Job Profile Apprenticeship - Skills Coaches & Assessors
Contract Type Permanent

Job Purpose

Apprentices are required to create a portfolio of the work they carry out in their workplace and their reflections on it which evidences how they have met the apprenticeship outcomes. For Paralegal apprentices, the portfolio forms the basis of an external interview assessment, whilst for Solicitor apprentices, it is simply signed off as completed before the apprentice can progress to their end point assessment.

For the BPP University awards associated with each of these apprenticeships, the portfolio has an additional purpose, recording the acquisition and development of skills for the work-based learning module(s), including Client Care, Legal Research and Professional Practice Skills (‘PPS’) which is/are assessed through coursework.

The role of the Skills Development Coach essentially is to guide the apprentice to successful completion of a portfolio for the apprenticeship and the coursework for the BPP award. Training will be provided at the start of the role and on an ongoing basis.

Job Background

Legal apprenticeship programmes have been delivered by BPP University Law School since 2016. An apprenticeship is a job role that is accompanied by a sustained period of training that develops an apprentice to meet the occupational requirements specified on an Apprenticeship Standard. An Apprenticeship Standard is written by a designated employer group, for approval by the Institute for Apprenticeships (IFA). Apprenticeships are funded jointly between the government and an employer, and consist of three distinct phases; (1) On Programme; (2) Gateway and (3) End Point Assessment. BPP works in partnership with employers to deliver a sustained period of training during the On-Programme phase. At Gateway, the employer, training provider and apprentice reconcile this learning to ensure the outcomes on the Apprenticeship Standard have been met. An apprentice will progress to the End Point Assessment phase once it is agreed all occupational requirements have been met. This phase is managed by an independent End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO), who assesses whether an apprentice has met the requirements of the Apprenticeship Standard by reference to the criteria in the Apprenticeship Assessment Plan. Our goal is to deliver an apprenticeship that includes a high quality, externally recognised academic qualification, accompanied by effective work-based coaching and development.

Key Responsibilities:

Key Responsibilities (including but not limited to):

• Supporting apprentices in achieving the apprenticeship outcomes and applying their knowledge, skills and behaviours in the workplace.
• Coaching apprentices through the process of collecting evidence, preparing reflective statements and collating evidence in their portfolio.
• Delivering group coaching sessions, face to face or online, and designing and updating materials to support these sessions.
• Reviewing evidence against the apprenticeship outcomes and coaching the apprentice to consider the extent to which that evidence demonstrates the relevant outcome(s).
• Reviewing apprentice reflections on their evidence and guiding apprentices to improve those reflections.
• Assisting apprentices with identifying gaps in evidence and providing suggestions for opportunities to evidence outstanding apprentice outcomes.
• Helping apprentices identify and select evidence for inclusion in their final portfolio ready for internal or external review and/or assessment.
• Arranging meetings each term with apprentices by Skype/telephone/face to face as may be required.
• Marking and providing feedback for formative and summative assessments linked to workplace evidence and apprentice portfolios.
• Compliance with all relevant regulatory requirements and policies including tracking progress of learners and maintaining accurate learner records.

Department Law School - Programmes & Students
Location UK, Nationwide, Nationwide

Candidate Criteria

Essential

• Qualified Solicitor
• Experience in professional legal practice as a qualified solicitor
• Experience of teaching, training, coaching or mentoring in an academic, pro-bono or a dedicated Learning and Development environment.
• Understanding of current practice in the legal sector through regular engagement with legal employers, industry associations, law societies and other organisations, as appropriate.
• Excellent organisation/communication skills;
• Excellent IT skills, including in relation to online meetings, and a willingness to become proficient in the use of portfolios.
• Excellent planning skills ensuring regular, structured and positive contact points with legal apprentices in accordance with the programme requirements;
• The ability to accurately document meetings and maintain detailed records of all contact and interactions with legal apprentices.
• A positive commitment towards and an understanding of the needs and issues faced by legal apprentice students.
• Initiative and passion for the programme which is compatible with the BPP mission statement;
• The ability to work as part of a team and a willingness to share best practice with others;

Desirable

• A recognised teaching or coaching qualification
• An understanding of reflective learning and portfolio based assessment and enthusiasm for developing expertise in these areas.

Development Opportunities

This role will develop your skills as a facilitator, teacher and coach. Formal and information training and development opportunities will be offered in coaching, facilitation, assessment drafting, competency assessment and providing feedback. You will also be introduced to senior management in the wider BPP organisation. You will have regular appraisals with your line manager at which development opportunities will be discussed.

As a Skills Development Coach you are part of a large community of coaches that support various apprenticeship programmes so there is experience to draw upon from the relationships you will develop across BPP. Formal training opportunities are also available through our University Education Services Team and Learning and Development at BPP.

Requester

Reporting Manager Job Title

Centre Programme Leader - Legal Apprenticeships

Employment Details

Contract Hours 15.00
FTE 0.40
Salary Competitive

Attachments

Full Job Description

Skills Development Coach Legal Apprenticeships (PT), JD + Guide.pdf (765 Kb)