Employability Points

Enhance your employability 

Gallery Leave a comment
In the graduate job market, it is now becoming increasingly essential to find ways to stand out from the crowd! Academic success remains imperative, but employers are increasingly looking for more and in particular, soft skills and relevant work experience.

To ensure you gain both these skills and experiences, the University of Kent created the Employability Points (EP) Scheme.

 

The first part of the scheme requires you to undertake co-curricular activities and some relevant examples may include:

  • Join the Current Affairs and/or Model United Nations Societies.
  • Get involved with Community Action Groups such as Girl Up and Amnetsy International.
  • Become a Student Ambassador and/or Academic Peer Mentor.
  • Get involved with Kent Union volunteering projects.
  • Attend conferences and open lectures, notably the POLIR Open Forum.
  • Attend the POLIR employability events running throughout the year.

By getting involved with these activities, you can log them on MyFolio and in turn receive ‘points’.

You earn as many points as possible whilst at you are studying at Kent and towards the end of Term Two, if you have earned enough points, you can use them to apply for EP ‘rewards’.

Rewards include internships (cost 200 points), work experience (cost 150 points), work shadowing (cost 100 points) and experience days (cost 75 points) to name a few.

Over 140 companies and organisations support the EP Scheme and for this year, we can already confirm the following rewards:

However, you may also be aware that as a Politics and International Relations student you are developing some amazing transferable skills and in the past, students have also undertaken EP rewards in project management, digital marketing, journalism and more!

You can also see how a number of POLIR students have benefited through the EP Scheme, for example:

It may be the case you are already undertaking co-curricular activities and if so, you just need to claim your points to get rewarded! If not, there is literally hundreds of activities available for you to get involved with, and by doing-so, you will not only enhance your University of Kent experience, but you will be recognised and rewarded by the EP Scheme.

For more information, visit www.kent.ac.uk/employabilitypoints or contact the team via employabilitypoints@kent.ac.uk

Final Year, Graduate Jobs, Internships

12-month placement in Human Resources

Gallery Leave a comment

Are you looking for a 12-month placement in Human Resources for 2019/20? Do you want real responsibility with the chance to influence household name coffee brands including Tassimo, Kenco, L’Or and Jacobs?

Global Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company (FMCG) JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS (JDE) are looking for year-in-industry students from all degree backgrounds to join their diverse, global team of over 12,000 coffee champions, on a 12-month placement in Human Resources.

 

Company Jacobs Douwe Egberts
Location Banbury, Oxfordshire
Roles 12-month Year in Industry Placements in Human Resources
Salary £16,000 + £1,000 sign-on bonus
Assessment dates 26th November – 7th December 2018
Start Date July 2019
Apply here www.sanctuarygraduates.co.uk/jde-hr/?ref=PM
Deadline 9th November 2018

 

Who is the company?

– JDE is a €5 billion global business with around 15,000 associates based in 28 different countries, selling their brands in over 100 different countries around the world.

– Formed in 2015, JDE retains a start-up feel containing some of the leading brands in the Coffee and Tea industry including – Kenco, L’OR, Tassimo and Douwe Egberts to name a few.

– JDE UK is headquartered in Banbury, Oxfordshire, which is one of JDE’s global ‘Power Plants’ responsible for producing 20,000 tonnes of coffee per year across 9 production lines.

– The UK represents a top 5 global market for JDE and continues to be a growth engine for the category, driving premiumisation by leading the single-serve partition with the Tassimo brand and premiumising the instant coffee segment through Kenco, L’OR and the Douwe Egberts brands.

– JDE believes amazing things can happen over a cup of coffee and with values including Entrepreneurship, Solidarity, Accountability, Simplicity and Discipline working at JDE offers you an exciting opportunity to make an impact in the world’s largest pure play coffee company.

– JDE’s goal is simple but ambitious: a coffee for every cup.

“Everyone deserves the coffee they love.”

What are the roles?

– There are 2 very different HR placements available this year at JDE.

  1. Talent, Learning and Development:

– Learning and development (L&D) are in charge of developing resources and documents, handling logistics, admin and onboarding of new staff into the business.

– Talent look at the personal and professional development of the people at JDE. You will be helping to ensure that JDE has the best people by making sure they are undertaking continuous learning and development programmes.

– You will work with leadership teams, as well as with the Irish and Amsterdam HR teams. You can also shadow other parts of the business during your placement year.

  1. Human Resources:

– You will work with the Manufacturing HR team, supporting the Senior HR Business Partner and 2 HR Business Partners with more traditional HR delivery.

– This will involve working on updating policies, employee relation cases, trade union communication, supporting change programmes, supporting engagement strategy, as well as day to admin handling such as new starters, on-boarding, updates etc.

Why should you apply?

– Travel: JDE provide awesome opportunities to travel. Last year around half the placement students travelled abroad.

– Fantastic perks: 25 days holiday, free hot beverages (not just coffee!) and even Barista training!

– Student Charity Committee: Every Friday all the placement students get together for a fun charity meeting. Last year their charity work raised over £30,000 in total.

– Culture: At JDE they have a friendly, hands-on environment where everyone is encouraged to contribute and all opinions are valued. There is also a strong mentoring programme and you will be periodically reporting to senior business stakeholders and interacting with other placement students.

– Corporate Social Responsibility: From sourcing ingredients responsibly with internationally recognised standards, to partnering directly with suppliers to improve working conditions and protect natural resources, and aiming to make all manufacturing sites landfill free by 2020, at JDE they are driven by their passion for coffee & tea, care for people and respect for the environment.

Who is best suited to this role?

– Applications from any degree background are welcome.

– We’re looking for students who want to get stuck in and be proactive, who can work well in a team, are well organised and have good attention to detail.

– You must be an undergraduate looking for a 12-month Year-in-Industry placement from July 2019 to July 2020.

Click here to apply now:

www.sanctuarygraduates.co.uk/jde-hr/?ref=PM

It only takes 30 seconds to register your interest in these roles, and we’ll support you throughout the full application process.

Events

Careers in Politics – Alumni Panel – 17th October 2-4pm

Gallery Leave a comment

 As part of EMPFEST 2018, the School of Politics and International Relations is bringing its Alumni back to campus.

Hear from a panel of 5 alumni speakers who will share the secrets of their career success in Politics and International Relations…

Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Time:  2pm – 4pm
Location: COLT3 – Cornwallis South East (Octagon)
SIGNUP

FEATURING:

Annette Fisher
Freelance Social Accountability Practitioner &
Participatory Action Researcher

Jonathan Millins
Head of Office for the East of England European Partnership

Mitchell Adams
Content Manager, Dods Parliamentary Communications

Scott Macdonald
Deputy Head of the Iraq Team at the
Department for International Development

Sulmaan Hanif
Regional Manager, Middle East and Africa,
The Economist Intelligence Unit

Our alumni’s career experiences include the Civil Service; European Government; International Research and Global Public Affairs.

You will gain first-hand information and practical advice on various careers paths. Our alumni are able to share invaluable information through open, honest dialogue with the students who attend.

At this event, we aim to highlight unique career possibilities that exist for School of Politics degree holders, helping you envision possibilities for yourself you may never have considered. The event wraps up with a networking session where attendees can mix and mingle with all of the panellists.

Internships

Student Research Internship Opportunity

Gallery Leave a comment

Research Project “Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) and International Norms”

The School of Politics and IR is pleased to announce a vacancy for a student internship within the research project “Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) and International Norms” funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, lead by Dr Ingvild Bode. The intern will work as part of a project team with Dr Bode, Dr Hendrik Huelss and Tom Watts. The aim of this project is to provide knowledge on the negative implications of LAWS for norms governing the use of force by comprehensively and critically monitoring their development. For this purpose, the project builds a database (website based) on the development and testing of LAWS across the world.

School research internships are a new initiative to support the development of student skills and employability, as well as helping to build capacity within and raise the profile of research done at the School. The internships are funded by the School and are available exclusively to SPIR students.

The successful student intern will be responsible for:

  • Assisting in building and maintaining the LAWS database: this includes researching current LAWS developed by a range of countries (e.g. US, UK, Russia, France, South Korea, China) and ascertaining their development status (e.g. year of commissioning, number of tests conducted, what was subject to testing, doctrinal developments);
  • Assisting in managing content for the project website, in particular the LAWS blog. Here, project team members as well as guest commentators have the option to publish short opinion pieces or blog commentaries on current developments with regard to LAWS;
  • Assisting in monitoring (global) news coverage related to LAWS and building infographics demonstrating the changing salience of the issue over time;
  • Helping maintain and update the project’s social media presence.

The successful student intern should:

  • Be either a postgraduate student from the School of Politics and IR or an undergraduate student at Stage 3 (including Bi-Diplôme and Joint Honours students);
  • Have a strong academic and attendance record. Priority will be given to students with a grade average of a 2:1 (60%) or above, and an attendance average of 70% or above;
  • Have an interest in the role of emerging technologies in warfare;
  • Be able to work independently on given tasks, and to show initiative and creativity. Data entry experience would also be preferable, alongside a key eye for detail and willingness to ask for help when needed;
  • Ideally (desirable but not essential) have a reading knowledge of either Chinese or Russian.

Applications

This is a paid internship (six hours per week at £7.68/hour) and will last until April 2019. Students should be available to commit six hours per week on average including during some vacations.

Interested students should apply by emailing a CV and cover letter to Ngaio Lanfray (N.V.Lanfray@kent.ac.uk) by 12pm on Wednesday 10th October.

Interviews are to be held on Thursday 18th October from 3.15pm, all applications will be acknowledged.

The University’s Careers and Employability Service can provide CV and cover letter advice (www.kent.ac.uk/ces).

Alumni, Employability Points, Events, Featured, Final Year, First Year, Graduate Jobs

EMPFEST 2018 Alumni Careers Panel Event

Gallery Leave a comment

 As part of EMPFEST 2018, the School of Politics and International Relations is bringing Alumni back to campus.

Hear from a panel of 5 alumni speakers who will share the secrets of their career success in Politics and International Relations…

Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Time:  2pm – 4pm
Location: COLT3 – Cornwallis South East (Octagon)
SIGNUP

FEATURING:

Annette Fisher
Freelance Social Accountability Practitioner &
Participatory Action Researcher

Jonathan Millins
Head of Office for the East of England European Partnership

Mitchell Adams
Content Manager, Dods Parliamentary Communications

Scott Macdonald
Deputy Head of the Iraq Team at the
Department for International Development

Sulmaan Hanif
Regional Manager, Middle East and Africa,
The Economist Intelligence Unit

Our alumni’s career experiences include the Civil Service; European Government; International Research and Global Public Affairs.

You will gain first-hand information and practical advice on various careers paths. Our alumni are able to share invaluable information through open, honest dialogue with the students who attend.

At this event, we aim to highlight unique career possibilities that exist for School of Politics degree holders, helping you envision possibilities for yourself you may never have considered. The event wraps up with a networking session where attendees can mix and mingle with all of the panellists.

Internships

Research Centre Internship: Conflict Analysis Research Centre (CARC)

Gallery Leave a comment

School of Politics and IR Research Centre Internship: Conflict Analysis Research Centre (CARC)

The School of Politics and IR is pleased to announce a vacancy for a student internship within its Conflict Analysis Research Centre. The Conflict Analysis Research Centre (CARC) is a multi-disciplinary research centre and centre of excellence in the study of political conflict, developing original theory and analysis and supporting creative approaches to the management and transformation of violent conflict.

School Research Centre internships are a new initiative to support the development of student skills and employability, as well as helping to build capacity within and raise the profile of the School’s Research Centres. The internships are funded by the School and are available exclusively to SPIR students.

The successful student intern will:

  • Support the administrative and other work of the Research Centre, under the guidance of the Centre’s Director and other staff
  • Develop or work on a Research Centre blog, writing and commissioning content of interest to students, staff and other stakeholders and raising the profile of the Centre
  • Use social media (including Twitter and Facebook) to promote the work of the Centre and to raise its profile, and work within the School to engage students in the Centre’s work
  • Support the running of Centre events, and propose events and activities to further promote the Centre’s work particularly on campus and amongst students
  • Support individual researchers within the Centre on research projects and activities where such work is available
  • Undertake any other duties to support the work of the School of Politics and IR, including employability and recruitment / marketing tasks

The successful student intern should:

  • Be an undergraduate or postgraduate student from the School of Politics and IR, at Stage 2 or above (including Bi-Diplôme and Joint Honours students)
  • Have a strong academic and attendance record. Priority will be given to students with a grade average of a 2:1 (60%) or above, and an attendance average of 70% or above
  • Be able to demonstrate an interest in the area of the research centre, either through module choice / academic record or extra-curricular activities
  • Be able to work independently on given tasks, and to show initiative and creativity
  • Have experience of using social media and writing blog articles or other online content

Applications

This is a paid internship (six hours per week at £7.68/hour) and will last until February 2018 initially, with the possibility of an extension until the end of the academic year. Students should be available to commit six hours per week on average including during some vacation periods.

Interested students should apply by emailing a CV and cover letter to Ngaio Lanfray (n.v.lanfray@kent.ac.uk) by 12pm on Monday 1st October 2018. Interviews are to be held on Friday 5th October and all applications will be acknowledged.

The University’s Careers and Employability Service can provide CV and cover letter advice (www.kent.ac.uk/ces).

Graduate Jobs, Internships

12-month placement in Human Resources

Gallery Leave a comment

Are you looking for a 12-month placement in Human Resources for 2019/20? Do you want real responsibility with the chance to influence household name coffee brands including Tassimo, Kenco, L’Or and Jacobs?

Global Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company (FMCG) JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS (JDE) are looking for year-in-industry students from all degree backgrounds to join their diverse, global team of over 12,000 coffee champions, on a 12-month placement in Human Resources.

Who is the company?
– JDE is a €5 billion global business with around 15,000 associates based in 28 different countries, selling their brands in over 100 different countries around the world.
– Formed in 2015, JDE retains a start-up feel containing some of the leading brands in the Coffee and Tea industry including – Kenco, L’OR, Tassimo and Douwe Egberts to name a few.
– JDE UK is headquartered in Banbury, Oxfordshire, which is one of JDE’s global ‘Power Plants’ responsible for producing 20,000 tonnes of coffee per year across 9 production lines.
– The UK represents a top 5 global market for JDE and continues to be a growth engine for the category, driving premiumisation by leading the single-serve partition with the Tassimo brand and premiumising the instant coffee segment through Kenco, L’OR and the Douwe Egberts brands.
– JDE believes amazing things can happen over a cup of coffee and with values including Entrepreneurship, Solidarity, Accountability, Simplicity and Discipline working at JDE offers you an exciting opportunity to make an impact in the world’s largest pure play coffee company.
– JDE’s goal is simple but ambitious: a coffee for every cup.

“Everyone deserves the coffee they love.”

What are the roles?
– There are 2 very different HR placements available this year at JDE.

1. Talent, Learning and Development:
– Learning and development (L&D) are in charge of developing resources and documents, handling logistics, admin and onboarding of new staff into the business.
– Talent look at the personal and professional development of the people at JDE. You will be helping to ensure that JDE has the best people by making sure they are undertaking continuous learning and development programmes.
– You will work with leadership teams, as well as with the Irish and Amsterdam HR teams. You can also shadow other parts of the business during your placement year.

2. Human Resources:
– You will work with the Manufacturing HR team, supporting the Senior HR Business Partner and 2 HR Business Partners with more traditional HR delivery.
– This will involve working on updating policies, employee relation cases, trade union communication, supporting change programmes, supporting engagement strategy, as well as day to admin handling such as new starters, on-boarding, updates etc.

Why should you apply?
– Travel: JDE provide awesome opportunities to travel. Last year around half the placement students travelled abroad.
– Fantastic perks: 25 days holiday, free hot beverages (not just coffee!) and even Barista training!
– Student Charity Committee: Every Friday all the placement students get together for a fun charity meeting. Last year their charity work raised over £30,000 in total.
– Culture: At JDE they have a friendly, hands-on environment where everyone is encouraged to contribute and all opinions are valued. There is also a strong mentoring programme and you will be periodically reporting to senior business stakeholders and interacting with other placement students.
– Corporate Social Responsibility: From sourcing ingredients responsibly with internationally recognised standards, to partnering directly with suppliers to improve working conditions and protect natural resources, and aiming to make all manufacturing sites landfill free by 2020, at JDE they are driven by their passion for coffee & tea, care for people and respect for the environment.

Who is best suited to this role?
– Applications from any degree background are welcome.
– We’re looking for students who want to get stuck in and be proactive, who can work well in a team, are well organised and have good attention to detail.
– You must be an undergraduate looking for a 12-month Year-in-Industry placement from July 2019 to July 2020.

Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire
Roles: 12-month Year in Industry Placements in Human Resources
Salary: £16,000 + £1,000 sign-on bonus
Assessment dates: 26th November – 7th December 2018
Start Date July 2019
Apply here: www.sanctuarygraduates.co.uk/jde-hr/?ref=PM
Deadline: 9th November 2018
It only takes 30 seconds to register your interest in these roles, and we’ll support you throughout the full application process.

Events

Career Anxiety?

Gallery Leave a comment

Thinking about your future career can be daunting. To support you in the next steps of your career development, the University of Kent is offering a series of relaxed ‘employment and mental health’ focused sessions. These sessions are particularly aimed at students experiencing anxiety and stress.

Step 1
5th October 13:00 – 14:00
Preparing for the Careers Fair Access Hour – what you can expect from the access hour, preparing for the fair and strategies to help deal with anxiety on the day.

Step 2
31st October 13:00 – 14:00
Managing anxiety in the workplace, handling job rejection and building resilience.

Step 3
7th November 13:00 – 14:00
Disclosing a mental health condition – what should I disclose, who to and when? Your rights and responsibilities.

Step 4
14th November 13:00 – 14:00
Developing career confidence and identifying supportive organisations.

To sign up to any of the sessions, please visit Target Connect at: careers.kent.ac.uk/home.html

For more information contact: Liz Foden, Employability Adviser, e.r.foden@kent.ac.uk

Alumni, Events, Volunteering

Alumni needed for Discussion on the Value of Volunteering

Gallery Leave a comment

The School of Politics and International Relations is looking for alumni to join our Careers and Employability Panel event discussing the Value of Volunteering. The panellists will look at how the skills, experience and contacts gained though volunteering have contributed to their professional life.

DATE: Thursday 11th October
TIME: 4.15pm – 6pm
LOCATION: Canterbury Campus

Looking at the Value of Volunteering in various career paths, how to make the most of voluntary work and how to effectively demonstrate your volunteering experience in the recruitment process. There will also be a Q&A session and a networking drinks reception after the talk.

Please let me know as soon as possible if you are interested in participating. Many thanks!