Entrepreneurial Learning Consultant

Salary: £33,966 to £36,024 with progression to £44,263 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 19 May 2024

About us

We’re on a mission to find enterprising minds of all ages and help them discover their potential.

We are looking for a passionate, motivated Learning Consultant to support the creation of the Rob Wood Enterprising Futures Academy.  This is a new and exciting initiative founded by Newcastle University graduate, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Rob Wood, funded by a £1.25 million donation.  

The Academy will advance the University’s enterprise and entrepreneurship offer to students and graduates as well as outreach work in secondary education.   We are determined to inspire others to find the confidence, skills, and opportunity to build success for themselves, and change the fortunes of our region and communities. Our region should be a thriving place for enterprising people of all ages to build successful careers and start-ups. A place where every person can be creative, courageous and build a better future for themselves.

The Role

Reporting directly to the Senior Manager for Entrepreneurship and Start-up, you will also work closely with colleagues in Student Recruitment and the Academy’s Project Manager.

Based within our Careers Service, you will play a key role in designing and delivering learning activities, working in partnership with internal and external stakeholders.  You will lead the planning and implementation of a range of projects and initiatives that engage and inspire young people from across our network of partner secondary schools as well as current Newcastle University students and recent graduates to learn about and experience enterprise and entrepreneurship with the key aims to:

    Prepare them for changing labour market environments and provide them with alternative perspectives on their career options.
    Support learners across different educational settings to develop competencies to lead to a rewarding, self-determined professional career whilst adding significant social, cultural and economic value through their entrepreneurial activity.
    Support more students and recent graduates to consider self-employment/ starting their own business.

We are currently working with a hybrid approach to some remote and some place-based working and are happy to support candidates who want to relocate from outside of the region.

The post is full time, fixed term until 31st July 2028. 

About you

You should bring with you experience of enterprise and entrepreneurship and be able to demonstrate the ability to develop and deliver value-adding, learner-centred interventions.  Your ability to engage and influence stakeholders to ensure they are fully engaged in the successful implementation of the initiatives you are working on will be the key to your success.

Next steps

To apply, please upload a CV and letter of application which outlines how your skills, experiences and knowledge align with the job description (insert link to pdf JD here).
 
Please contact Sarah Cowey to have a chat about this opportunity.

Interviews will be held on Thursday 30th May 2024.

Key Accountabilities

• Design, deliver and evaluate online and in-person interventions that inspire and support students to develop enterprising and entrepreneurial behaviours, attributes, and competencies and entrepreneurial intent
• Design, deliver and evaluate online and in-person pathways, activity and initiatives that inspire and support all entrepreneurial ambitions including company creation, social entrepreneurship and working on a freelance/ consultancy basis
• Using an appropriate competency framework map progress, attest competence and track learner development (across different learner groups)
• Undertake appropriate research and evaluate the outcomes and impact of all interventions. Using these insights to continually review and evolve the offer and disseminate findings regionally and nationally through conferences, relevant journals and communication channels
• Facilitate the development of peer-to-peer support networks of entrepreneurial students and graduates
• Develop cross functional co-operation and support, sharing relevant and useful information with others including immediate colleagues in the Careers Service and Student Recruitment in order to achieve a joined-up approach
• Define project products and tasks in order to develop appropriate project plans and resource requirements
• Coordinate and lead project teams comprising of internal colleagues and third-party suppliers to ensure a collaborative and focussed approach in the delivery of the project
• Lead the planning and initiation of related projects and initiatives ensuring the correct governance is in place and appropriate stakeholders are involved
• Where appropriate, manage any budgets associated with the project, controlling the expenditures within agreed tolerance and monitoring the costs against project deliverables
• Working with the Project Manager facilitate the definition of project scope, goals and deliverables and where appropriate develop business case details to enable selection of options
• Provide expert support and training to upskill staff incl. student and graduate ambassadors to deliver enterprise and entrepreneurship interventions
• Proactively work to ensure that opportunities are accessible, inclusive and provide an equitable learning experience for students
• Maintain awareness of the UK policy landscape and best practice in the sector in relation to enterprise and entrepreneurship education and start-up support
• Communicate and consult with relevant stakeholders including students, graduates, start-ups, practitioners, academics and the wider business support network in order to gather relevant feedback and insights, jointly assess needs and ensure that targets are met, and quality practice is embedded and sustained strategically
• Proactively identify, plan for, engage in and contribute to professional networks and professional development activities, including peer-to-peer observations, at the Individual, Team and Service level, investing personal effort in enhancing skills and ongoing learning
• Undertake any other duties reasonably requested in the delivery of the Academy and the University’s wider strategic objectives with a willingness to work irregular hours including evenings, weekends and intensive weeks when required, sometimes involving regional, national and international travel

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Demonstrable experience of designing, delivering, and evaluating in-person and online/recorded learning and teaching activities as well as events to large and small groups
• Proven ability to keep up to date with market trends and anticipate and respond to future opportunities and needs of stakeholders
• Experience of working with learners in a learning/educational organisation
• Up-to-date knowledge of graduate employability, enterprise, and entrepreneurship in a Higher Education context
• Awareness of the policy landscape in the UK in relation to enterprise and entrepreneurship

• Experience of developing and maintaining collaborative relationships and initiatives with a range of internal and external partners
• Ability to work on own initiative, taking decisions and actions to deliver project outcomes and meet the needs of all beneficiaries
• Ability to tailor communications to suit the audience and ability to influence decisions to maintain a focus on the delivery of a successful outcome
• Experience of providing regular and ad-hoc reporting to a range of audiences, both verbally and written
• Ability to  use MS Office software (eg Word, Excel, Powerpoint) and office communication tools

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability to manage and prioritise a complex portfolio workload, solve problems and use own initiative appropriately
• Ability to be highly flexible and adaptable in the workplace and manage ambiguity and change positively
• Ability to work effectively alone as well as within different teams and groups, both internal and external to the organisation
• Is able to achieve change at individual and functional level
• Reviews and revises plans, to meet with changing circumstances
• Develops and implements new ideas
• Willing to help others and share workloads

• Works in a planned and structured way

Qualifications

• A degree and/or relevant professional qualification or relevant experience

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26982

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