Job Description

Job Title: University Access Officer Salary: 24,570 Closing Date: Monday 25th August, 11:00am, though if a suitable candidate is found during the recruitment window the closing date may be brought forward. As such, we encourage all applicants to apply at their earliest convenience. Reporting to: Programme Manager Contract: Full time, permanent, 37.5 hours a week. Job Location: Whitehaven & Workington Interviews: Ongoing, online Start date: ASAP

About the organisation

The Access Project is an education charity; we believe that every young person can make the most of education, unlocking their potential and creating a fairer society.



Our mission is to support students from under-resourced backgrounds to access top universities, through a unique combination of tuition and in-school mentoring. We work with them to make good applications, get the grades and transition to university.



The programme combats educational inequality and improves social mobility by raising students' grades and supporting them to understand the pathway to a top university. Students who receive support from our programme are 50% more likely to place at a top university.

Safeguarding Statement

The Access Project is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Our safeguarding system is underpinned by a range of policies and procedures which encourage and promote safe working practice across the organisation.

Why work at The Access Project

People who work at The Access Project are motivated by the desire to create a fairer society. We all play an active part in achieving the mission to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds access top universities. At The Access Project, we're a friendly, collaborative, supportive and inclusive team, with passionate people working together in Delivery, Sales and Partnerships, Strategy, Finance and Operations to achieve to achieve our mission.



The vision of our people strategy is to enable and inspire all employees to achieve, grow, succeed and thrive. We regularly have opportunities for people to share their ideas in various working groups, generating strong teamwork across the organisation.



We value every individual who works at The Access Project and we have a wide range of benefits that make this a rewarding place to work. In our last staff engagement survey, 90% said they're proud to tell people they work at The Access Project.

About our values

Empowerment - We support students and our people to develop the skills and knowledge to accomplish their goals. Courage - We encourage our students and our people to be authentic, innovative and ambitious in order to reach their full potential and deliver our mission Impact - We evolve our programmes through an evidence-led approach, supporting our students to achieve their best outcomes Inclusion - We respect and value individuality and engage diverse voices to achieve our mission. Ownership - We hold ourselves accountable in all our actions and efforts. We ask "What can I do to improve my results?"

About the role

University Access Officers are responsible for delivering The Access Project's high impact mentoring programme to students across our partner schools. This role works with a caseload of students supporting them from the start of Year 10 up to the end of Year 13 to understand the pathway to a top university.



The role also involves project coordination, working with our schools, volunteers and teams across The Access Project to ensure our young people are fully supported and have the best possible chance of achieving social mobility and enhancing their future prospects.



This role is for a University Access Officer to work across our two schools in Cumbria, The Whitehaven Academy and Workington Academy. Our schools are shown on a map on our website: https://www.theaccessproject.org.uk/schools

Role responsibilities

Work directly with young people mentoring a caseload of students in a professional and safe manner. Deliver our University Readiness programme through in-depth, targeted 1:1 mentoring sessions with Year 10 to Year 13 students. Assess student progress towards being able to make successful university applications. Engage with students in school and enrol them onto the programme. Match students with volunteer tutors. Monitor student attendance to tutorials and devise innovative solutions to encourage attendance. Monitor the impact of tutorials and intervene as appropriate. Build and manage relationships with volunteer tutors to ensure they have a positive experience of the programme. Manage tutor attendance to tutorials through weekly monitoring systems. Lead on quality assurance of tuition pairings/grouping completing a caseload of drop ins. Upload information onto the Salesforce database (training is provided). Work with school staff to ensure their cooperation and timely completion of activities contributing to the smooth running of the programme. Direct enrolled students to appropriate wider enrichment opportunities, encouraging both extra and super-curricular participation and reflection. Work with Enrichment & Events team and partner schools to deliver school trips to universities, including trip logistics and leading groups of young people on trip days. Lead on all student facing communications. Send regular summary updates to school as their key point of contact. Present at termly school meetings with Senior Management to report on programme progress. Any other responsibilities reasonably deemed necessary by The Access Project's Programme Managers or Director.

Person specification

Able to communicate and influence with impact at all levels. Able to deliver projects and manage administration accurately. Able to effectively time manage. Able to lead and manage change to embed the programme in school. Resilient and adaptable. Skilled in building and maintaining excellent relationships. Can demonstrate a commitment to upholding the values and behaviours of good conduct. Can demonstrate an ability to take action to keep young people safe and raise concerns.

Training and Development

You will be provided with regular monthly training so that you can develop your skills and succeed in the role. There is support and supervision from your line manager (Programme Manager), as well as guidance from Senior University Access Officers and the wider University Access Officer team across The Access Project. There are opportunities for progression, including several additional responsibility roles which are available for University Access Officers to apply for once they have completed their probationary period successfully.

Benefits:

25 days annual leave p.a. (pro rata) plus Bank Holidays and 5 Winter closure days PerkBox - offering nationwide shopping discounts, gym memberships, holidays, learning and much more. Employee Assistance Programme, a 24-hour helpline for staff Online Medical assistance - access 24/7 to a qualified GP within minutes, with referrals and prescriptions available same-day. Interest-free travelcard loans. Travel-allowance for expenses over 10 per day, where applicable. Cyclescheme loans. 2 paid Volunteering Days and 1 Wellbeing Day Employer's pensions contributions (3%). Learning and Development opportunities. The Access Project welcomes requests for flexible working arrangements.

Equal Opportunities Statement

The Access Project aspires to represent the diversity of communities across the UK at all levels of the organisation and proactively takes steps to support this. We are committed to creating a culture where the experiences and voices of people from marginalised backgrounds are listened to and valued; where their skills are appreciated; and where their talents are nurtured and encouraged.



The Access Project is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. If you believe you have most of the skills to fulfil the role we encourage you to apply. Amongst staff at our organization, there is under-representation of people who are Black, Asian or people from ethnic minority backgrounds, disabled, care-experienced, from low socio-economic backgrounds, and who are LGBTQIA+ . We particularly welcome applications from people with lived experience in reference to our mission.



We are proud to be a Level 1 Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments please contact us.

Disclosure of a Criminal Record

The Rehabilitation of Offenders 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) Order 1986 applies to posts where there is access to children. This means that applicants for employment that involves working with children and young people must disclose anything listed in their criminal record, with the exception of protected cautions and convictions. All Disclosures are carried out in the strictest confidence and are made only in connection with your application for employment and for no other purpose. The application for a DBS check at a level appropriate to the job role will be activated before your first day of work. Members of staff who are not eligible for a standard or enhanced DBS check are required to undertake a basic DBS check only in line with legal requirements. If you are selected for appointment to the role, you will be subject to this procedure.

Present or Most Recent Employment

It is important to give full information, including the organisation you work in, or most recent employment if not currently working, full dates, address and explanation of any gaps in employment.

References

All appointments are subject to verification of employment and suitability of the candidate for the post applied for. We reserve the right to approach any previous employer for a reference and to verify their identity but will request your permission before doing so. If you have experience of working with children, please include this as one of your references.

Education, Qualifications and Training:

Ensure you give all the information requested, including dates, establishment where you studied and make clear the level of any examinations e.g., GCSE, GCE 'O' Level or 'A' Level or equivalents etc. and the grades you obtained. Also include any skills training you have had. You will be required to produce original documentary evidence of any qualifications relevant to the job, and these will be detailed on the person specification.



Proof of qualification is required before the appointment is confirmed.

Contact information

Please direct any queries to our email via:

info@theaccessproject.org.uk

For further information about The Access Project, please see our website via: www.theaccessproject.org.uk or contact The Access Project on

020 4513 5999.

Please ensure that you complete all of the application form questions to enable us to shortlist your application for an interview, otherwise it will be disqualified automatically. Resumes and CVs will not be considered.