Employment Advisor
Employment Advisor
Hours- 39 per week Fixed Term until 31st March 2026
Line Managed by: Real Jobs Team Leader
Location - A mix of office, home working, and community-based
Salary- £26,253.48 – £28,226.05 per annum based on 39 hour week
Are you passionate about making a real difference in people's lives? Join our Real Jobs team at The Action Group, part of the All in Edinburgh Supported Employment Consortium, where you’ll support individuals with disabilities and long-term health conditions to find, secure, sustain and thrive in meaningful employment.
Requirements
The Action Group seeks a highly organised, empathic professional with a passion for supporting and empowering people. You will work as part of the Real Jobs team helping adults with support needs to find and sustain paid employment. We support people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to find, maintain, sustain and progress in the job they choose, by providing person-centred 1:1 support following the five-stage supported employability pipeline model.
Real Jobs at The Action Group is one of four partners who make up the AiE consortium, providing supported employment across Edinburgh.
Useful skills for this Role:
These are not required, but would be an advantage to any applicants.
Experience in Recruitment or Support Work
A Qualification in Supported Employment
About the role
1. PURPOSE OF THE POST – THIS SECTION TELLS YOU HOW YOUR WORK CONTRIBUTES TO THE VISION, MISSION AND AIMS.
An Employment Advisor works to support adults with support needs to find and sustain paid employment. Employment Advisors provide an end-to-end employment support service to clients, meeting The Action Group’s vision that individuals encounter no barrier to their chosen lifestyle.
You will join a team, where you will provide employment support in line with the Scottish Government’s 5 stage supported employment framework and City of Edinburgh Council’s strategic skills pipeline to ensure that clients are able to engage with the service, develop their employability skills, enter paid employment, sustain their employment and develop in-work skills that give them the opportunity to progress in their chosen career.
You will be working within All in Edinburgh, a Supported Employment Consortium operating across the city. This service has very challenging employment targets. As such the successful candidate will be required to deliver a high level of job outcomes for individuals who may have significant barriers to entering paid employment.
2. WORK WITH CLIENTS
To provide a holistic 5-stage employment support service to clients with disabilities including:
1) Initial Engagement:
Working with potential clients to establish whether the service can meet their employment needs
Explaining the service offer in a way which meets the communication needs of the client
2) Vocational Assessment
Undertake a full vocational assessment, building a consensus with the client of their skills, experience, abilities and job preferences
Work with other professionals/carers/family members
3) Job Search/Job Matching
Supporting clients with CV building, job applications, interview support, liaising with benefit agencies
4) Job Coaching
Completing a full job and task analysis of a new job according to TSI principles
Coaching clients to understand their role and responsibilities at work
Supporting clients to complete workplace training and to develop natural supports in the work place among their work colleagues
5) In Work Progression
Ensuring clients receive support with career progression either in their current role, to be promoted or to find another job at another organisation
To work with clients in work and at risk of losing their job, to maintain it.
To support clients to remove barriers and obstacles to working
To work in partnership with The Action Group’s advice service to ensure that client benefits are correct
To work in partnership with other agencies to ensure that all support services clients receive are working towards the same objectives
Maintaining the highest standards of data protection and client confidentiality, in line with The Action Group policies
3. WORK WITH EMPLOYERS
a. Marketing the Real Jobs service to prospective employers, identifying possible job opportunities and working with employers to meet their recruitment needs
b. Supporting employers to understand the benefits of employing people with disabilities and the positive impact that diversity in the workplace has on their workforce
c. Supporting employers to understand the implications of the Equality Act 2010 and to make reasonable adjustments where appropriate
d. To support clients to apply for Access to Work funding where these adjustments have a cost attached, in agreement with the employer
e. Supporting employers with management (where required) including through supervision, appraisal, capability, disciplinary and grievance processes
f. Provide advice to current employers relating to clients and be available to answer queries or concerns about our clients
g. Support employers to develop a better understanding of disabilities in the workplace and provide creative solutions to improve workforce diversity including positive action, job creation and job-carving
4. OUTCOMES: TARGETS TO BE MEASURED
Individual Caseload -20 - 25 clients
Outcome: Job entry-A paid job for a client that lasts at least 4 weeks
Outcome: Sustainment-An intervention to ensure that a job at risk is sustained due to the support of the Employment Advisor
Outcome: Progression-Support by an Employment Advisor to achieve a progression at work for a client including promotion, a new post at the same employer or an increase in duties/responsibility
Employment advisors are expected to deliver outcomes, and failure to do so may result in not passing the probationary period or being subject to the Action Group’s capability process.
5. DECISIONS MADE IN COURSE OF JOB
·Supporting clients and employers to reach a consensus about in-work problems, ensuring the needs of both groups are met
Negotiating shift patterns, salary and reasonable adjustments on behalf of clients
Working with clients to identify the level of employment support required and agreeing times and dates of support
Recognising when a client is not engaging and taking appropriate steps to motivate them
Identifying when to refer clients to another service
Agreeing with employers the amount of initial job coaching required and implementing a plan to withdraw support
6. PROJECT WORK
To undertake administrative duties on behalf of the service including managing referrals, updating databases, taking minutes at meetings or any other reasonable duties as required
To attend and engage in team meetings, case review meetings and networking events
To produce and deliver presentations, with support from the Employment Services Manager, at events as required
Writing reports and case studies
To cover the drop-in service when required
7. RECORD KEEPING AND PROCEDURES
Taking full responsibility for accurate and timely recording of all client information required as part of the role
To keep accurate and up to date case notes on the case management database ‘Helix,’ including outcome information
Complying with the Action Group’s Confidentiality and Data Protection policies
Ensuring clients have given consent via either electronically or signed copies of all mandatory paperwork in their hard copy file
Obtaining all supporting evidence which clients are required to show eligibility for the service, which are also required for annual audit by our funders.
8. RESPONSIBILITIES
Employment Advisors are required to take ownership of their own workload, ensuring that they are able to manage their time effectively, undertake effective administration and achieve outcomes.
You will be expected to keep your Outlook calendar appointments up to date, and logging-on to our lone working app PeopleSafe daily.
Staff are required to work without direct supervision for the majority of the time
Staff will be supervised by the Team Manager who reports to the Development Manager responsible for Employment Services across the Action Group
Attend regular conversation-based meetings with the team leader for support to manage caseloads, meeting training requirements, and address other professional development needs
9. QUALIFICATIONS
Employment Advisors will have, or will undertake the PDA in Supported Employment Qualification within the first year of employment.
Employment Advisors will have, or will undertake the relevant training in teaching tasks and Training in Systematic Instruction
10. USEFUL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Employment Advisors should have experience working with people with disabilities in areas such as support work, vocational guidance, job coaching, occupational therapy or developing skills and independence.
Previous experience of working in the voluntary sector and understand the political environment the service operates in.
Experience of support work, working alongside colleagues with disabilities, or experience with recruitment.
11. COMPLEXITY
Employment Advisors, due to the nature of their work, will spend periods of time working without day-to-day direct supervision. As the direct service provider to both clients and employers, they are required to demonstrate a positive and flexible approach to their work, being able to adapt and respond to the needs of individual service users and employers.
Employment Advisors will be required to demonstrate the following core skills in carrying out their job:
Assessment of clients' vocational needs using a Vocational Profile.
A basic understanding of benefits and welfare reform
Liaising with and maintaining good communication links with parents, carers, referring agencies and other relevant bodies, including employers
Utilise direct and indirect sales techniques during the job development process in negotiating with potential employers to develop job opportunities
Raise employer awareness re. disability issues through discussions and presentations both to employers and other relevant organisations
Manage and organise personal time and work priorities to ensure a quality service is maintained
Maintain accurate information, training data and work reports.
Plan, design, implement and evaluate personalised training strategies for clients
Plan and present training events for employers/staff
Monitor client performance at work
Provide additional counselling and support to clients outwith the work-place when required.
Advise and assist other individuals and agencies to access services suitable for them.workplace
12. HEALTH AND SAFETY
The post holder will take responsible steps to guard the safety of clients and colleagues by following the agreed policies including the Health and Safety at Work legislation.
13 SUPERVISION RECEIVED
The Employment Services Manager through regular meetings, is responsible for the supervision of this post holder and the development of their work.
The post holder will participate in regular performance appraisals in accordance with The Action Group's appraisal system.
The Action Group
We could use lots of fancy words to sum us up, but really it comes down to you, your family and us, working together to get the right support for you, that changes as you change and keeps putting you right at the centre of all that we do.
Our History The Action Group was set up in 1976 by a group of parents and carers of people who had learning disabilities and other support needs. They began by campaigning for better services for the people they cared about in the local area of Leith and Restalrig. This group, who all lived in the north east of Edinburgh, took the name Area 5 Action Group from the Social Work Department’s area in which they lived. Providing and Improving Learning Disability Care for Over 45 Years The Action Group was, and continues to be, a membership organisation with the twin aims of campaigning for, and providing, good community care services. In 1976, services and supports in the community were few and far between and large institutions and hospitals, like Gogarburn in Edinburgh, were the main service for children and adults. Locally, The Area 5 Action Group ran a high profile political and media campaign to get learning disability and support needs on the agenda. It also explored ways to develop service-provision By 1985, now called The North Edinburgh Action Group, membership had grown and service users came from all over Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian and Midlothian. By 1992, with development plans focussing across an even wider area, a further name change to The Action Group was made. Over the years the Action Group has been at the forefront of campaigning for and providing high quality community services.
The Vision That Families caring for a person and individuals who have support needs and/or Learning Disability encounter no barriers to their chosen lifestyle, are able to follow a path of choice and can enrich their opportunities. The Mission To Value, listen and involve people so that our every action is judged to be the best. The Values An ordinary life includes the 5 accomplishments which derives from the work of John O'Brien. These values are at the heart of the organisation. People accessing our services should have: Community presence - Relationships Competency - Respect - Choice
Our benefits
Looking to make a difference? Make a difference in your community and in people’s lives by becoming a support worker with us! Your goal will be to help people with additional support needs to gain or maintain their independence, and going about their lives in general, to support with work, health and wellbeing, or attending and participating in activities. HSF Health Plan to all our Full-time & Part-time employees Pension Good annual leave entitlements TAG Rewards – our exclusive discounts and savings programme Travel time payable where applicable Ongoing support, training and development opportunities Mileage allowance where applicable
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