manage internal student queries and maintain consistent stakeholder (e.g. students) processes through regular communication

4. Activity Delivery  

• Coordinate planning and delivery of skills sessions, partner events, university visits, and other activities, both virtually and in person across the Social Mobility Foundation’s target cities across the UK
• Coordinate logistics of sixth form and S5/S6 and undergraduate internships, including but not limited to, student selection, liaising with students and employers throughout internship delivery 
• Coordinate and support with the organisation, logistics and delivery of in-person residential programmes for students, including staying on site for day and overnight visits when needed  
• Coordinate student services including personal statement checking service and recruitment success service 
• Create digital resources to support all provisions

Please see full job description attached for more details. 

Person Specification:

We need someone who will demonstrate our organisational skills-based competencies - as listed below: 

1.  Leadership
2.  Communication  
3.  Adaptability
4.  Professionalism 
5.  Decision-making

Technical knowledge, understanding and experience required:

• Basic Microsoft Office, particularly Microsoft Excel  
• A basic understanding of the barriers young people face in accessing university and particular careers  
•  

Ways of working:  

• Most of our work is office based, but you will spend a lot of time collaborating with other teams and clients via email, telephone and other communications channels such as Teams or Zoom.  
• This role requires you to attend staff residentials for students on our Programme. This means that during the summer period (Jul – Aug) you will be expected to stay overnight on-site (in the UK - exact location to be confirmed closer to the time) for a period of up to two-weeks, help run the residential and be responsible for the welfare of the young people involved.

Travel:

• Some travel, to other offices and other locations, will occasionally be expected. 
• Please note this role may require some travel during our peak delivery period (February-May) which could be up to 4 times per month.
• Travel and accommodation if required will be covered by the SMF.

Benefits:

• 36/37 days' annual leave (England & Wales and Scotland respectively - includes bank and public holidays), with 3 of these days reserved for the annual end of year office closure
• Cycle to Work Scheme
•  5% Salary sacrifice pension scheme with enhanced matching employer contributions
• Employee Assistance Programme available to staff and their family
• Flexible work options such as hybrid working, flexitime, part-time
• Regular staff team building and business planning “away days”