Employability Manager jobs

Fairfield School of Business (FSB), is where ambition meets opportunity. Established in 2006 and registered with the Office for Students, FSB is a fast growing and high performing higher education provider. We deliver career-focused qualifications across a range of subjects in partnership with leading UK universities.

We are now seeking to appoint an experienced Careers & Employability Manager to lead and develop careers and employability services across our campuses, strengthen employer partnerships, embed employability within the student experience, and improve student opportunities and graduate outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the role include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Lead and develop the careers and employability team across all four campuses, overseeing performance, workload allocation, training and professional development.
• Develop annual service plans, coordinate careers activities and events, and manage allocated budgets and resources effectively.
• Develop and implement an employability strategy aligned with FSB’s institutional priorities and awarding-partner requirements.
• Deliver initiatives that develop students’ job-search, application, interview and workplace skills, while expanding access to internships, placements, mentoring and work-based learning.
• Set and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) relating to student engagement, employer participation, careers activities and graduate outcomes.
• Coordinate Graduate Outcomes Survey activity with awarding partners, ensuring accurate graduate contact data, timely communications and effective monitoring of responses.
• Build partnerships with employers, professional bodies and alumni to create opportunities for placements, internships, mentoring, live projects and graduate employment.
• Work with employers and academic teams to identify industry skills needs and strengthen students’ career readiness.
• Oversee careers guidance, workshops, employability programmes and employer-led sessions, ensuring support is accessible and inclusive.
• Promote and manage digital careers platforms, job portals and employability resources, monitoring their effectiveness and student engagement.
• Collaborate with academic teams, campus staff, student support services and awarding partners to improve student experience and outcomes.
• Contribute to quality assurance, access and participation, and Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) activities, ensuring compliance with FSB policies and data protection requirements.

Person Specification

The qualifications, experience, skills and competencies required for this role include, but are not limited to, the following

• Degree or equivalent qualification; a relevant professional qualification in careers guidance or employability is desirable.
• Significant experience in careers guidance, employability or employer engagement, preferably within higher education.
• Proven experience of leading and developing teams and delivering employability initiatives.
• Experience of building employer and alumni partnerships, collaborating with academic teams, and creating work-related opportunities for students.
• Experience of analysing performance data, evaluating services and improving outcomes. Graduate Outcomes Survey experience and multi-site service management are desirable.
• Strong leadership, organisational and planning skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple campuses.
• Excellent communication, relationship-building and influencing skills.
• Strong analytical skills, including setting targets, evaluating impact and implementing improvements.
• A collaborative, inclusive and student-centred approach, with a commitment to continuous improvement and enhancing student employability and graduate outcomes

Work Location: In person