Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI): Leaders in Sustainability and Social Inclusion. Our purpose is to inspire, challenge and facilitate businesses to bring about a sustainable, low carbon economy and an inclusive society where everyone thrives. We leverage our extensive network and depth of knowledge to guide businesses to embed all aspects of sustainability into their operations. Our programmes and partnerships are designed to bring about measurable improvements in environmental sustainability and social equity.  www.bitc.ie

JOB DESCRIPTION: Primary Responsibilities:

1. Time to GROW (Get Ready for Opportunities to Work) Programme

• Obtain 150 work experience placements (ranging from a couple of days to a week) for Transition Year/ Senior Cycle students across Dublin (100 placements) and Cork (50 placements)
• Liaise with Dublin and Cork Regional Coordinators on all communications with businesses and schools
• Promote the programme to businesses
• Promote the programme and opportunity to students in the Dublin and Cork schools
• Brief companies on work experience programme and expectations
• Design and manage application process
• Track student progress and the mix of participating industries
• Provide ongoing updates to line manager
• Set up support system for the schools and companies to ensure programme is as effective as possible for businesses and students alike
• Proactively address any issues or challenges and seek support from the Head of Education/Education team, as appropriate
• To coordinate/oversee BITCI’s in-house TY work placement programme
• Oversee programme evaluation and impact measurement including recommendations for the subsequent year’s programme

NOTE: While Dublin is the main place of operation for this programme, it may require some travel to Cork during the academic year.

2. Summer Work Placement Programme (SWPP) for North-East Inner-City schools

• Brief the seven school principals and guidance counsellors on the programme (as necessary)
• Provide an overview to all Leaving Certificate students outlining the opportunity to gain significant experience in the funds industry (in each school)
• Oversee the student application process including shortlisting candidates and forwarding same to HR/People leads (or their designated representatives) in the participating businesses
• Prep the students for interviews and liaise with the businesses during the interview phase
• Provide feedback as necessary to all interview candidates
• Prepare the students for the placement including overview and information on workplace etiquette, responsibilities of employees, skills required, positive attitude and displaying a work ethic
• Set out the employers’ expectations
• Contact all successful students after the Leaving Cert to ensure they are well supported ahead of commencing summer placement
• Check in with the students during the initial period, addressing any concerns
• Provide ongoing updates to line manager
• Check in with the businesses to obtain feedback and provide any necessary support
• Obtain all evaluations from each student and each business
• Track all students post placement to record their next step (college, work or should any be successful to be retained at the business)
• Draft the evaluation report including impact measurement and recommendations for the following  year’s programme to ensure ongoing programme development

Secondary Responsibilities

• To contribute to a healthy, safe, secure and productive working environment
• To actively promote equality of opportunity, anti-discriminatory practice, diversity, individual rights and choice in all aspects of your work.
• Other such duties may be required from time to time

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Experience

• Career Guidance/ Job Coaching/ HR experience/ L&D experience
• Project/ Programme Management experience
• Good knowledge of the business landscape in Dublin and Cork
• Experience of managing relationships with senior executives
• Proven track record of delivery of results to meet targets
• Knowledge of the CSR landscape and knowledge of the Irish education system is an advantage

Skills/ Personal Attributes

• Exceptional planning and organisational skills
  • High level of English communication skills - written, presentation, influencing, oral and networking.
  • Strong time management skills
  • A good team player who can demonstrate flexibility and a ‘can do’ attitude
  • A high level of proficiency in the range of MS Office suites particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint. A working knowledge of MS Outlook, MS Dynamics and MS SharePoint.