Employment Advisor

Do you have experience of supporting people who experience complex challenges? Can you build relationships with both participants and employers, creating opportunities that lead to real jobs? Are you confident working with a wide range of people including participants and employers? If the answer is yes, we want to hear from you! Employment provides far more than an income. It creates independence, confidence, belonging, and opportunity. We are seeking dedicated Employment Advisors to join our Connect to Work, supporting people across West Sussex to secure meaningful employment and build sustainable futures. This role combines intensive participant support with significant employer engagement. We are looking for people who can understand an individual's strengths and aspirations whilst proactively working with local businesses to create employment opportunities that may not otherwise exist. Using the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model, you will help refugees move quickly towards competitive paid employment, focusing on their skills, interests, and goals rather than the barriers they face. Alongside this, you will engage employers, challenge misconceptions, identify hidden vacancies and work creatively to match candidates with opportunities. Success in this role requires curiosity, persistence, and confidence. You will be comfortable meeting employers, advocating for participants, developing new business relationships, and helping both candidates and employers achieve successful outcomes, This role requires the successful candidate to travel throughout West Sussex for visits, working flexibly to meet the needs of the programme and participants. Once-a-week attendance at your base location will be necessary, and there will be opportunities for remote work. Final arrangements will be confirmed with the successful candidate. To work closely with clients and offer them the vital face-to-face support they deserve, you will need to be able to travel independently around the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. Pool cars and pool bikes available.

Key responsibilities include:

• Building trusting relationships with participants, motivating and empowering them to take ownership of their employment journey.
• Conducting comprehensive assessments, including needs analysis and vocational profiling, to tailor support to each participant.
• Providing trauma-informed and goal-centred support, encouraging sustainable progress and addressing challenges constructively.
• Coaching participants to develop job-seeking strategies, improving CVs, building interview skills and supporting the development of work-related skills.
• Advocating for the benefits of recruiting a diverse workforce with local employers, using a strong understanding of the local labour market.
• Building and maintaining partnerships with employers, including from small- and medium-sized businesses, to create opportunities for your clients.
• Identifying and helping to secure competitive job opportunities that align with participants' aspirations, including accessing jobs that are not advertised.
• Working to the Supported Employment model which requires participants to begin their job search quickly, get into work as soon as they can and then supports them to maintain employment. Full training in the model will be given.
• Working the participants who are already in work but need support from Connect to Work to stay in work.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to right to work within the UK, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, satisfactory references, and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council.

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our page.

Available documents

If you enjoy working in diverse communities, creating opportunities, and making a tangible difference to people's lives, we would love to hear from you., If you are passionate about making a positive difference in the community, then this role is perfect for you. We would love to hear from you if you have:

• Experience in employment support, recruitment, employer engagement, business development, sales, or a related sector.
• Strong networking and relationship-building skills.
• Experience supporting individuals facing multiple barriers or disadvantage.
• The confidence to engage employers and develop new opportunities.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence and motivate others.
• Strong organisational and case management skills.
• Resilience, adaptability, and a solution-focused approach.
• Knowledge of IPS, Supported Employment or strengths-based practice, or the willingness to develop expertise in these approaches.

Rewards and Benefits

We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do. A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 27 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 5 years' service (pro rata for part time) plus the opportunity to buy additional leave and an excellent . A range of discounts give our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform.