Student Support Adviser

Permanent, Full Time (36 hours per week, over 52 weeks per year)

Carshalton and Merton Colleges have an exciting opportunity for a Student Support Adviser to provide comprehensive and flexible support, information, advice, and guidance to learners to improve their likelihood of successful completion of their programme and progression into further education, training and/or employment.

You will work in close liaison with students, staff, and external organisations to safeguard students and support them in achieving their full potential by offering holistic support, which is tailored to their needs. You will also provide and support the provision of a range of activities to engage learners with the wider community of college life and the preparation of life in society.

With excellent communication and interpersonal skills, able to build rapport with a wide range of customers, you will have proven experience of working in a safeguarding capacity with young people and be able to demonstrate knowledge of safeguarding legislations and practices, in education. You will have experience of delivering student workshops or tutorials to a diverse range of students and be comfortable carrying out interviews, reviews and producing risk assessments and support plans.

We’d like our Student Support Adviser to have proven experience working with vulnerable young people, using successful strategies with learners who are disengaged or disaffected to re-engage them with education or training or prevent them from dropping out of education. We’d like you to have strong IT skills to effectively market and record all service provision and demonstrate a good understanding of post 16 education services and the issues that transition from pre to post 16 education may have for young people or those that have been out of education for a while.

A Level 4 IAG qualification or another appropriate area (Youth & Community, Education, Psychology, Sociology, Health & Social Care) is desirable.

Based predominantly at Merton but you may be required to travel to and work from Carshalton at times as well as from All STCG sites.

Closing date for the return of completed applications is 20th February 2024

The benefits package includes generous annual leave of 27 days plus up to 8 additional days over Christmas/New Year as well as an additional 5 days Wellbeing leave to enhance employees’ physical and mental health. There is an excellent pension scheme that receives a significant financial contribution from the employer (Teachers Pensions or Local Government Pension Scheme), subsidised sports facilities and professional development and training plus a salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme.

As part of our due diligence checks on prospective employees, successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced DBS check, satisfactory references, an online search and proof of eligibility to work in the UK.

As outlined in the Public Sector Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2010, we are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

The South Thames Colleges Group is made up of Carshalton College, Kingston College, Merton College and South Thames College, which merged on 1 August 2017. South Thames Colleges Group is one of London’s largest providers of post-16 education and training and is an ongoing and significant contributor to its local communities. We aim to put students’ success at the heart of everything we do.

We are looking for hard-working and collaborative people who can join our team and help challenge our students to achieve and progress.

When you click on ‘Apply’, you will be forwarded to the application page which sits on a platform hosted by an external partner called Blue Octopus who support STCG throughout the recruitment process.