Deputy Head of Careers

Location: London (Onsite Working)

Type of Contract: Permanent

Working Pattern: Full Time - 40hrs Per Week

Salary Range £45,000-£55,000pa

GBS is a higher education provider offering a range of sector-relevant courses across ten campuses in London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester. Working in partnership with several of the UK’s leading higher education providers, we deliver vocational, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in finance, accounting, business, construction, tourism, healthcare, and more.

Our Vision: Changing lives through education.

What The Team Do: The Graduate Employment and Entrepreneurship department at GBS is dedicated to preparing students for successful careers and business ventures.

Role Overview: The Deputy Head of Careers will assist the Head of Careers, providing strategic leadership and operational oversight for the Careers team members, ensuring their activities align with institutional objectives and industry best practices.

The primary focus of this role is helping students and recent alumni who are currently unemployed into paid employment and those who have jobs in posts that are SOC 1-3 grade.

The successful candidate will help lead a diverse, multi-campus team, driving excellence in programme delivery, innovation, and stakeholder engagement.

Please note, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this position.

What the role involves:

Strategic Leadership 

• Work with the Head of Careers to develop and articulate a clear vision and strategic plan for the Careers team, with a clear focus on providing individualised and contextualised support for students. 
• Understand and champion the full breadth of employment ambitions and circumstances for all our students and recent alumni. 
• Understand the local, regional and national job markets and contextualise the team’s careers support activities to best align with these. 
• Support alignment of the team with institutional B3 goals, particularly around getting students into jobs and progressing to more senior, professional-grade roles. 
• Act as an advocate for careers initiatives, promoting their value internally and externally. 
• Oversee the support for mandatory placements. 

Programme Management 

• Provide strong leadership, direction, and programme management support to a diverse team across all campuses. 
• Planning, implementation, and evaluation of the Careers team activities to ensure consistency and quality of support to students across locations and maximise graduate outcomes for our students and recent alumni. 
• Develop, monitor, and report on KPIs to measure the success and impact of the team’s activities, with an emphasis on securing graduate employment outcomes. 

Innovation and Continuous Improvement 

• Work with the Head of Careers to lead the development and implementation of innovative approaches to enhance the Careers support available to students and alumni. 
• Stay abreast of industry trends, incorporating best practices. 
• Work with the Head of Careers to oversee feedback collection and evaluation processes to drive continuous improvement in rates of professional-level employment for students and alumni.

What Experience/Skills are required:

Leadership 

• Experience leading progression, recruitment or employment programmes across multi-campus environments either within the higher education sector or in an industrial setting. 

Data and Performance Analytics

• Expertise in using employment data, labour market intelligence, and dashboards to drive institutional decision-making. 

Strategic Change Management

• Proven success in implementing large-scale initiatives that transform employment outcomes and support B3 progression metrics. 

External Stakeholder Engagement

• Strong track record in building partnerships with employers, professional bodies, and industry networks to enhance student opportunities. 

Innovation in Programme Delivery

• Experience designing and implementing innovative progression strategies that improve graduate outcomes and student success.

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