Work Experience Manager

Role: Work Experience Manager

Location: Based at Central Bedfordshire College – Dunstable Kingsway Campus, with travel to our Bedford Cauldwell Street Campus

Salary/Benefits: Salary is between £39,697 and £46,349 per annum DOE and Qualifications, 27 days annual leave plus Bank holidays, People’s pension, Retail and Leisure Discounts, excellent professional and personal development opportunities, accessing college courses.

Hours/Weeks: 37 hours per week – 52 weeks per year

Contract Type: Permanent – Full Time

About the role:

We are currently seeking a Work Experience Manager to join our Student Services department at The Bedford College Group.

As a Work Experience Manager, you play an important role in the success of our students through:

• Strategic Leadership – Oversee the development, implementation, and management of centralised work experience systems across The Bedford College Group, ensuring alignment with curriculum and compliance standards.
• Employer Engagement – Build and maintain strong relationships with local, regional, and national employers to secure meaningful placements and support Employer Advisory Boards.
• Team Management – Lead and line manage Work Experience Team Leaders, providing mentoring, conducting appraisals, and driving performance through KPIs and regular audits.
• Operational Oversight – Ensure accurate recording of placement data on Grofar, manage DBS processes, and support curriculum teams with planning, timetabling, and student readiness.
• Reporting & Quality Assurance – Monitor placement outcomes, produce reports for senior leadership, and contribute to continuous improvement through audits, strategy meetings, and policy development.

About you:

• Leadership & Strategy – Proven ability to lead and motivate teams, manage performance, and implement initiatives that enhance student personal and professional development.
• Educational Expertise – Experience working with learners from socio-economic disadvantage, delivering training, and planning targeted interventions to support student success.
• Partnership & Policy Development – Skilled in building employer and community partnerships, writing and updating policies, and leading new initiatives across educational settings.
• Data-Driven Practice – Confident in using data and systems like Grofar to track progress, diagnose areas for improvement, and evaluate the effectiveness of support strategies.
• Professional Attributes – Compassionate, self-motivated, and adaptable, with strong interpersonal skills, a commitment to safeguarding, and the flexibility to work across multiple sites.

For a more detailed breakdown of the job role and the requirements, please see the Job Description attached to this vacancy.

Interviews to be held: w/c 25 August 2025

Successful candidates must also be able to demonstrate alignment to our organisationalVISION values:

• Valuing Teamwork – We are one team who by working together can achieve great things, respecting the opinion and valuing the contribution each of us makes.
• Improving Continuously – We challenge ourselves to always do better by trying new things, sharing knowledge, reflecting on practice and learning from others.
• Student Centred – At our heart is always doing what is best for our students. We consider students in all of our decision making to create positive outcomes and memorable experiences for every student.
• Inclusive – We celebrate differences and diversity, recognising that we can learn from each other.
• Open and Caring – We care about the wellbeing of our staff, our students, our community and wider society, creating an environment built on trust where we listen, engage with and support each other.
• Nurturing Education Excellence – We promote educational excellence by delivering programmes that challenge our students to achieve their ambitions.

About The Bedford College Group
The Bedford College Group was formed in 2017 following the merger of Bedford College and Tresham College and is now the largest provider of education in the South East Midlands, with over 15,000 students passing through our doors each year.

Today, the Group is made up of a family of colleges across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire: Bedford College, Central Bedfordshire College and Tresham College in the towns of Bedford, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough; Shuttleworth College, a specialist land-based college; The Bedford Sixth Form, (the only dedicated sixth form in Bedford); The Corby Sixth Form, (opened in September 2023); and the National College for Motorsport alongside Silverstone race circuit. To widen accessibility to education and training, the Group also has community-based Learning Centres in Bedford, Corby and Kettering which offer IT training.

Safeguarding our Students
The Bedford 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. The successful candidate will be subject to thorough vetting process which includes, an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide. The Bedford College Group’s policy on Employment of Ex-Offenders is attached to this vacancy.

Candidates who are barred from working with children are reminded it is a criminal offence to apply for this post.

Documents

TBCG Ex-Offenders Policy.pdf

Work Experience Manager.docx