Personal Development Advisor

'Northern Rights' is the trading name of Northern Rights Social Enterprise Limited. Companies within the Northern Rights Social Enterprise Limited Group include Northern Rights (Durham/Tees Valley) Community Interest Company, Northern Rights (Tyne & Wear) Social Enterprise Limited, Northern Rights Shared Services Limited (formally NRSE 2017 Ltd) and Northern Rights Pathfinder.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Personal Development Advisor

About Us

Northern Rights delivers Personal Development and Employment Support services to benefit disadvantaged people, in particular those with health problems in to work. We do this through impartial, up to date, qualified Matrix standard Information Advice and Guidance delivering numerous commissioned contracts/services.

Position

The role of a Personal Development Advisor is to work with people who are not 'Job Ready', supporting them to overcome their implicit and explicit barriers, immediate and long term, towards progression to work related activity which we know is therapeutic to health and wellbeing.

Duties

· To operate and encourage a participant focused culture.

· To network with stakeholders and value-added collaborators in order to benefit participants.

· To promote Northern Rights to stakeholders and value-added collaborators to attract potential participants to the services sharing good news/success stories.

· To communicate appropriately with commissioners and stakeholders and value-added collaborators to join up and not duplicate services.

· To undertake initial and ongoing assessments of pre-employment support needs; formulating appropriate and agreed Paced Progression Plans (Action Plans). To effectively manage, develop and support a caseload of participants to progress towards work related activity.

· To develop and maintain and in-depth knowledge of current benefit systems and entitlements.

· To support referrals into specialist organisations dependent on participant need.

· To ensure participants receive training by identifying the most appropriate training provider; internal or external.

· To develop and maintain knowledge of the local labour market.

· To progress 'Job Ready' participants onto the Employment Service's designated Employment Support Advisor.

· To work as a team alongside the Initial Contact Advisor, other Personal Development Advisors, Employment Support Advisors, In-Work Support Advisor, internal Skills Team and management and Health and Wellbeing services.

· To conduct Better off in Work calculations to provide participants with a clear understanding of how they could be better off in employment.

· To adhere to Quality Frameworks, Compliance and Customer Service Standards and working to Team and Individual Targets

· To maintain effective and efficient administrative procedures, producing appropriate reports as required and updating including participant records on a Client Relationship Management system.

· To participate in training and undertake appropriate learning and development, as identified through regular appraisals and reviews with line manager.

Flexibility

The Job Description is intended to provide a broad outline of the main duties and responsibilities only. The post holder will need to be flexible in developing the role in conjunction with their line manager. The post holder may be asked to carry out any other delegated duty or task that is in line with their post. The post holder will receive an HR Letter detailing which contract they will be working on (which is subject to change).

Confidentiality

The post holder must maintain the confidentiality of information about participants, staff and other Northern Rights business. The work is of a confidential nature and information gained must not be communicated to other persons except in the recognised course of duty. The post holder must meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act with compliance against the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") at all times.

Health and Safety

Employees must comply with the provisions of 'The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974' and must take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of other persons who may be affected by their acts of omissions whilst at work. Employees are also required to co-operate with their employer to enable them to perform or comply with any statutory provisions. Northern Rights efforts to promote a safe and healthy working environment can only succeed with the full co-operation of its employees.

Equality & Diversity

Northern Rights has an Equality and Diversity Policy, and it is the responsibility of all staff to comply.

As a Disability Confident Leader, if an applicant discloses a disability and meets the desirable criteria for the role, they will be guaranteed an interview. We will also ensure that the interview process is accessible and will make reasonable adjustments where needed.

Experience:

· Experience in giving one-to-one information, advice, and guidance.

· Experience working with disadvantaged people and unemployed people, in particular, those with disabilities and health problems.

· Experience relating to Welfare Benefits.

· Experience of using Better off in Work calculation software.

· Experience in helping people overcome barriers to progression, also employment issues faced by the participant group.

· Experience of working to Team and/or Individual targets.

· Experience and awareness of national and local services and available provision.

· Excellent knowledge of the local area and its demographics.

· Good understanding of the local labour market.

Skills:

· Ability to seek out, develop and assess potential participants for the service.

· Ability to encourage, persuade and motivate at all levels.

· Empathy and belief in each individual participant, raising their self-efficacy.

· Flexibility to cope with varying demands of the role.

· Ability to problem solve and respond appropriately to a variety of situations.

· Ability to manage and support a caseload of more than 50 participants and achieve targets for progression.

· Good interpersonal, communication, listening and presentation skills.

· Excellent organisational skills.

· Working knowledge of IT: Microsoft packages specifically Word Processing and Outlook (e-mails), Zoom / Teams, the Internet, and Client Relationship Management systems effectively.

· A great team player.

Other requirements:

· Willingness to travel inside the designated work area and occasionally outside for meetings, training etc. with possible overnight stays.

· Positive attitude to disability and health problems.

· DBS Basic Clearance.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

· Experience in the Welfare to Work sector

SALARY:

Starting salary is £28,937.70 with the potential to earn £31,318.65 a year.

HOURS: 36.5

Monday to Thursday 0900 until 1700

Friday 0900 to 1600

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: £28,937.00-£31,318.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Free parking
• On-site parking
• Sick pay

Work Location: In person