Employment Specialist – Individual Placement and Support (IPS)

IPS Grow; Worcester; Hybrid; GBP 27,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days leave + bank holidays (in NHS)

NHS pension

Flexible working

Maternity/paternity support

Staff networks

Health and wellbeing opportunities

Job summary

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust is seeking an Employment Specialist to support people with mental health challenges in Worcester. You will manage your own caseload, work with clinical teams, employers, and partners, and provide hands-on support from engagement through job retention.

You will help clients access paid employment, develop action plans, and build lasting relationships with employers. Travel across the Worcester area may be required.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 1 year’s experience working with people who have experienced mental health problems.
• Understanding of employment needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems.
• Experience of helping people obtain or keep education/work.
• Experience of supporting clients 1-1.
• Knowledge of welfare benefits and disability/employment related benefits.
• Personal experience of mental health recovery.
• Experience carrying out person-centred recovery plans.
• Understanding of Equality Act (2010) in relation to employment.

Responsibilities

• Proactively manage a caseload of people who have experienced mental health problems to become established in the workplace.
• Assess and record client’s vocational needs and liaise with clinicians; produce person-centred action plans.
• Assist with CV creation, interview techniques, confidence building, and related actions.
• Help clients gain employment via job search skills and maintain contact with local employers.
• Liaise with DWP and providers where appropriate.
• Support clients who have secured employment to retain and sustain their status.
• Provide guidance on benefits, work adjustments, and support plans to employers.
• Attend weekly team meetings with the clinical team and employment services.

Skills

Caseload management

Employer liaison

Interpersonal skills

Empathy and resilience

Education

Degree level education

Tools

DWP liaising

Job description

Employment Specialist – Individual Placement and Support (IPS)

Worcester | Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

Permanent contract

Could you help someone experiencing mental health challenges achieve their employment goals and build a future through work? Join Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust as an IPS Employment Specialist in Worcester.

Deadline: 28th October 2026

• West Midlands
• Full-time

Job overview

At Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, we are working together to deliver outstanding care. We run community hospitals and community health services across Worcestershire and provide mental health and learning disability services across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Our people (all 4500+ of them) provide services for people of all ages, experiencing both physical and/or mental health conditions from over 100 sites.

We will support you to thrive; offer flexible working options for a great work-life balance, help you fulfil your ambitions, and empower you to make positive changes within your team or service. We value diversity and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities.

What we offer;

• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when you work unsocial hours
• Flexible and agile working opportunities
• Great maternity, paternity, and adoption support
• Wide range of supportive staff networks
• Health and wellbeing opportunities

If you would like to know more, please visit our website Staff benefits | Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

Sharing your data -As a data controller we may sometimes need to process your data to pursue our legitimate business interests, for example to request a survey from you (optional), to support the Trusts understanding of where you gained interest in working for the Trust.

Role

Employment Specialist – IPS (Individual Placement and Support) Help change minds. Help change lives. Work is a vital part of recovery for people needing mental health support. With increased funding, we are recruiting new Employment Specialists to support clients accessing the Worcester City Neighbourhood Mental Health Service.

You’ll play a key role in helping people with mental health needs gain and sustain paid employment. The role involves managing your own caseload, working closely with clinical teams, employers and partners, and providing hands on support from initial engagement through to job retention. Empathy, resilience and compassion are essential as you help remove barriers, challenge assumptions and empower people to reach their potential. Experience in employment support or mental health is ideal, and knowledge of employment rights and job retention is an advantage.

The role is 37.5 hours per week, mainly office hours, with occasional planned work outside these times. This is a community based post covering the Worcester area and some cross county travel. The ability to meet travel demands, including to locations without public transport, is essential. Mileage expenses are provided

Applicants must read the attached guidance notes before submitting your application for full understanding of Trust requirements.

Responsibilities

Proactively manage a caseload of people who have experienced mental health problems to become established in the workplace.

Assess and record client’s identified vocational needs and liaise with clinicians in the team if necessary. Agree and produce person centred action plans and support clients to achieve their goals.

Assist with activities such as producing a cv, interview techniques confidence building and any other identified actions.

Assist clients in gaining employment through job search skills as well as maintaining regular contact with local employers to build lasting and meaningful relationships, identify as well as creating suitable positions such as “hidden vacancies” for clients.

Liaise closely with DWP and providers where appropriate.

Supporting clients who have secured employment or have experienced difficulties in the workplace retain and sustain their employment status. Through the awareness and development of tools such as benefits advise, work adjustments and support plans, strategies, and tools to share personal information.

Enhance job sustainment through education, advice and guidance to employers on support needs and negotiating reasonable adjustments and considerations.

Attend weekly team meetings both as part of the clinical team and the employment services provision.

The person

• Minimum of 1 year’s experience of working with people who have experienced mental health problems with health, social services, voluntary sector or mainstream educational or employment services.
• An understanding of the employment needs and difficulties of people who experience mental health problems.
• Of helping people to obtain or keep education/work.
• Experience of supporting clients on a 1-1 basis.
• Experience and knowledge of welfare benefits and all disability/employment related benefits.
• Personal experience of mental health recovery.
• Experience of carrying out person centre recovery plans.
• Working knowledge of a broad range of occupations and jobs.
• An understanding of the employment needs and difficulties of people who experience mental ill-health.
• Knowledge of range of resources for helping people to maintain employment when facing ill health difficulties.
• Understanding of Equality Act (2010) in relation to employment.
• Awareness and understanding of confidentiality.
• Basic counselling skills.
• Ability to initiate and develop relationships with employers whilst being astute to their needs.
• Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently.
• Vocational assessment and profiling.
• Partnership working to reach positive outcomes for clients.
• Report writing skills.
• Solution focused therapy skills.
• An understanding of the principle and practice of supported employment. Equality Act. Disability and special needs issues in relation to employment and education.

Qualifications
Essential

• Education to degree level or equivalent relevant experience.
• GCSE (Grade A-C) or equivalent in English Language.
• Willingness to train in IPS.
• Employment Law and welfare benefits training.
• Mediation training.

Other requirements
Essential

• Ability to see solutions rather than problems.
• A preparedness to work flexible hours through prior arrangement as the needs of the job dictate (e.g. some evenings).
• Skills in vocational assessment and in assessing ill health obstacles to returning to work and working with employees to overcome these.
• This post involves a significant amount of travel, sometimes conveying clients from place to place across a wide area. Therefore, a driving licence and own car is essential to this post. NB If a health condition or disability prevents a candidate from driving, reasonable adjustments and alternative travel arrangements will be considered where appropriate to assess whether the travel requirements of the role can be fulfilled.