STEM Academic Mentor

About the job

Description: Are you a professional willing to share your expertise and insights with a secondary student embarking on their career journey? Are you someone who can help shape the future workforce by mentoring students, guiding them towards developing essential employability skills? If the answer is yes, we would like to hear from you!

Company Description: Off the Curriculum, an educational charity, inspires young people (ages 16-18) in Lambeth and Southwark to excel. Through innovative approaches, including in-person and online learning, we aim to broaden horizons. Our mission is to provide access to leading intellectuals, empowering youth to chart new paths. We champion students to unleash their full potential and explore subjects beyond the National Curriculum. With world-leading training, we support their educational journey. Strengthening community ties, we forge closer links with London’s youth and residents.

Hours of work: 1 hour and 30 minutes per month for 6 months.

Monthly salary: Volunteers remunerated £10 voucher per session with their student**

**Remuneration will be based only on one session per month. Any additional mentoring session within that month will be considered voluntarily unless discussed with their mentee and the Off the Curriculum.

Working base: Remote (in-person if suitable).

Deadline for application: August 2024

Length of role: 6 month contract - ending March 2025.

Role Description:

As a Mentor, your role will involve assisting your mentee in achieving various objectives, such as:

• Enhancing their interpersonal and employability skills.
• Clarifying the connection between academic studies and career aspirations.
• Exploring diverse career pathways and aiding in the formulation of career goals.
• Boosting confidence and self-esteem levels.
• Cultivating professional networks and connections.

Role requirements:

We are looking for someone who can commit 1 hour and 30 minutes per month to mentor individuals or a group of young people on a project of their choosing around your area of expertise.

Welcome applicant expertise from a range of industries are encouraged; however, currently we are focussing on STEM topics including:

• Astronomy - Solar Winds, rocket design
• Psychology - Clinical Psychology and Mental Health
• Neuroscience - Brain computer interfaces
• AI - Neural networks and/or LLM’s
• Engineering - chemical engineering
• Engineering - Motor vehicle engine design
• Mathematics - high dimensional geometry, algebra
• Climate change - model climate change
• Medicine - modern medicine and/or general medicine
• Sports science - extreme sports and cardiovascular system
• Environmental science - chemicals in the environment and what it means for health - chemicals and impact on environment

Essential skills:

• Advance communication skills, both written and oral.
• Compassionate, engaging, approachable and capable of active empathic listening, to
• foster a positive mentor-mentee relationship.
• Passion to motivate and coach, understanding needs and capabilities of the programme participants.

Desirable skills:

• A proven track record in a profession with or an equivalent qualification.
• Familiarity with the G-suite - Google docs, Google Sheets, Google Meet.
• Experience in the education sector and collaborating with young people (ages 15-18).

Benefits of volunteering with OTC:

The successful candidates would have a major influence on the development of a young person engaged in OTC’s Academic Mentoring. It will help influence the students’ future career intentions, bolster the students’ motivation to further pursue academic study, and inspire the student to seek a career in STEM. You will have the opportunity to change a young person, from a low socio-economic status’ life via educational empowerment.

The volunteers who fulfil this role will have the opportunity:

• To engage with younger people and have a positive impact on their educational experience

How to apply:

Please apply through Tim Siu in the first instance. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to send their detailed profiles for the next steps. OTC is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from all suitably-qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief, or sexual orientation. We will require Enhanced DBS Checks for all candidates offered a role.