Personal Careers Coach - Child Looked After

The starting salary for this position is £34,660 per annum based on a 36 hour working week. This is a 12 month fixed term contract position.

We are hiring a new Personal Careers Coach working with Children Looked after by the Local Authority, to join our fantastic Post 16 Transition Team. This is a hybrid role with the assigned office base near the centre of Surrey at the Mansion in Leatherhead.

Our Offer to You

26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service (prorated for part time staff) Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave A generous local government salary related pension Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year Paternity, adoption and dependents leave An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residentsAbout the Team

Working as part of the Year 11/13 Transition Service you will support young people at risk of becoming NEET (not in employment, education or training) to identify progress to an appropriate post-16 destination. This will involve liaising with parents/carers, schools, further education and training providers, employers and other relevant professionals. You will be responsible for managing a caseload of young people, recording interventions and reporting on progress.

The role will contribute to the local authority's statutory duty to enable, assist and encourage young people to participate in education and training up to the age of 18. This will be achieved through supporting personal development, including helping young people through challenging issues related to relationships, home life and academic stress.

About the Role

In this role you will work with young people looked after by Surrey County Council and their guardians to secure a sustained post-16 education or training destination.

The role will involve building positive and professional relationship with young people to support with careers education, information, advice and guidance and work-related learning, using action plans to progress towards goals. Engagement will involve meeting young people at their homes or in the community to offer support through one-to-one or small group sessions, using appropriate aptitude tests, skills assessment tools, psychometric testing and personal inventories.

By liaising with schools, further education and training providers, employers and wider services including social care, virtual school and SEND, you will support young people to identify and progress towards a suitable education or training destination. This will involve researching careers, options and support and keeping up-to-date with the labour market, legislation and professional and academic developments. Where relevant this will include visiting employers, further education and training providers and attending events run by educational and professional bodies. This extends to accompanying young people where they require support to engage and attend essential activities and being present and/or available on exam results day.

You will have a good understanding of the potential challenges faced by young people who are looked after in respect of progression to a post-16 destination. You will be confident in applying overarching knowledge of the education and training landscape to support young people to progress irrespective of the location they are based, with an ability to acquire and apply local knowledge where necessary.

Your Application

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with

A good standard of education and excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, as you will need to be comfortable and confident communicating with parents and carers, young people and professionals. Relevant experience/knowledge or working with children who are looked after and evidence of recent career development. Experience of delivering careers information, advice and guidance, with a good knowledge of Raising Participation Age legislation Experience of working with parents and carers, young people and familiesYou will be required to visit schools, further education and training settings and homes, therefore you must be willing and able to travel extensively around the county

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description and our to get an insight into working at Surrey.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 18/10/2026 with interview dates to be confirmed.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation and will move to new authorities in April 2027. This role is currently employed by Surrey County Council and will remain so until then. If you are employed by Surrey County Council on 1 April 2027, your employment will transfer under TUPE arrangements to one of the new councils, with your current terms and conditions protected. The provisional allocation for this post is East Surrey Council, subject to final confirmation through the wider transition process later this year.

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum shortlisting criteria as displayed on the advert, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs