Job Description
Job Role: Employability Team Leader
Employment Support | Career Coaching | Youth Employability | Team Management
Location: East London (Office, Community & Outreach Based)
Salary: £38,000 per annum
Contract: Permanent, Full-Time
Hours: 37 hours per week
Role Overview
We are recruiting an experienced and inspiring Employability Team Leader to lead a frontline employment support team delivering a high-profile youth employability programme across London.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Team Leader, Employment Advisor, Career Coach Team Leader, Service Manager or Employability Professional looking to step into a leadership role where they can directly influence outcomes for young people entering employment.
As an Employability Team Leader, you will manage a team of Career Coaches and Trainers, ensuring high-quality delivery, outstanding participant experiences and strong employment outcomes. You will provide leadership, coaching and operational oversight while maintaining a small caseload to remain connected to frontline delivery and model best practice.
The focus of the role is helping young people overcome barriers, develop employability skills, access suitable job opportunities and sustain employment through structured support and effective employer engagement.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership & People Management
- Lead, motivate and develop a team of Career Coaches and Trainers
- Deliver regular supervision, coaching, one-to-ones and performance reviews
- Conduct case reviews and quality observations to support continuous improvement
- Recognise and celebrate success whilst effectively managing underperformance
- Support staff wellbeing, induction, probation and professional development
- Create a positive, high-performance culture focused on participant outcomes
Performance & Operational Delivery
- Take responsibility for team performance across key employability measures
- Monitor referrals, engagement, appointments, job applications, interviews and employment outcomes
- Analyse performance data and implement improvement plans where required
- Coordinate team workloads, caseload allocation and delivery schedules
- Ensure service continuity through effective planning and absence management
- Maintain oversight of participant journeys and progression activity
Participant Support & Caseload Management
- Manage a small active caseload of participants
- Deliver high-quality employability coaching and action planning
- Support participants with:
- Job searching
- CV development
- Interview preparation
- Career planning
- Confidence building
- In-work support
- Model best practice and provide practical support on complex cases
Employer Engagement & Partnerships
Work closely with employer engagement teams to maximise opportunities
Support employer relationship development and vacancy generation
Promote high-quality job matching and sustainable employment outcomes
- Build relationships with:
- Jobcentre Plus
- Training Providers
- Employers
- Community Organisations
- Referral Partners
- Represent the programme at partnership meetings and events
Quality, Compliance & Continuous Improvement
Ensure compliance with contractual, safeguarding and quality requirements
Maintain oversight of participant records, evidence and case management systems
Complete quality checks and support audit readiness
Contribute to service development and operational improvement activity
Support implementation of new initiatives, procedures and programme developments
Essential Criteria
Experience leading, coaching, supervising or managing staff
Experience delivering employability, employment support, careers advice or welfare-to-work services
Proven track record of achieving employment outcomes and performance targets
Strong understanding of barriers facing young people entering employment
Experience managing caseloads and supporting participants into work
Excellent communication, coaching and mentoring skills
Ability to analyse performance information and drive improvements
Strong organisational and workload management skills
Excellent IT skills and experience using CRM or case management systems
Ability to work flexibly across office, community and outreach settings
Desirable Criteria
Level 3 Information, Advice & Guidance qualification
Coaching, mentoring or leadership qualification
Experience delivering government-funded employment programmes
Experience managing trainers or group-based delivery
Knowledge of DWP programmes and compliance requirements
Experience of quality assurance and coaching observations