Virtual School 16+ Personal Adviser

Job Title: Virtual School 16+ Personal Adviser
Starting Salary: £38,220 progressing to £41,771 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Hours: 37.0
Location: Countywide
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Childrens Services

About the team

You will join the Virtual School, within Hertfordshire Children’s Services, who support a broad range of Children Looked After (CLA), Care Leavers and Children with a Social Worker (CWSW).

This specific role sits within our 16+ service, in a small team of specialist, highly experienced practitioners, who focus on engaging and supporting CLA into and through education, employment and training.

We work closely with education providers both in and outside of Hertfordshire, as well as our specialist social care service and accommodation providers.

Our goal is to ensure the best possible outcomes for an ever-evolving cohort of vulnerable young people who are currently being supported by HCC as Looked After Children.

This is an established role within the 16+ Virtual School team.

About the role

The successful applicant will be required to:

• Engage effectively with and provide support for a caseload of 16+ looked after young people and care leavers, determined by negotiation with your manager to identify and support overcoming barriers to personal development, learning and work, particularly during periods of transition (including from statutory school to post-16 education).
• Work to agreed targets including NEET prevention and reduction; monitoring the progress of looked after young people and care leavers on your caseload through regular review, recording data on relevant management information systems to appropriate timescales and standards, producing reports including at least ‘good’ PEPs and correspondence as required.
• Engage effectively in multi-agency working to develop collaborative relationships with relevant staff in a range of agencies including schools (during Y11 transition), social care, Service for Young People, Special Education Needs & Disability (SEND) teams, colleges and training providers to support meeting the individualised targets for a looked after young person or care leaver.
• Deliver high quality Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance to assist looked after young people and care leavers in making successful transitions.
• Work with looked after young people and care leavers’ family members, carers and key workers, to enable them to contribute to effectively target support towards full engagement with EET.
• Participate in the development of the Virtual School by contributing to working groups, reviewing and revising policies and procedures, attending staff meetings and conferences, being responsible for continual professional development and looking at how the service can improve further.
• Actively participate in the Performance Development process to meet agreed quality standards.

About you

Essential:

• Successful experience of engaging with a wide range of vulnerable young people in an EET context, including those who face barriers to progression in learning.
• Ability to work independently, and in a variety of formal and informal environments, demonstrating a pro-active approach to problem solving.
• A working understanding of the issues facing all young people, a commitment to equality and diversity (particularly in respect of asylum-seeking young people) and the ability to challenge stereotyping and advocate on behalf of young people.
• Ability to assess, prioritise, plan and review with young people and partner agencies, in line with the Hertfordshire County Council Ways of Working policies; including occasional evening, weekend and residential delivery.
• A strong knowledge of programmes of study for Further Education learners, ideally including those studying on ESOL and vocational education pathways.
• A driving license and access to vehicle, in order to travel independently at all times both in and on occasion outside of Hertfordshire.

Desirable:

• A working understanding of the needs of looked after young people and care leavers, including the challenges posed by, and legislation in respect of, leaving care.
• Qualifications at Level 4 or above and/or significant professional experience in post-16 Education, Careers Information, Advice and Guidance or fields related to working with vulnerable young people would be a distinct advantage.
• Evidence of previous experience of working with young people from a variety of backgrounds is highly desirable, ideally including those who would be considered vulnerable and/or care experienced.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is within the Community Services, level COM10 job profile. Please locate this via:

Job profiles - Community services

To hear more about this opportunity please contact John Brady (john.brady@hertfordshire.gov.uk)

Interview Date: 19th December 2025

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Additional information

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Driving required
You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.