Student Coach

14 Month Fixed-term contract

Level 2 - Senior Associate

Location – Birmingham

Hybrid working - currently a minimum of 1-2 days in the office, occcasional travel to London

The opportunity

This is a fantastic opportunity to join UK&I Talent Development within the Student Experience Team, where you will support the delivery of EY’s Student programmes.

As a Student Coach, your primary role is to support the professional development of students enrolled on an EY Student Programme. You will build and maintain strong relationships with your cohort through regular coaching, working closely with Counsellors and Exam Managers. You will monitor student progress to support the successful completion of their programme of studies, providing timely support and intervention where required. This role requires the exercise of sound professional judgement to balance coaching, pastoral support and programme requirements.

In this role, you will report to a Student Management & Delivery Manager.

Your key responsibilities

Student Management:

• Coach students from initial assessment through to completion of their programme, identifying those not progressing as expected and supporting them to get back on track
• Monitor and assess students’ development of the required knowledge, skills and behaviours, utilising regular progress reviews and available data
• Respond to the well-being, mental, physical health and neurodiversity needs of students, providing appropriate guidance, escalating concerns and assessing the impact on their student programme
• Identify and escalate safeguarding concerns in line with EY policies and procedures
• Support students studying an apprenticeship in the building of understanding and evidence required for End Point Assessment
• Provide support to students who are unsuccessful in an element of their professional qualification, ensuring all necessary processes are followed and documented
• Utilise your programme knowledge to proactively manage changes to a student’s pathway in the event of a well-being case, exam fail or deferral. Work with the Talent Shared Services (TSS) to ensure timely action is taken to reflect changes in the Student Database to a high-quality standard, acting as an escalation point for TSS when required

Student Experience:

• Support the student pastoral care provision through 1-2-1 discussions, focus groups and programme briefings with students. Escalate and share feedback arising to enable continuous improvement
• Support activities associated with onboarding new student cohorts throughout the year
• Act as an escalation point for students, Counsellors and Exam Mangers, regarding their student programme
• Support the development and delivery of initiatives to enhance student programmes
• Actively support and guide Counsellors to ensure they understand and fulfil their role in enabling students to complete their programme in a timely manner.

Quality Assurance:

• Develop and maintains up-to-date knowledge of student programmes, apprenticeship requirements, DfE and Ofsted expectations, and provide support in the event of external audit
• Be comfortable with independent progress review scheduling along with observations, supporting the team to implement a consistent support model that meets regulatory requirements
• Maintain a detailed understanding of the professional qualifications you are supporting, including but not limited to, structure, Institute rules and regulations, membership requirements and EY policy
• Utilise the EY Student Database to maintain complete, accurate and timely student programme and qualification records
• Collaborate with other Coaches, TSS and GDS to share best practice and support effective documentation, ensuring consistency and quality across the programme.

Skills and attributes for success:

• Develops and establishes credibility and trust by demonstrating an understanding of an individual’s needs
• Communicates effectively by displaying good listening skills and asking appropriate questions
• Strong stakeholder management skills. Able to pre-empt stakeholder needs, communicate timely, and manage expectations proactively
• Contributes to a positive team environment by demonstrating consistent commitment and optimism toward work challenges
• Identifies issues affecting the business and individuals, providing a clear rationale to proposed change initiatives by effectively articulating potential benefits
• Organises work in a way that appropriately prioritises the needs of multiple internal and external stakeholders
• Takes charge of personal development and seeks out opportunities for coaching and feedback regularly

To qualify for the role, you must have:

• Coaching experience, working with individuals in the early stage of their career
• Excellent communication skills, and the ability to build and maintain strong relationships with apprentices and their line managers
• Strong organisational skills with attention to detail, an ability to deliver to deadlines and to prioritise effectively
• An enthusiastic, can-do approach with a passion for supporting people
• A desire to seize opportunities to build knowledge (e.g., researching, internal networks, role-specific webinars and events)
• Ability to use own initiative, work independently and take responsibility

Ideally, you’ll also have:

• A basic understanding of apprenticeships within the UK and the government’s apprenticeship strategy
• Experience in supporting learners from diverse backgrounds and with varying support needs