Personal Development Mentor – Edinburgh

Apex Scotland is the leading employment and training organisation specialising in work with people with convictions.

Apex Scotland offers a diverse range of services for young people and adults to help them remove personal barriers to employment and engage in education, employment or community activities.  We also work in partnership with many organisations and employers.

With support from Edinburgh City Council and funding through Capital City Partnership we have created the ABC Academy.  This is a new innovative partnership between Apex Scotland and social enterprise All Cleaned Up (ACU).

All Cleaned Up (Scotland) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apex Scotland. Trading as a social enterprise cleaning company and employability provider since 2012, ACU operates contracts in 20 different geographic locations across Scotland, employing 50 people and offering opportunities to many more. 67% of our team come from the most marginalised and disadvantaged groups in society, including people with convictions, mental health issues, disabilities, health conditions and the long term unemployed

The post holder will support ACU and Apex Scotland in launching the ABC Academy, combining vocational skills training, employability and personal development support with practical work experience in ACU’s busy commercial cleaning business. The service will support individuals in Edinburgh with experience of the justice system, particularly those individuals over 50 years of age.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and dynamic individual who has effective communication skills and an understanding of the nature of issues that unemployed individuals may present with. The right candidate will have the ability to engage with service users on a one to one or group basis and have experience of delivering training sessions or qualifications. An understanding of the network of support agencies in the area would be advantageous.

We envisage this post holder being based from the offices of All Cleaned Up in Edinburgh.  This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the creation of a new service.

Training will be given, however for this post you should be able to demonstrate good communication skills, be approachable and compassionate and have knowledge or experience of employability.  Experience of working to deadlines and targets is desirable.  Candidates should possess a good understanding of the current labour market and demonstrate the ability to build connections with local employers and stakeholders. All client activity and outcomes will be recorded on integrated systems management software, therefore a good eye for detail, IT skills and experience of reporting is essential.  You would need to demonstrate flexibility.  Some travel will be required therefore a driving licence or access to a means of transport would be an advantage. This service is currently funded until March 2025.

In view of the nature of this post and the requirement to work with vulnerable adults, this post holder will be required to join the relevant PVG scheme.

PDM Job Description June 2021