Armed Forces Champions - Terms of Reference
Purpose
The Armed Forces champions have been put in place to maintain Jobcentre Plus’ commitment to support the Armed Forces and their families and veterans, and raise the profile of the support available to this community through Jobcentre Plus.
Focus
In this role, champions should focus specifically on the Jobcentre Plus support available to:
- service leavers;
- spouses/civil partners of currently serving and ex-service personnel;
- currently serving personnel within their resettlement period; and
- veterans.
The term ‘Armed Forces’ refers to Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and the UK Reserve Forces.
Recruitment into the Armed Forces does not form part of this work, although champions may wish to be aware of the work going on in other parts of Jobcentre Plus to support this agenda.
Role
The main role of the Armed Forces champion is to:
- be the key link between Jobcentre Plus and the Armed Forces community in the District;
- be the first point of contact for District service personnel issues;
- be kept up to date by District colleagues on all activities being undertaken locally to support service personnel and their families (e.g. employer engagement work to identify employers willing to take on service personnel and/or their families);
- monitor joint working arrangements already in place between Jobcentre Plus and the Armed Forces community (e.g. with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) – responsible for routine resettlement - and through the Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs)); and
- have up to date knowledge on the Armed Forces issues in the District and be able to provide information on local activities as required.
Champions are expected to:
- stay in regular contact with their local Armed Forces community, preferably via a single point of contact (e.g. base commander);
- raise the profile of Jobcentre Plus support to the Armed Forces community as necessary, whether themselves or via District colleagues (including information on how to access programmes available);
- act on feedback provided by the Armed Forces contact, engaging with other district colleagues where appropriate (e.g. DEAs, Childcare Partnership Managers etc.);
- ensure District colleagues know who they are, so they can escalate any issues they cannot resolve themselves;
- ensure, through relevant communications channels, that operational colleagues have the information necessary to enable them to support service personnel and their families in the most appropriate way (e.g. promoting service family friendly employers, early access to the Work Programme etc.);
- work with colleagues such as the DEAs or Third Party Provision Managers to address areas where additional activities may be required to support the Armed Forces community;
- collect good news stories, as well as evidence/examples of good and bad issues, and share these as appropriate; and
- provide monthly progress reports to Operational Excellence Directorate.
Champions will not be expected to:
- have direct contact with service leavers or their family members, unless a specific issue requires further information prior to resolution.
Review
- These terms of reference will be reviewed regularly to ensure they continue to reflect the role required by and being carried out by the champions.
