Targeted Youth Advisor

Permanent, Full Time

£29,512 to £34,720 Per Annum

Location: Basildon

Closing Date: Sunday 23rd August 2026 at 11.59pm.

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Interview Date: W/C the 7th of September 2026.

The Opportunity

The Targeted Youth Advisor will play a key role in developing the Youth Service offer by working with identified Young People who are at risk of not engaging in employment, education, and training. TYA's provide in depth, evidence-based, one-to-one intensive mentoring, bespoke groupwork packages and positive activities to empower Young People to overcome barriers to education to reach their full potential.

The role supports young people of school age requiring impartial advice and guidance to re-engage in education, as well as progression into post-sixteen opportunities such as, appropriate employment, education, training, and vocational opportunities. You will play a key role in identifying opportunities, enabling them to fulfil their potential and access universal services. You will also engage in mentoring and reintegration work that supports the government's statutory guidance for pupils of alternative provision for those at a compulsory education age.

The role will be aligned to another service area within Essex County Council.

A broad understanding of the issues affecting young people, barriers to education, opportunities for learning and the services provided by partner agencies is essential.

Contributing to the development of a high-quality targeted service for young people, the role will work with colleagues across the Council and key partners such as Education, Health, Social Services and Youth Offending Service, to ensure the best possible outcomes for young people.

Accountabilities

• Responsible for assisting young people to overcome barriers to access universal services and learning or employment, providing impartial advice, information, and guidance, supportive of young people's needs and views.
• Work with young people, their families, and schools to remove barriers to education and learning in line with the DfE statutory guidance on Alternative Provision. Carry out young carers statutory assessment of needs, in line with our statutory duty as defined by the Children's and Families Act 2014.
• Responsible for managing a defined caseload of young people to establish their needs and offer intervention in line with external contracts and create, maintain, and review accuracy of records in conjunction with DfE guidance and that of external funders, whilst ensuring compliance with Information Sharing Protocols.
• Responsible for the effective management of staff; renewing and reflecting on professional practice to achieve continuous improvement in performance.
• Supporting the development and delivery of intensive support to identified young people within a cost recoverable framework to remove barriers to education, employment, or training.
• Working in collaboration with stakeholders, including senior school-based staff, social care, SEND, Youth Offending Service, Housing, and partner agencies, to provide wider support to young people to remove barriers to learning, training and employment.
• Responsible for the delivery of high-quality one-to-one interventions, mentoring and group work through positive activities that are cost-effective, planned, actioned, and evaluated. This includes large-scale events advocating with other professionals to achieve these.
• Work collaboratively with a range of external agencies and commercial bodies to ensure a coherent approach to overcoming barriers to learning and employment faced by young people, ensure they receive service required, including promotion of the eight Gatsby benchmarks as set out in the government's careers strategy.
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with statutory requirements, including data management, equality and diversity legislation and ensure arrangements are in place to effectively manage concerns and complaints.
• Responsible for brokering opportunities between providers and young people to enable them to engage in preparation for the world of work and search for education and employment opportunities.
• Influence and negotiate the level and type of provision available, to meet economic and young people's needs and identify and inform gaps in education and training provision. Collate and disseminate information in respect of current opportunities, working closely with educational and training providers.
• Responsible for developing and delivering large-scale employability and recruitment events, advocating with parents/carers and other professionals.