Connect to Work Fidelity Officer

Connect to Work Fidelity Officer | | Permanent Contract | 37 hours per week | £37,280 to £39,152 | (Grade I) | Norwich

Norfolk County Council has an opportunity for a Fidelity Officer to join the Employment & Skills department within the Growth & Investment directorate, a key outward facing department focussed on increasing the skills and employment opportunities for Norfolk residents.

The role will provide an invaluable quality assurance function to the Connect to Work (CtW) programme, a 4 ½ year, £17M programme which provides employment and health support for economically inactive Norfolk residents.

Commencing in October 2025 and contracted until March 2030, CtW is a voluntary programme to help tackle economic inactivity by providing a specific form of support targeted at the right people at the right time, based on their individual circumstances.

Supporting eligible participants, CtW will deliver an evidence-based Supported Employment model, building on the existing DWP funded Supported Employment programmes; Local Supported Employment (LSE) and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC).

The programme will take a collaborative, locally led approach to tackling 'Hidden Unemployment' across Norfolk, with the primary aim to transform lives and make a difference for disabled people, people with health conditions and other complex barriers to employment, helping them to get into and on in work.

The CtW programme supports the policy context and ambitions of HM Government Get Britain Working White Paper - GOV.UK to build an inclusive & thriving labour market, with the long-term national objective of achieving an 80% employment rate.

A vital role within the programme, the primary duties will include:

• Support the delivery teams to improve the quality of our services and prepare and support teams to undertake external fidelity reviews and internal self-assessments. You will need to have or be prepared to be trained in an expert understanding of Individual Placement and Support and Supported Employment Quality Framework, the fidelity scale and how that interacts with the IPS fidelity manual.

• Responsibility in supporting the overall quality of our IPS and SEQF services.

Working directly with the IPS Team Leaders and IPS Employment Specialists to ensure NCC and our delivery partners are aligning to the IPS Model and Fidelity scale as closely as possible.

• Assist the Connect to Work Project manager on the review of all required fidelity review evidence for external and internal reviews ensuring we have provided examples for each of the 25 fidelity points. Your role will then be to support delivery teams in

their improvement plans following the external review and provide guidance to

improve the scores each year.

Your skills will include:

• The ability to understand guidance on Supported Employment fidelity models and funding requirements and encompass this within working practices.

• The ability to communicate information and advice to others and maintain constructive relationships with partners and other key stakeholders.

• Investigative and analytical skills: able to gather and present all the relevant information/data to support an argument or recommendation; or challenge the evidence provided.

• Service oriented, seeking solutions demonstrating high sense of responsibility, sound judgement and rationale.

This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to move into a challenging and rewarding role – establishing yourself as the subject-matter expert within the programme and supporting CtW delivery to the highest fidelity standards.

The role is fulltime and permanent, with expectation to work in hybrid (home/ office) arrangement.

To arrange an informal discussion or for further details on the role, please contact Tom Humphries, Strategy Manager – Adult Skills at

These are some benefits you can enjoy by working for Norfolk County Council:

• Competitive salary

• Generous holiday entitlement

• Health and Wellbeing services including fast-track physiotherapy and a free counselling service

• Flexible working opportunities including flexi-time, part time, remote and hybrid working – dependant on your job role and business need.

• Financial benefits such as:- 'Norfolk Rewards' our employee discounts programme which helps you save money on almost anything, from everyday groceries and clothes, to holidays, new technology, gym membership, trips to the cinema and days out.

• A Blue Light card for Fire Service and Social Care Workers

• Relocation expenses (where applicable)

• An advance of your expenses if you travel for work

• Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution, life assurance, death in service payments and dependants' pensions.

• Tax efficient ways of getting extra pension and new bikes

• Access to our tax efficient car lease scheme for greener travel enabling you to lease a brand new, ultra-low emission vehicle (subject to eligibility)

• A payment if you refer someone you know to a hard to fill job

Before you apply, we recommend reading the full Job Description and Person Specification to help you demonstrate you meet the criteria. You can also find information on our Terms and Conditions here.

Already a Norfolk County Council employee? See and apply for internal and external vacancies in myOracle using your or email.

We would like to make you aware that priority consideration for this post may be given to current employees who are at risk due to restructure within the organisation or are in a redeployment position.

All applicants closing date: 23 November :59