KEITH CARTER & ASSOCIATES

JOB DESCRIPTION

INFORMATION OFFICER

The Organisation

Keith Carter & Associates are a small firm providing employment consultancy services principally concerned with assessing career opportunities and employment prospects.  The work covers a wide range of occupational sectors and geographical areas throughout Britain and abroad and involves the use of information extracted from a variety of official and unofficial sources including interviews with the individuals themselves.  KCA’s main product takes the form of a report which can be used as expert evidence in personal injury trials or employment tribunals to determine altered career trajectories.

Keith Carter & Associates has a small but highly focused collection of material which is used by the employment consultants as the basis for their research.   It has grown up over a number of years in response to specific needs and is composed of official and unofficial publications, including statistics, trade and other journals, local newspapers and various unpublished documents.   Much of this material has been obtained through personal contacts made during the course of the consultants’ research.

An Information Officer is now needed to primarily support the Principal and four other employment consultants to research and present detailed labour market assessments.

Job Objectives

1.                  To work closely with the Principal on his caseload looking at the altered career opportunities.  The work will involve paper, electronic and telephonic research, often having to track down sources which may not easily be available in the public domain.  It will also be necessary to work to tight deadlines set by the environment in which we operate.

2.                  Ensure all material uncovered or purchased is integrated into the KCA library and made easily available to other members of staff.  Highlight any new material which the library may benefit from.

Reports to:

The Head of Information and Office Manager.

Duties

Duties for this post may vary as we need to research a vast range of occupational and geographical areas, concentrating on salary information, employment trends, opportunities for retraining and sheltered or supported workshop facilities.   We need to constantly keep up to date with broader labour market information such as large closures, redundancies, etc., as well as policy changes, for example the Disability Discrimination Act.

It is also often necessary for us to research opportunities and earnings over a considerable period of time.   In cases related to non-diagnosis of dyslexia or miscarriage of justice, it is necessary to assess career opportunities and earnings over 15 to 20 years.

Some of the duties the post holder will be expected to perform are listed below however, the key requirements are:

Ø      Resourcefulness and flexibility.

Ø      To undertake electronic, paper and telephonic research to obtain information with regard to job opportunities, training or salaries, etc.

Ø      To either provide the material obtained as part of the research to the Principal prior to the preparation of the report or to write up the material as part of the employment report.

Ø      To, on occasions, undertake research commissioned by clients and to write up the findings in report format.

Ø      To assist in editing and proof-reading employment reports to be used in a Court of Law or an Employment Tribunal.

Ø      To support the Principal by way of information while he may be giving evidence at trial or at a case conference.

Ø      To, on occasions, make interview arrangements with contacts isolated by the Information Officer or with clients, employers, etc.

Ø      Keep Line Manager informed of progress on current work tasks and deadlines.

Person Specification

Ø      The post holder will need resourcefulness and determination as it may be necessary to uncover “sensitive” information and persuade the contact to write to us confirming a particular wage structure, employment practice, etc.

Ø      They must be able to work to tight deadlines.

Ø      Take a flexible approach to work situations, willing and able to adjust to changing demands.

Ø      Be highly IT and computer literate (particularly in Microsoft Office) and able to type to a reasonable level, accuracy being more important than speed.

Ø      Have the ability to check their own work and that of others to ensure it is presented in a clear and precise manner and that all references are accurate.

Ø      Enjoy working in a small team and on a variety of short research projects tracking specific information.

Ø      Able to prioritise workload to plan ahead and take account of new work.

This is not a post for those who want a predictable daily routine as it is necessary to work on a range of projects, often simultaneously.

Terms and Conditions of Employment

Office hours are 9.30 am to 5.30 pm.   It will sometimes be necessary to work longer hours in order to meet client deadlines.

Holiday entitlement:  4 weeks rising to 5 weeks after 5 full completed years’ service.

The successful applicant will initially be on a six-month probationary period, during which time employment can be terminated with one week’s notice on either side.

Salary:  £16,000 – £21,000