POST: Employer Engagement Officer
HOURS: 37.5 hours per week
LOCATION: Gosport & Fareham
SALARY: £26,500 per annum
ANNUAL LEAVE: 25 days + 8 bank holiday days paid holiday
INTRODUCTION TO WHITEHEAD-ROSS EDUCATION
Whitehead-Ross Education is a dedicated organisation focused on education and social welfare.
Since our founding in 2012, we've been offering a diverse range of high-quality skills-based programmes and social services to support individuals in need.
Our services include job retraining for the unemployed, vocational training, adult education, and a variety of social welfare services.
As an independent provider, we specialise in delivering fully funded, government-approved courses — making us one of the few organisations focused solely on offering these funded opportunities. Our valued partners include local authorities, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and the Department for Education.
At Whitehead-Ross Education we can deliver a wide range of programmes to support individuals, business owners and employees as well as community and local government projects. Between 1st August 2023 and 30th July 2024, we supported a total of 5,344 participants. Since we started in 2012, we have now supported 16,837 individuals
Our recent Ofsted inspection (28th – 30th June 2024) found that "Leaders and managers are proactive in helping to promote the well-being of their staff. They provide staff with manageable workloads. Leaders have created a culture where adults develop positive attitudes to learning and work as a result of studying the curriculum and receiving support and guidance from tutors."
PRIMARY JOB FUNCTION
Are you passionate about connecting people with meaningful employment? Do you thrive in a target-driven environment and enjoy building strong relationships with local employers and stakeholders? If so, we want to hear from you.
We're looking for a motivated, results-focused Employer Engagement Officer to join our team and support employer engagement activity across our Gosport and Fareham offices.
The Restart Scheme provides enhanced, tailored support to individuals who have been out of work for six months or more, helping them overcome barriers to employment. The programme offers participants up to 12 months of personalised support, delivered in partnership with local employers, government bodies, and community organisations.
About the Role
In this role, you'll be responsible for identifying and securing job opportunities for unemployed individuals participating in our programmes. You'll proactively engage with local employers to generate vacancies and placements, promoting the benefits of the Restart Scheme and building strong, lasting partnerships. Working closely with Employment Advisors and other internal colleagues, you'll help match jobseekers to suitable opportunities and support them through the application process. You'll also attend local networking events and stakeholder meetings to represent our services, raise awareness of our work, and grow our presence in the local employment landscape.
To succeed in this role, you'll need a background in sales, recruitment, or marketing — ideally in a performance-driven environment — along with excellent communication and interpersonal skills. You'll be comfortable speaking to a wide range of people and have the ability to quickly build rapport. Strong organisational skills, the ability to manage your own workload, and a proactive, goal-oriented mindset are essential. You'll also bring an understanding of the challenges faced by jobseekers and a genuine passion for supporting people to reach their potential.
This is a varied and rewarding position where no two days are the same. You'll be part of a supportive team, working collaboratively to achieve positive outcomes and make a real difference in your local community.
RESPONSIBILITIES
* Maintain a good understanding of the local labour market and be able to identify employer needs.
* Deliver performance against agreed KPIs.
* Identify and secure suitable job vacancies for jobseekers to apply for.
* Attend local networking groups.
* Generate new employer relationships through ongoing business development.
* Be committed to supporting people to reach their goals.
* Create employer engagement activities and produce a monthly plan that incorporates a range of innovative marketing and sales strategies and solutions.
* Attend and organise events in the community to engage with employers and promote our service.
* Create reports to update management and our wider staff teams on success, progress and employment trends.
* Support the work of the wider organisation and plan activities accordingly.
* Adhere to customer service standards to ensure all customers are receiving a consistent service.
* Support the Operations Manager and Team Leader to prepare for contract review meetings as required.
* Assist with In Work Support calls and administration, as required.
This is an outline job description designed to give an overview of the responsibilities of the role. We expect the job holder will work flexibly, responding to organisational need and changes as they occur.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Education, Qualification and Training
* Good standard of education with GCSE to grade C or equivalent minimum in English and Maths.
* Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) appropriate to the level and cope of the role.
* Any relevant training or advisory qualifications.
Knowledge, Skills, Ability and Experience
* Knowledge of recruitment processes and the labour market.
* Sales, marketing or recruitment experience.
* Proven experience of working in a target driven environment.
* Experience within a customer focused role.
* Experience of working in a targeted environment.
* Excellent administrative, planning and time management skills.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
* The ability to demonstrate excellent influencing/sales skills.
* Previous experience of working in a Welfare to work/Employer Liaison role.
* Previous experience of developing effective community engagement activities and events.
Attitude and Behaviours
* Flexible approach to change, innovation and progress in the work environment.
* Able to work positively in a results driven environment
* High standard of diplomacy, integrity and reliability.
* An energetic approach to delivery.
* Open minded and able to embrace change.
* Willingness and ability to work occasional unsociable hours when required.
* A positive assertive attitude to all aspects of work and development.
* Professional, confident and compassionate approach to work.
* Resilient with the ability to work under pressure.
* Willingness to learn new skills and undertake further study related to role.
* Confidence and self-awareness of own limitations and professional boundaries.
Other
* Clean driving license and access to own car (preferred but not essential)
* You will require an Enhanced DBS Disclosure for this role, which the Company will pay for.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £26,500.00 per year
Benefits:
* Additional leave
* Casual dress
* Company events
* Company pension
* Employee discount
* Health & wellbeing programme
* Sick pay
* Store discount
Work Location: In person