Business & Employer Engagement Officer

Build lasting partnerships with local businesses to secure quality jobs, apprenticeships and training for our residents.

As our Business & Employer Engagement Officer, you will lead the way in creating inclusive workforce opportunities across Kensington and Chelsea. It is a role with genuine community impact—giving you the chance to work directly with employers, unlock career pathways and ensure local people benefit from local economic growth.

Working Style

You’ll be based in the Borough for three days a week, playing a key role in serving the local community. Whether you’re meeting local business leaders, collaborating with partners or working alongside internal council teams, you’ll be part of a dedicated team making a real difference to residents’ lives.

What you’ll be doing

Your focus will be on building and managing productive relationships with employers across key sectors, including construction, retail, hospitality, health and culture. You will engage directly with local businesses, major developers such as the Earls Court Development Company, property estates like Cadogan Estates and Business Improvement Districts to unlock quality job, apprenticeship and work experience opportunities for local residents.

A typical day will see you collaborating with internal council services, training providers and community organisations to connect residents—particularly priority groups such as young people, residents with SEND, refugees and underrepresented communities—with meaningful employment pathways. You will work closely with businesses to shape flexible recruitment methods, encourage commitments such as Disability Confident and the London Living Wage and feed local employer needs back to training providers to shape customised pre-employment provision.

Operating in a busy and politically aware environment, you will balance the needs of businesses, residents and partners while managing multiple priorities with care and composure. You will also establish and maintain accurate tracking systems to monitor performance, assess outcomes and ensure our service continuously adapts to deliver practical benefits for the community.

For further details, please review the Job Description and Person Specification.

What you’ll bring

You’ll bring proven experience in employer engagement, partnership working and delivering employment or skills-related outcomes. You are a confident communicator who builds credibility easily with business leaders, community partners and education providers alike. With strong influencing, negotiation and relationship-management skills, you know how to bring different groups together around shared goals, even in complex or changing environments.

You have a clear understanding of the barriers residents face when accessing work, combined with a genuine commitment to creating inclusive opportunities. Experience using performance-tracking systems and managing competing priorities under pressure will be key to your success. We welcome backgrounds from local government, employment and skills providers, further education, housing associations, charities, community organisations or workforce development teams within larger institutions such as the NHS or corporates.

Most importantly, you are someone who believes in the potential of our residents and is ready to do the work to help them reach it.

Why join us

At RBKC, we’re all in – investing in our people, our communities and our future.

Joining our growing Economy & Learning service under new management, you will be part of a collaborative, supportive team focused on innovation and partnership working. We actively invest in your professional growth, offering access to development networks and learning opportunities through bodies such as the Institute of Economic Development and the Institute of Employability Professionals. Our team’s commitment to quality is widely recognised, with a team member recently named a finalist in the Institute of Employability Professionals Awards. You will have significant autonomy to shape how we engage employers, develop new approaches and build a rewarding career in local economic development.

About us

Kensington and Chelsea is home to diverse communities, thriving businesses and unique local places. Everything we do is focused on supporting our residents, strengthening our approach and creating a fairer borough.

As a competent and caring Council, we take pride in our work every day, ensuring our services are delivered with care and competence. We listen to our residents, act with integrity and work together to build a borough that is greener, safer and fairer for all.

In this role, you’ll be a vital connector—bringing local businesses, training providers and residents together to create meaningful employment pathways. Building trust with employers and opening up inclusive opportunities in a complex urban borough is not always smooth sailing, but your energy, persistence and strong influencing skills will help overcome every challenge—directly shaping employer engagement and delivering lasting benefits for our communities.

Interview Details

Interviews will be held in person on week commencing 19th October 2026.

This role requires a basic DBS check.

Ready to join us?

We’re all in – are you? If you share our values and have the skills to contribute, we’d love to hear from you.

Please apply online explaining how you meet the requirements set out in the person specification and job description.

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.

We are committed to promoting equality and respecting diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are a Disability Confident Employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.