Employer Engagement Enterprise Coordinator (with responsibility for Events)

Fixed-Term Contract until 31st August 2022 (with some potential of being extended further, dependant on funding).

Overview

The Black Country Consortium Ltd has been working in partnership with the Careers and Enterprise Company since January 2016 delivering national programmes locally to ensure that careers education in secondary schools in the region are successfully preparing young people for the world of work. The Consortium set up the first Black Country Careers Hub in September 2018 and have now extended this offer to all State Schools, Colleges, SEND Schools and PRUs from September 2020. The Black Country also manage an extensive Enterprise Adviser Network with circa 115 schools/colleges and 100 Business Volunteers.

The Careers & Enterprise Company is an employer-led organisation that has been set up to inspire and prepare young people for the fast-changing world of work. Its role is to act as a catalyst in the fragmented landscape of careers and enterprise, supporting programmes that work, filling gaps in provision and ensuring coverage across the country. 

Its focus has been on improving links between employers and schools and colleges and It has established a network of coordination (Enterprise Adviser Network) across England in partnership with Local Enterprise Partnerships - business volunteers who have signed up to provide counsel to individual schools and colleges. The purpose of the Enterprise Adviser Network (EAN) is to create powerful, lasting connections between local businesses and the schools and colleges in their area which, with the work of the Coordinator, enhances and adds value to the Careers programmes in Schools and Colleges to meet the Gatsby framework.

The pandemic has changed the way in which the Careers Hub and Enterprise Adviser Network delivers its services and is increasingly focused on providing solutions and  alternatives for Schools and Colleges especially with virtual delivery.  It is anticipated that the Careers Hub will deliver a hybrid model of virtual and face to face delivery of meetings and activities in the future.

The Employer Engagement Enterprise Coordinator (EE-EC) is a pivotal role in the next step in the Black Country’s delivery of the Careers & Enterprise Company’s national programmes. It is critical to achieving its aim of motivating, inspiring and supporting young people in Colleges and Schools to make informed choices about their future and help them achieve against those choices. Planning and delivering a strategy for the recruitment of Enterprise Advisers, Cornerstone Employers and volunteers for schools/college events and to use their experience of careers education to deliver good quality employer activities and events to employers, pupils, teachers and careers leaders on behalf of the Careers Hubs.  The EE-EC role will be instrumental in developing, delivering & evaluating both the virtual events and physical events that the Black Country Careers Hub deliver to Careers Leaders, pupils, parents & teachers such as the World of Work Weeks. The EE - EC will also take responsibility for Social Media communication on behalf of the team working closely with the Marcomms Team at the Black Country Consortium and the Coordinators to plan the marketing of events and opportunities to maintain a high Social Media presence for the Careers Hub.    

The post-holder will also ensure that the best local careers and enterprise provision is made available to the Careers Hub by acting as a link to existing employers,  to new initiatives emerging locally, regionally, nationally and through The Careers & Enterprise Company and by stimulating more provision where there are gaps in employer representation.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver a service which meets and maintains The Careers and Enterprise Company’s grant requirements and the LEP’s accountability framework for the EAN ensuring effective and broad-based governance.
• Reporting to the Head of Skills Factory and Hub Lead, ensure the delivery of a high-profile, successful and impactful Enterprise Adviser Network to all colleges in the LEP area by engaging and supporting Enterprise Advisers and local delivery partners.
• Recruit local and national employers to engage them to contribute to Black Country Careers Hub by becoming - Cornerstone Employers, Enterprise Advisers or adding value to events and activities. 
• To recruit an EA or an EAN advisory panel for each school and college by February 2022.   
• Manage the caseload of Cornerstone Employers work. Ensure that the right leaders from the business are involved with the Cornerstone Group : working with the Head of Skills Factory and the Careers Hub Lead develop and drive the Cornerstone Commitment Plan ensuring that it meets the needs and aligns to the Careers Hub Operational Plan.   
• Actively participate in the development and delivery of the Careers Hub action plan and its activities. Working with the Head of the Skills Factory, Careers Hub Lead and Senior Coordinator take responsibility for developing and delivering the events planned in the Careers Hub Plan for 2021-22. Actively seek opportunities to add to the Careers Hub Plan to create exciting virtual and live opportunities for Employers, Colleges and Schools.     
• Work with the Marcomms Team at the Consortium to deliver the communication plan, in particular Social Media of the activities and events of the Careers Hub and EAN to raise the profile of the work in a planned and professional manner to ensure maximum attendance at Careers Hub and EAN events.   
• Champion the work of the Careers Hub and the EAN to positively communicate the importance of employer/school engagement.
• Ensure submission of timely monitoring and impact tracking returns on the monthly EAN register as requested by The Careers & Enterprise Company.
• Develop best practice case studies from the work of the Cornerstone Employers and/or Careers Hub each quarter that can be submitted to the CEC as part of the claim.
• Build and understand your own knowledge of the local context of local labour Market Information, careers provision and providers including National Apprenticeship Service, National Careers Service and JobCentre Plus and how these can benefit the Black Country Careers Hub.
• Attend EC national and local training events and meetings to keep up to date with The Careers & Enterprise Company and EAN developments.
• Attend and contribute to local Team meetings.

Job Requirements

Qualifications & Experience required:

• Demonstrable experience of engaging and building relationships with leaders from Schools, Colleges and Businesses.
• Demonstrable experience of delivering quality virtual and face to face events, activities, programmes and/or projects with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience of managing own performance and working to targets.
• A strong track record of stakeholder engagement and communicating with a variety of audiences, preferably in the education and/or careers sector.
• A demonstrable understanding of education culture and the challenges faced by Schools and Colleges – especially SEND and Alternative Provision in delivering careers and enterprise, and the current careers education and corporate social responsibility landscapes.
• An understanding of relevant local and national policy relating to skills and economic development and the programmed issues and barriers to employment faced by young people.
• Must be a car user and willing to travel across the Black Country.
• Excellent ICT skills; Word, Excel and presentation software such as Prezzi, Powerpoint and platforms such as Teams, Teams Events, Zoom, Google Classroom or similar.
• Experience of sales and/or marketing especially the use of Social Media to attract attendees and also to raise the profile of a business.

Skills & Core Competencies:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to persuade a variety of audiences and encourage others to use new ways of working.
• Collaborative and good at building relationships at all levels, both internally and with a range of external stakeholders.
• Proactive, with the ability to work independently, prioritising a busy workload while managing a large number of stakeholders.
• Adaptable, tenacious, determined, positive and resilient with the ability to deal with ambiguity and work in a continuous improvement culture.
• Target focused.
• Creative and an ideas person who is innovative in their approach.  

Please apply by submitting your up to date CV and covering letter (stating why you are suited to this role) to: jobs@blackcountryconsortium.co.uk

No agencies please.