Mentor

MENTOR
Buckinghamshire, South Midlands, Leicester and Rutland
To provide participant-centred mentoring for eligible young people on the contract, enabling them to build confidence, overcome barriers, prepare for work, secure suitable funded employment and sustain their progress. The Mentor will coordinate tailored pre-employment and in-work support, maintain purposeful contact with participants and employers, and keep accurate action plans, support plans and case records in line with contractual, quality and compliance requirements
Key Responsibilities
Build rapport with young people and establish a positive, supportive working relationship that encourages engagement, motivation and accountability.
Manage a caseload of participants, providing structured one-to-one mentoring - from referral through pre-employment support, placement start, in-work support and progression planning.
Complete initial assessments, identify barriers, agree SMART action plans and regularly review progress to ensure participants move towards suitable employment opportunities.
Deliver confidence-building, motivation, work-readiness and job-search support, including CV development, interview preparation, sector exploration and soft skills development.
Work with Employer Engagement colleagues to match participants to suitable funded employment opportunities and support recruitment, onboarding and day-one preparation.
Provide in-work support for participants and employers, including regular check-ins, workplace coaching, reasonable adjustment discussions and review of support needs.
Agree and maintain In-Work Support Plans with the participant and employer, subject to consent, and update records within required contractual timescales.
Rapidly re-engage participants who fall out of work, taking prompt action to restart support and help them move back into employment, education or training.
Maintain accurate, timely and audit-ready records on relevant case management systems, ensuring action plans, contact notes, evidence and outcomes meet contract requirements.
Work collaboratively with Jobcentre Plus, employers, training providers and local partners to strengthen participant support and maximise sustained employment outcomes.
Work flexibly across locations and, where required, outside standard hours to meet participant and programme needs.
Essential
* Experience of providing one-to-one mentoring, coaching or employment support to young people or participants facing barriers to work.
* Experience of working in employability, welfare-to-work, youth employment, skills, education, training or a similar target-driven environment.
* Strong ability to build trust, motivate participants, challenge appropriately and maintain engagement through face-to-face, telephone and digital contact.
* Good understanding of action planning, barrier removal, work-readiness support, job matching, in-work support and sustained employment outcomes.
* Ability to manage a caseload effectively, prioritise activity, meet deadlines and achieve contract targets, quality standards and compliance expectations.
* Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills with participants, employers, Jobcentre Plus and wider stakeholders.
* Knowledge of safeguarding, data protection, equality and diversity, health and safety, and participant consent requirements.
* Good IT skills, with the ability to use Microsoft Office, digital communication tools, case management systems and performance reporting information.
* Ability and willingness to work from an assigned office location as well as to travel across the local area on a regular basis to support participants, employers, events, placements and contract delivery (no homeworking is available due to the nature of the role)
Desirable
* Good knowledge of the local labour market, employer recruitment needs and routes into employment, apprenticeships, education and training is desirable.
Forward Assist Recruitment is operating as an employment agency. Forward Assist Recruitment is an Equal Opportunities employer; we welcome applicants from all backgrounds