Careers Adviser

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Careers Adviser

Cardiff University is recruiting a Careers Adviser, based within the Student Life Division.

You will be part of Student Future’s Advice & Guidance Team, providing a full careers advice and guidance service to postgraduate  students and graduates of Cardiff University.  The post will be assigned a caseload of postgraduate research students across the three University Colleges and will also have responsibility for developing our work with postgraduate taught students, working with colleagues across Student Futures , the University’s Doctoral Academy, academic staff and employers.  Working with employers will involve working with recruiters and the Employer Engagement  Team with regards to events and caseload.

The post is full time (35 hours per week) and fixed term until May 2023 to cover for a member of staff on secondment to another role.

Salary: £34,304 - £40,927 per annum (Grade 6)

A blended approach to working both at home and on campus will be considered

Date advert posted: Tuesday, 26 October 2021

Closing date: Friday, 12 November 2021

This post has previously been advertised to employees of Cardiff University only.  We now invite external applications.

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world.  In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

Job Description

Key Duties

• Provide professional advice and guidance on employability and careers advice to internal and external customers that will have institute wide impacts, using judgement, creativity, knowledge and understanding of postgraduate employability contexts and key data sets including Graduate Outcomes statistics, to suggest the most appropriate course of action where appropriate, and ensuring complex and conceptual employability activities are understood,
• Take responsibility for resolving issues independently within advice and guidance where they fall within set role objectives
• Investigate and analyse specific issues within careers advice and guidance, creating recommendation reports, supported by developments within employability and careers advice related to postgraduate taught and research students specifically
• Ensure that the provision of advice and guidance is delivered to the institution, proactively changing the delivery according to customer requirements
• Establish working relationships with key contacts, developing appropriate communication links with the University’s Schools/Directorates, Doctoral Academy and outside bodies as required
• Create and contribute to specific working groups from colleagues across the University to achieve Student Futures objectives
• Plan and deliver specific small-scale projects, co-ordinating and supervising project teams created as needed
• Develop and deliver training involving careers advice and guidance related to postgraduate taught and research students
• Undertake a variety of administrative duties to support the department
• Instruct and guide other employees across the University about the value of employability activities and about ways to communicate employability in the curriculum.

Specific Duties

• Contribute to annual exit survey and other cross service Student Futures activities. Understand the Graduate Outcomes process, the key postgraduate surveys, timelines and be familiar with statistics for caseload.
• Undergo personal and professional development that is appropriate to, and which will enhance performance
• Deliver student facing activities in a variety of formats each week including tailored careers presentations and sessions in a variety of academic Schools and through the Doctoral Academy, e.g., group sessions, tutorials, career lounges, drop in sessions, CV clinics, overseen by the Business Partner. Evaluation will consist of peer review and qualitative and quantitative client feedback.
• Conduct in-depth careers guidance consultations, quick enquiry and drop-in appointments, video interviews and e-guidance with a postgraduate taught and research caseload 
• Research and write careers literature and build up and maintain an expert knowledge of postgraduate taught and research career opportunities and work experience placements for students.
• Promote Student Futures to key stakeholders through selected media including web-based information services and through attendance at careers fairs and School/College events such as Open days as well as using online platforms such as Teams, Zoom, LinkedIn and Skype.
• Provide professional advice and guidance on recruitment processes and procedures to internal and external customers

General Duties

• Ensure that an understanding of the importance of confidentiality is applied when undertaking all duties.
• Abide by University policies on Health and Safety and Equality and Diversity.
• Perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.

Due to the nature of this role, some activities take place on a Saturday and as such the post holder will be required to work Saturdays and out of office hours on occasions.

Person Specification

Important notice:

• It is the University’s policy to use the person specification as a key tool for short-listing. Candidates should evidence that they meet ALL of the essential criteria as well as, where relevant, the desirable.
• As part of the application process you will be asked to provide this evidence via a supporting statement.
• Please ensure that the evidence you are providing corresponds with the numbered criteria outlined below.
• Your application will be considered based on the information you provide under each element.

When attaching the supporting statement to your application profile, please ensure that you name it with the vacancy reference number, e.g. Supporting Statement for 12102BR

Essential Criteria

Qualifications and Education

Professional qualification in careers advice and guidance e.g. The Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma and MA in Career Education, Information and Guidance in HE (CEIGHE), postgraduate diploma in advice and guidance or Level 5 careers guidance qualification.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Substantial experience of working within careers settings.

Able to demonstrate professional knowledge of career counselling tools and employability issues to give advice and guidance to internal and external customers.  

Proven experience in developing new processes and procedures.

Customer Service, Communication and Team Working

Ability to communicate conceptually detailed and complex information effectively and professionally with a wide range of people, such as undergraduates, postgraduates, academic staff and employers.

Evidence of ability to explore customers’ needs and adapt the service accordingly to ensure a quality service is delivered, both in 1 to 1 guidance settings and in group settings.

Proven ability to develop networks in order to contribute to long term developments.

Planning, Analysis and Problem solving

Evidence of ability to solve expansive problems using initiative and creativity; identify and propose both practical and innovative solutions.

Evidence of demonstrable knowledge of key advances within the careers and employability professions e.g. recruitment practices.

Evidence of ability to undertake and deliver specific projects and supervise short term project teams.

Desirable Criteria

Postgraduate/Professional qualification

Experience of working in a Higher Education environment

Experience of working with Postgraduate Research students

Fluency in Welsh, written and oral