Specialist Student Welfare Adviser

Job id: 084727. Salary: £43,205 - £50,585 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.

Posted: 19 February 2024. Closing date: 10 March 2024.

Business unit: Students & Education. Department: Advice, Wellbeing & Welfare.

Contact details:Rochelle McDonald, Head of Student Welfare (Student of Concern). [email protected]

Location: Strand Campus. Category: Professional & Support Services.

About Us

The King’s community is dedicated to the service of society. King’s Strategic Vision 2029 sets out our vision for the future, shaped around five priority areas: educate to inspire and improve; research to inform and innovate; serve to shape and transform; a civic university at the heart of London; and an international community that services the world. Our ambitious Education Strategy sets out the actions that we must take to transform how we teach, how and where our students learn and how we support them during their time with us.

The Specialist Welfare advisors provide expert advice and support to our diverse community. At any stage in their university career, students may experience a variety of complex problems relating to money, housing, and welfare issues for which they need practical support and legal advice. Our work is to ensure that these do not become a barrier to their success at King’s and that through our

welfare support our students thrive during their studies to make the most of their opportunities after graduation.

We are part of the Students & Education Directorate, a collection of wide-ranging professional services in place to support King’s students and their education. As a directorate we manage the student lifecycle from application to graduation and beyond, to ensure a coherent and seamless student experience and effective administrative processes, working closely with King’s faculties to do so.

About the Role

• Based in Student Advice Wellbeing and Welfare Services at King’s College London, Student Welfare practitioners provide support to our diverse community with a variety of complex issues that are impacting their life and their studies.
• Your caseload will be varied and challenging, ranging from sexual violence, domestic violence, family estrangement, leaving care, victim of crime, criminal offence, bullying & harassment, safeguarding concerns & students who have a prolonged lack of engagement with their course.
• At times, the circumstances will require a range of specialist service interventions to support the student’s unique needs and in these cases, you will need to keep ownership of the case, liaising with the specialist services and supporting engagement with the student.
• Through the Student of Concern process, you will collaborate with other key university services and Faculty teams, making and receiving effective referrals to ensure that the support students receive from the wider university is properly coordinated.
• We are looking for candidates who have students’ welfare at the centre of everything they do, are resilient and are great team players. Relevant experience and training in social work, youth work, mental health advice, advice work or similar would be advantageous.

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract.

This is a full-time post, but we welcome applications from candidates seeking a flexible work pattern within our necessary service operating hour [10am to 4pm].

To provide initial response and logistical support to the Welfare Student of Concern Team by:  

• Provide and coordinate, as appropriate, welfare support to students experiencing difficulties which severely impact their ability to engage fully with their studies, including those with ongoing mental wellbeing concerns and complex family histories.    
• Through the Student of Concern process, you will collaborate with other key university services and Faculty teams, making and receiving effective referrals to ensure that the support students receive from the wider university is properly coordinated.  You will follow up with internal and external stakeholders following serious student incidents to ensure such cases are properly coordinated across the university.  Other teams, including Security and Residences, will look to you for clear and effective guidance on how to respond effectively to complex cases. 
• This role will entail being an ally and supporter to students and helping them access appropriate internal and external support services.  Levels of support should reflect the circumstances and needs of the student at the time, but at their core assist the students to move forward. 
• In all cases the post holder will retain ownership of the case until the initial concern is stabilised and the appropriate support service can take over management.  At times, the circumstances will require a range of specialist service interventions to support the student’s unique needs and in these cases the Student Welfare & Wellbeing Adviser will need to keep ownership of the case, liaising with the specialist services and supporting engagement with the student. 
• Through your casework monitor trends in the student experience, especially those which may cause barriers for underrepresented student groups* and report relevant social policy issues to SSWS Management Teams, as well as other internal and external stakeholders. 
• Take an active role in the management and development of the service, which is includes but is not limited to line management and supervision of junior staff, deputising for the head of service, and research or project work as identified by SSWS Management Teams. 
• Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with colleagues across the university to ensure effective negotiation on behalf of individual students where appropriate, and influence university policy and decision-making concerning matters of student welfare. 
• In all interventions, the post holder will need to promote autonomy, independence, choice, and wellbeing and as appropriate, assist the student to develop self-agency. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Qualifications & Training

Relevant work experience and/or education:  

We think a wide range of different work and educational experiences could support you to be successful in this role. Relevant work experience might include work in social work, youth work, mental health advice, or welfare advice. Relevant educational experiences might include higher education in a related discipline, professional qualifications, or other training. 

Essential criteria

Desirable criteria

Please submit a personal statement when applying for this vacancy, clearly setting out how you meet the essential criteria, as this is how we shortlist applications. Learn more about how we recruit, including tips on writing your application and supporting statement on our website: https://jobs.kcl.ac.uk/gb/en/applying   

If you are a student or alumni of King’s there are resources from King’s Careers & Employability to support you in your application and interview. 

Interviews will be held in person and will consist of a task and competency-based questions linked closely to the essential and desirable criteria mentioned here. 

Although we have made improvements over the last number of years, our team is still under-represented in terms of staff from global majority ethnicities, LGBTQ+ identities, and from people with disabilities.

Interviews are scheduled to take place the week beginning 18th March 2024