Work Placement Officer

Care to Join Us?

Are you passionate about helping learners gain the experience and confidence they need to succeed in the world of work? Do you enjoy building strong relationships with employers and creating opportunities that genuinely change lives? If so, this is a fantastic opportunity to join our team as a Work Placement Officer.

We offer great benefits including

• 30 days annual leave per year, pro rata, plus bank holidays, pro rata
• Generous employer pension contribution
• Regular training and development
• Access to a health care plan
• Learning and development opportunities

Help shape futures. Build employer partnerships. Make real impact.

In this role, you'll be at the heart of connecting students with meaningful, high‑quality work placements across the college group. You'll work closely with curriculum teams, Success Coaches, employers, and our Business Plus team to ensure every learner has access to the right opportunities and every employer receives outstanding service.

This is a varied, people‑focused role where no two days are the same. You'll be out meeting employers, supporting students, attending events, and helping to shape the employability journey for hundreds of learners. If you're proactive, organised, and thrive in a collaborative environment, we'd love to hear from you.

Role and responsibilities

• Coordinating and recording all work placement activity across the college in partnership with curriculum teams.
• Working closely with Success Coaches, curriculum staff, and employers to promote and develop placement opportunities.
• Building and managing strong employer relationships to ensure high levels of satisfaction and repeat engagement.
• Promoting the Business Plus team and working with Lead Business Partners to create new employer links.
• Attending external events to strengthen partnerships and raise the profile of the college group.
• Hosting internal events to support employer engagement and enhance our reputation.
• Converting work experience opportunities into apprenticeship leads in line with KPIs.
• Providing outstanding customer service to students, colleagues, apprentices, and employers.
• Securing high‑quality placements that meet college KPIs and learner needs.
• Matching students to employers to ensure successful, meaningful placements.
• Supporting curriculum teams with employer engagement activity and ensuring accurate MIS recording.
• Tracking and monitoring all placement activity and contributing to end‑of‑year reporting.
• Monitoring T Level and Industry Placement progress reviews via Grofar and addressing any non‑compliance.
• Carrying out Health & Safety audits of employer premises in line with policy.
• Ensuring student learning objectives are met through close collaboration with curriculum teams.
• Developing employer relationships that support Traineeship learners and enable effective matching.
• Recording information accurately to ensure contract compliance and best practice in Safeguarding, Prevent, and Equality & Diversity.
• Supporting programme reviews and contributing to continuous improvement.
• Promoting the wider services of the College and the full Business Plus offer.
• Ensuring tutorial content meets employability needs in partnership with curriculum colleagues.
• Managing attendance of high‑risk learners in line with procedures.
• Representing the college group at external events as required.
• Actively participating in team meetings, employer conversions, and departmental activity.
• Using social media (in line with policy) to share success stories and promote opportunities.
• Meeting or exceeding employer engagement and learner progression targets.
• Encouraging and acting on feedback from employers and learners to drive improvement.
• Supporting colleagues during busy periods and contributing to a positive, collaborative team culture.

Partnerships and Reputation

• Ensure that the college develops and maintains a constructive relationship with appropriate external stakeholders relevant to the postholder's areas of responsibility.

Health and Safety

• Ensure that the Health and Safety policy and procedures operated by the college are adhered to and that all statutory requirements are met by all staff with postholder's areas of responsibility.

Equal Opportunity

• Adopt and promote a positive attitude towards equality of opportunity for all within the college and ensure that the related policies and procedures are adhered to and that all statutory requirements are met by all staff with postholder's areas of responsibility.

Professional Standards

• Develop, maintain and exhibit the quality standards appropriate to the post and promote a culture of integrity and transparency throughout all college activities
• Undertake appropriate staff development activities that support personal development and the changing needs of the college and its environment.
• Be aware of, and responsive to, the changing nature of the college and adopt a flexible and proactive approach to work.

About Us

The South Hampshire College Group (SHCG) is a dynamic, purpose driven Further Education organisation with a commitment to Creating Better Futures for learners, employers and communities within South Hampshire and beyond.

We pride ourselves on living our values - Collaborative, Inclusive and Aspirational. We also understand the difference exceptional employees can make to us delivering outstanding results and we are always seeking to attract talent who can add value and who will be proud to be part of our growing organisation.

South Hampshire College Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Our recruitment practices follow safer recruitment guidance, including enhanced DBS checks, online checks, and thorough pre‑employment vetting. We value equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and welcome applications from all backgrounds.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.