Job Details:
IAG Advisor

Job Description

The Growth Company’s Employment team have a new vacancy for an IAG Adviser who will deliver effective, labour market-focused, careers information, advice and guidance to customers across prison estates and transition to the service in the community.

Please note that this role will be based in HMP Risley.

We help to make a lasting difference to the lives of people throughout the North of England and beyond, by supporting individuals to gain meaningful employment. Our highly skilled advisers and keyworkers work with a range of individuals; from people who have found themselves recently out of work, to those with complex barriers such as physical disabilities, mental ill-health and debt.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure customers receive a personalized IAG offer that meets individual needs, to develop career management skills, encourage independence and lead to sustained learning and job outcomes.
• Manage a wide range of customers, by caseload, to achieve targets, specifically sustained employment or sustained learning. 
• Utilize labor market information and employer links in order to support customers to achieve required outcomes for sustained employment. 
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with key partners, particularly prison managers/governors, uniformed officers and agencies, in order to generate a flow of eligible and appropriate new customers.
• Deliver personalised support to customers via appropriate channels, including the Virtual Campus, group workshops and face-to-face sessions.
• Produce a high-quality action plan for each customer and ensure levels of service in initial interactions achieve customer satisfaction standards.
• Work proactively with colleagues delivering other mainstream services (including the National Careers Service) to maximise the tracking of customer outcomes and ease the evidence generation process.  
• Carry out associated administration work, including report-writing, use of the Nomis system for collecting and analysis of management information, evaluating service delivery and the audit and review of own records.
• Ensure compliance with the requirements of the Prison Service DPS contract and ensure that delivery exceeds minimum Skills Funding Agency, Ofsted and Matrix standards.
• Work across multiple sites in the Northwest, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside, as required. 

About you

• Recent experience of delivering job or learning outcomes in the custodial setting, preferably in a target-driven environment.  
• Experience of managing a caseload of customers, with a view to supporting them with their ETE / resettlement requirements.
• Excellent knowledge of the local labour market – routes into the labour market and knowledge of progression routes, including knowledge of local education, training and specialist service provision.
• Knowledge of Matrix and Ofsted standards and the application of these in a Careers IAG environment.
• A warm, approachable style to delivery is required in order to build relationships and rapport.

Skills Required

• Hold NVQ level 3 or 4 in Advice & Guidance, DipCG, or equivalent, and be willing to work towards the CDI License to Practise requirements.
• Ability to work in a target-driven environment, with a focus on the successful achievement of outcomes for Prison Service customers.
• High-level guidance skills, with the ability to deliver one-to-one and group sessions to at least Grade 2 standard.
• Ability to use digital channels and platforms in the delivery of information or advice and guidance.  This includes the usage of specific online tools and websites within the Virtual Campus.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of everyone including vulnerable adults and young people, we expect all staff to share this commitment. All appointments will be subject to Safer Recruitment Procedures which include a DBS check. This will be conducted by Due Diligence Limited (DDC Ltd) on behalf of GC. Please note that the successful candidate will not be required to pay for this.

If you are on the Barred List, it is against the law to apply and to be hired for a role that includes regulated activity with the concerned group.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce, we provide a guaranteed interview to applicants who meet the essential requirements for a role. This commitment applies to candidates who have a disability or are from a diverse ethnic community.

As part of our application process, you can ask to be considered under this scheme if you are from an ethnic community or have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. Providing that you meet the essential criteria for the role, you will then be invited for an interview. Your guaranteed interview application will only be shared with the Hiring Manager and our Internal Recruitment Team.

We are a member of the national campaign Ban the Box; this campaign aims to open opportunities for people with convictions to compete for jobs. We’re supporting the campaign by removing conviction questions at the applications stage.

GC aims to promote a culture of flexibility and agile working. Going forward we will be transitioning to a culture where full agile working will be a feature of many of our roles. We also recognise that there may be a need for more permanent flexibility in your working arrangements and in such cases, we encourage you to have these discussions at the interview stage, to enable your flexible working request to be considered as early as possible.

If you require support with the recruitment process, please contact or Internal Recruitment Team at [email protected] or call us on 0161 237 4447.

All GC colleagues will work inline with the Health & Safety at work act and the GC Health & Safety Policy.

• Our annual leave entitlement starts at 25 days, plus bank holidays which increases with length of service with the opportunity to purchase up to 10 additional days leave each year.
• Access to counselling via our Employee Assistance Programme.
• We have 8 EDI steering group to make sure we value our differences and enable an environment of fairness, dignity and respect.
• We offer up to two days’ paid leave to volunteer at a charity of choice through our Volunteer2Day scheme. 
• We offer travel loans, discounted seasonal travel tickets for public transport and a great cycle to work scheme promoting opportunities to reduce environmental pollution and a healthier lifestyle. 
• We have an enhanced learning and development offer for all staff and managers with opportunities for mentoring, undertaking apprenticeships and continuous professional development. 
• Paid for eye test and contributions towards glasses for VDU users, helping improve overall health and wellbeing in the workplace.