Employability Advisor

The Employability Advisor will be responsible to Regional Co-ordinator and will work as a member of OPFS Lanarkshire Employability Service, to provide employability support for single parents and young parents facing additional barriers to engaging with services, entering suitable employment, education, and training opportunities through one-to-one meetings and group work sessions., The job description is a broad picture of the post at the time of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties, as jobs change and evolve over time. Specific duties

• Case Management: Work with single parents facing additional barriers, to access employability support by using case management methods, to provide a continuum of consistent support through each client's journey of the Making Employability Works for Single Parents Employability Pathway and progress into suitable and sustainable
• Barriers: Support clients to identify their presenting barriers to enter suitable employment, education and training opportunities and work with single parents to address those barriers.
• Initial Support: Enable single parents to identify their future goals, assess motivation, develop personal action plans, and support client's access to suitable employability
• Liaison: Build links with agencies, projects, organisations, and groups across the local authority area, to identify eligible young parents who would benefit from participating in a scheduled programme of employability support, that will enable them to access suitable employment, education, and training opportunities.
• Outreach & Engagement: Undertake activities to actively reach out to, and engage with, eligible single parents; supporting clients to build their confidence and develop their knowledge and awareness of the support and services available to them through OPFS's Making Employability Work for Single Parents Employability Service.
• Work/Vocational Activities & Training: Co-ordinate and deliver a range of employability activities to single parents in 1-2-1 and group settings to enable parents facing additional barriers to employment to develop their knowledge, awareness and understanding of early work preparation, C.V development and core skills, helping to increase participants access to available employment, training, and education opportunities.
• Job Matching: Provide employability support to help single parents to become job ready through the provision of activities that focus on; active job searching, completing application forms, attending interviews and make informed decisions to secure and sustain suitable employment.
• In Work Support: Provide single parents facing additional barriers to sustain their employment role with continued support on entering employment and help single parents to progress within their working role.
• Signposting and Referral: Ensure that young parents gain access to the services and resources that will help to address their needs and support their progression along OPFS Making Employability Work for Single Parents Employability Service.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Ensure effective recording, monitoring and evaluation procedures are collated and produced on a regular monthly basis.
• Reporting, targets, and outcomes: Ensure project outcomes and targets are met in-line with funding application and submit comprehensive reports to the Services Manager on all areas of the work you are responsible for.
• Other relevant duties: Carrying out any other relevant duties related to the above.
Personal specifications Please ensure you identify how you meet these within your personal statement.,
• Period of appointment: The post is funded until 30^th September 2025 with possible extension dependent on additional funding. Confirmation of appointment will be dependent on completion of a satisfactory three-month probation period, satisfactory reference, and Disclosure checks.
• Salary: OPFS salary scale points 13 - 17, currently £25,111- £30,691. (Appointments will be made at a point reflective of previous experience).
• Hours of work: up to 35 hours weekly with flexibility to meet the needs of part time hours also considered.
• Holidays: Annual leave entitlement is 25 days and 12 Public holidays, pro rata for part time hours.
• Pension: You will be auto enrolled from your start OPFS pays 7% of your salary and you pay a minimum of 3%.
• Training, support, and supervision: OPFS is committed to the development of its staff through internal training and access to external training. We also have an annual staff appraisal system in place and all staff receive regular monthly support and supervision from their manager.
  
  Qualification: A relevant professional qualification or a good standard of education equivalent to HNC/HND, SVQ3 /4 or equivalent experience related to this area of work.
• Experience of working in the employability support field.
• Experience of group work: candidates should preferably have had experience of running groups and understand potential group work issues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Excellent IT skills.
• Commitment to professional.
• Flexibility to meet the needs of the services.
• Driving license and use of a vehicle., Experience of working with single parents: Prior experience of work with families headed by a single parent in a voluntary sector or statutory context.
  
  OPFS was founded in 1944 and since then we have been at the forefront of shaping policy and services that support the 144,000 single parent families in Scotland. OPFS HQ is in central Edinburgh, there are local services in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Edinburgh and Dundee with National digital and helpline services.
All roles at OPFS contribute to our mission of working with and for single parent families, providing support that enables them to achieve their potential and helping to create lasting solutions to poverty and barriers facing single parents and their children. Our core values of Justice, Equity, Trust, Collaboration and Compassion are at the heart of everything we do and underpin all aspects of our work.