Head of Youth Employment

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Job description

Purpose of post
In 2022, IMO decided to develop deep and focused youth employment programming
to address the significant need in our community. To deliver this, we are partnering
with Impetus. The new programme supports young people from South Asian
backgrounds to bolster their opportunities for sustained education, employment and
training (EET) by providing 1:1 mentoring, family engagement and practical experience.

We are excited to recruit a leader for this programme, to develop it beyond the initial
pilot phase into a long-term, sustainable provision, build and manage local
partnerships, work with others to develop a long-term funding model, and ultimately
to support young people in securing and sustaining employment.

This is an exciting and new type of work for IMO Charity, and we are looking for
someone to take it forward. It is a strategic priority, sits on the Senior Management
Team, and will report directly to the CEO.

What we are looking for
We are looking for an experienced, inspiring leader who can utilise our assets with the
local community, working with the existing team and local partners to take our exciting
new employment programme for disadvantaged young people in Blackburn with
Darwen into its next phase of development and generate meaningful long-term
outcomes.

Successful candidates will bring extensive front-line experience with a similar target
demographic; strong management, planning and communication skills and will offer a
high level of initiative and a common-sense approach to working.

At IMO Charity we take pride in creating an environment where each and every
employee has the potential for personal growth and where their impact is valued.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and line management

• Work with CEO and other SMT members in leading the wider organisation in 1:1 and Senior Management Team meetings
• Lead on recruitment, selection and induction of new mentors
• Line managing, motivating and training mentors
• Be an ambassador for IMO, including by role-modelling its values, promoting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and being a visible senior leader
• Programme design and development
• Lead on strategic planning - design, development and implementation of all pillars of the Youth
• Employment programme (mentoring, family engagement and practical experience)
• Building on the initial pilot phase, determine the scope, targets and KPIs for programme over the next 3 years
• Develop all key elements of the programme including but not limited to outreach and partnerships, curriculum, quality assurance, impact management, financial resourcing
• Work with the IMO team to adapt and build on existing IMO delivery practices, and work closely with members of the wider organisation to ensure the new programme operates efficiently within all other activities
• Develop strategic relationships to build the network and pipeline of schools and potential delivery partners for the long-term benefit of the programme and its funding streams

Programme management and delivery

• Oversee the delivery of further cohorts of the IMO s youth employment programme including:

- Ensuring provision of high-quality, consistent delivery of all pillars
- High-impact, meaningful opportunities sourced and scheduled to meet the needs of
individual young people
- Effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting

• Management of delivery staff by way of:

- Supervising and developing delivery staff both individually and as a group
- Managing schedules and workload
- Problem solving any delivery issues with the relevant parties e.g. schools,
young people and families

• Build and contribute to a culture of impact management by:

- Maintaining and monitoring systems & KPIs to facilitate regular impact management reviews
which gather useful and relevant data to improve programme delivery
- Conducting regular programme reviews with the relevant team members to evaluate delivery
and impact and make required changes to the programme
- Report updates and relevant impact data to the team internally as well as to the board,
external partners and other stakeholders on a regular basis

• Act as the point of contact for existing partners, strengthening & maximising relationships, dealing with day-to-day enquiries and escalating issues to the CEO when necessary
• Ensure that employer partners are well prepared to support potential candidates, including by educating them about any specific challenges and clearly aligning expectations on all sides

Develop sustainable funding model

• Support CEO to develop a sustainable funding model required to deliver IMO s youth employment programme. This will include working with the team to conduct a review of costs to deliver an effective programme over the next 3 years
• Contribute to an income generation strategy for the youth employment programme

Wider organisational responsibilities

• Work to identify and incorporate youth voice into IMO s work, including by encouraging candidates to share their stories, challenges and feedback on our services
• Help to secure and create case studies and other content for IMO s social media channels, website and blogs that communicates the charity s objectives, activities, impact and contributes to raising the profile of the charity

PERSON SPECIFICATION
IMO Charity is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We will consider all reasonable adjustments
under the terms of the Equality Act (2010) to enable an applicant with a disability (as
defined under the Act) to meet the requirements of the post. We encourage applicants
from underrepresented groups.

Successful candidates must demonstrate:

• A genuine commitment to IMO Charity s mission and passion for our work
• Deep knowledge, understanding and empathy of the challenges facing the programme s target demographic, with a focus on delivering impactful youth employment programmes
• 3+ years experience of designing, developing and managing programmes with multiple workstreams for young people
• 3+ years experience of leading, line managing, training and developing delivery staff
• Strong background in monitoring performance, using databases/CRM systems and reporting on outcomes
• Using data and considering stakeholder needs and expectations to inform decisions and implementing corrective actions
• Thorough understanding of safeguarding policies and experience managing concerns and implementing procedures
• Ability to establish and maintain effective external partnerships to achieve organisational aims, ideally including schools, community organisations and employers
• An ability to work proactively, manage multiple priorities, and use initiative to find effective solutions to problems
• Excellent organisation and administration skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and the ability to empathise with others
• An understanding of and commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in programme delivery and the workplace
• Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• A willingness to undertake an enhanced DBS check

Safeguarding Recruitment:
IMO Charity is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children,
young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this
commitment. The successful applicant will be required to undertake appropriate
safeguarding checks as well as providing proof of right to work in the UK. The
successful applicant can expect to have their personal information entered on to
a Single Central Record, which will be shared governing bodies and organisations
where applicable.

The person appointed to this post will have contact with vulnerable young
people and adults. Therefore, the post holder will require an enhanced
Disclosure Barring Service check.

Equality & Diversity:
As we are a diverse charity that respects differences in race, disability, gender,
gender identity, sexual orientation, faith, background or personal circumstance
we welcome all applications. We want everyone to feel valued and included in
the IMO Charity and to achieve their full potential. IMO Charity is opposed to any
form of discrimination and commits itself to the redress of any inequalities by
taking positive action where appropriate.

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