People First Job Aides are unique roles that will shape and deliver our ambitious Employability Programme and will have a profound, positive impact on the lives of many across Cumbria. People First’s Employability Programme, funded by The National Lottery through The National Lottery Community Fund, will support people with learning disabilities, and autistic people, to prepare for, secure, and succeed in, permanent, paid work.

Who we are

People First is an independent customer-led charitable organisation that has worked in Cumbria for over 30 years (with registered charity numbers 1184112 and 1184467).

We are passionate about our values of equality, respect, and inclusion. We provide a wide range of support and information services across Cumbria, Lancashire, and Teesside, all aimed at helping people to live informed, respected, healthy and fulfilled lives.

Purpose of the job

People First Job Aides are unique roles that will shape and deliver our ambitious Employability Programme and will have a profound, positive impact on the lives of many across Cumbria.

People First’s Employability Programme, funded by The National Lottery through The National Lottery Community Fund, will support people with learning disabilities, and autistic people, to prepare for, secure, and succeed in, permanent, paid work.

The role, supported by our Employability Team Leader, will be supporting candidates on the job in paid employment and in work placement settings. Together, the Employability team, will support over 200 people over the next 3 years in a dynamic and impactful way.

The role’s purpose is to deliver this programme, providing person-centred support to help candidates to achieve their potential and goals, looking at work strategies.

Job Aides will provide respectful and responsive guidance and support and to candidates, on the job, whilst also being the on the ground point of contact for employers and providing advice and guidance, if required.

This is a nurturing and results-focused role that supports candidates in the workplace, to sustain long-term employment.

The Department

This role sits within People First’s Employability Team and is part of the People First Academy.

The Employability Team will work closely with People First’s Education Team and Enterprise Team to deliver training opportunities that support people with learning disabilities and autistic people to develop new skills and enter paid employment.

The team believes that in order to help people into paid, permanent work, we need to take an approach which makes employers a key partner, putting them at the heart of our work and methods.

The Employability Team has four core aims:

• to ensure that People First offer a range of rewarding pathways into work for people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people.
• to engage with employers to develop placements and to support employers to embed inclusive practice.
• to support learners to engage with these opportunities and to progress into employment.
• To generate wider support for People First’s employability work in the form of corporate sponsorship.

The Person

As a prerequisite, the successful candidate must believe in the core values of People First and be driven by our mission.

The ideal candidate will have a deep appreciation of the need to be flexible and responsive to the needs of people and will be able to work at pace to deliver high-quality on-the-job support in employment settings.

You will be a nurturing aide, who understands that quality support is based on person-centre approaches. You will be comfortable, and ideally experienced, responding to the needs of an individual by tailoring your support to their requirements, whilst remaining encouraging and aspirational.

You will be passionate about supporting people to learn and to develop in the workplace; you will be driven by the progress people can make and playing your part in helping them achieve their goals.

Our ideal candidate will be comfortable as a front-line ambassador for the People First Academy; you will have a friendly, enthusiastic approach that will inspire the candidates you work with, and collaboration from the employers whose workplaces you attend.

This role would suit a dynamic individual who wants to be a part of people’s development; someone who appreciates that building independence is a key goal, and someone who is flexible and excited by the potential of a growing and developing area of work.

Qualifications

• Good all-round level of education
• Training, qualifications, or equivalent experience in supported employment or person-centred approaches would be desirable but not essential.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Experience supporting people with learning difficulties and/or autistic people
• Demonstrable experience providing person-centred support that meets individual needs
• Strong communication skills and ability to adapt your style to suit people’s needs
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
• An enthusiastic approach that encourages action from those around you
• Creative problem solving skills with an ability to adapt and learn
• Positive attitude to a fast-paced working environment
• A nurturing approach that reflects the abilities of those you’re working with
• Commitment to providing a high-quality service centred on the needs of individuals
• Experience or willingness to adapt to a variety of working environments (Job Aides will support learners in a range of businesses from manufacturing to hospitality)
• Driving is essential.

Duties will include:

Supporting Candidates:

• Offering practical support and guidance to learners that take part in the People First Academy’s employability initiatives, in host employer’s settings across a range of industries
• Regularly assessing candidates progress and communicating this to the Employability Team Leader
• Liaise with parents/ carers where appropriate

Collaborating with employers:

• Building good, trusted relationships with employers
• Working collaboratively with employers and learners, to identify any training needs
• Being the on-ground support/point of contact for the employer and help with any queries

Supporting on placement:

• Accompanying candidates on placements in a range of setting in diverse sectors including within People First settings (The People First Conference Centre and Café)
• During placements, taking a person-centred approach to support that responds to individual needs
• Maintain a close relationship with employer
• Encourage candidates to adapt to the workplace and to be clear on their needs
• Support reasonable adjustments

Record keeping:

• Working with our Employability Team Leader to record progress

Networking and Relationships:

• Nurture relationships with external stakeholders (families, carers and employers)
• Act as an ambassador for the organisation

Other Duties

• Evening and weekend working may be required.
• The duties outlined above are not intended to be exhaustive and may change as the needs of the organisation alter in line with current agendas. Due to the developing nature of our organisation, we require staff to remain highly flexible in their approach, and work to meet the changing needs of the projects.

For more information
If you’d like further information about the role, if you have any questions please contact:

• our Employability Team Leader, Emma Lyons at [email protected] or call 01228 474804

To Apply
If you’re interested in the role and think you’d be a good fit, we’d like to hear from you.

To apply for this position, please email a copy of your CV including details of two references, to [email protected], or alternatively, you can post for the attention of Barry to People First Conference Centre, Milbourne Street, Carlisle, CA2 5XB All applications should be clearly marked: Confidential – Job Aide

To arrive no later than 5pm Tuesday 3^rd February