Personal Development Mentor – Forth Valley

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

We offer 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.

We are now delivering phase 3 of our Steps employability service, funded through European Social Fund’s National Third Sector Fund.  We are now looking to recruit a Personal Development Mentor to join our team delivering the Steps employability service, currently based from Alloa and covering the Forth Valley area

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 an aptitude for developing and delivering innovative group sessions and the ability to engage with service users on a one to one basis to assist them to overcome barriers to progression.  An understanding of local employability pipelines would be an advantage, as would knowledge of the network of support agencies in the area.  You would need to demonstrate flexibility and the ability to deal with targets.  Some travel will be required therefore a driving licence or access to a means of transport would be an advantage.  Knowledge or experience of action planning and/or training delivery would also be an advantage.

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.  A keen eye for detail and understanding of good record keeping is essential as information is recorded in paper files and on our database. This service is currently funded until June 2022 and we are hopeful of extension.

We welcome applications from individuals with lived experience of/or experience of working with those who have experienced psychological trauma such as, poverty, homelessness, criminal justice, domestic violence, addiction/recovery, looked after/care, carer/young carer services and this highlights the value we know that lived experience brings to service delivery and design.

Due to current Government guidance we may carry out interviews virtually using Microsoft Teams.  It is envisaged that the successful candidate will carry out some work and online training from home once in post until we are able to return to the office more regularly.  This can be discussed at interview.

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 PVG scheme for working with adults.

PDM Job Description June 2021