Director of Enterprise and Employability – January 2025

One of our leading Gems schools is looking to appoint an inspiring and passionate individual to become the cluster’s strategic Director of Enterprise and Employability from January 2025.

 The Director of Enterprise and Employability is an exciting lead role on supporting individuals to develop their skills and knowledge, in being prepared to start businesses, explore self-employment options; complete training and development opportunities; and improve their wellbeing.

With a proactive work-first approach, the postholder will support senior students in their personal development to enter self-employment or start their own business(es). Results focused, the postholder will use a mix of holistic support, challenge, and mentoring techniques to facilitate individuals progress, keeping a focus on achieving sustainable employment or self-employment based on individual preferences.

Oversight of Programmes

• Construct, document and implement aspirational programmes that incorporates best practice in developing students’ enterprise and employability opportunities.
• Lead Work Experience events, ensuring a suitably wide-range of opportunities are available to the Senior School community.
• Lead the organization of the school’s Careers Fair, exposing Secondary School students to a wide range of future employment career pathways.
• Annually review, quality assure and update programmes, ensuring each aligns with the school’s strategic priorities, and promotes the Enterprise and Employability agenda.
• Ensure all programmes compliment and enhance the school’s existing academic and extra[1]curricula provision. Mentoring & Support
• Offer high-quality advice and guidance to students wishing to start their own business.
• Provide support to individuals seeking assistance on their journey to enterprise start-up or self-employment, including soft skills development (confidence building, financial management, communication skills) as well as business start-up guidance.
• Motivate students and ensure engagement by tailoring activities, removing barriers, and offering a range of services which meet the overall programme and individual needs.

Community

• Promote the school’s Enterprise and Employability agenda with the local and wider business community, establishing strong partnerships.
• Form a large portfolio of partnerships to support work experience, entrepreneurial and employability opportunities. This includes but is not limited to: Local residents and service users, Business Incubators, Voluntary and Community Organisations, Service Providers, Strategic and delivery partners, Funders and commissioners, Professional advisers and services, GEMS4Life.
• Organise a range of activities and specialist services which support students in their journey, e.g. business visits and workshops, alongside development activities that build the necessary skills for success.
• Ensure effective communication to the various school community stakeholders providing clarity of role, initiatives, deliverables and timelines.
• Ensure alignment in all forms and instances of communication with the overarching GEMS Corporate values alongside MTS specific objectives and communications plans.
• Support wider school work and participation in community activities/events linked with GEMS4Life.

Programme Expectations

• Ensure all eligible Senior School students partake in meaningful work experiences that aid and support their future entrepreneurial, employment or further study aspirations.
• Ensure all eligible Secondary School students experience high-quality and diverse careers information from experienced postholders within their employment fields.
• Develop and manage an active caseload of students pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities, building on the individual skills, experience, and talents.
• Coordinate and submit the annual Enterprise & Employability Impact Report detailing all information pertinent to programmes the postholder holds responsibility for.

Commitments Knowledge Dispositions Skills

• Significant experience of successfully supporting individuals with development, enterprise or employability programmes which help them to build core skills needed.
• Appropriate business or enterprise development qualification or equivalent experience. • Demonstrable ability to appropriately apply mentoring and coaching techniques within a result focused approach in a 1-2-1 and group settings.
• Promote and support the vision, values and ethos of the School.
• Consistently deliver high quality leadership of the Enterprise and Employability programmes.
• Knowledge and understanding of what constitute high quality entrepreneurial practices. • Work collaboratively with SLT to ensure community needs are attended to.
• Maintains knowledge of employment-related issues, shifting landscapes and best practices.
• The ability to gain the confidence of staff, students, parents and third parties.
• Have a positive outlook and solution focused attitude
• Effective communication skills.
• Good organisational and administrative skills
• Willingness to go the extra mile to do the job well

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