Employment Specialist, IPS Employment Service | Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Thatcham; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A community health services trust in the UK is seeking an Employment Specialist to support individuals with severe mental health issues in finding and sustaining paid employment. You will build partnerships with employers, facilitate client-employer interactions, and provide expert advice. The role requires a degree or equivalent experience, empathy, strong communication skills, and a valid driver's license. The position offers flexible working options, generous leave, and an inclusive work environment.

Benefits

Flexible working options

27 days’ annual leave

Generous NHS pension scheme

Excellent learning and career development opportunities

Cycle to Work scheme

Access to wellbeing tools

Discounts at retailers

Staff networks for diversity

Generous parental leave

Free parking

Qualifications

• Experience of working with and supporting people who have mental health issues.
• Experience of supporting disadvantaged groups into employment.
• Strong and empathic communication and influencing skills.

Responsibilities

• Support individuals with severe mental health issues to find and sustain paid work.
• Build partnerships with employers to challenge stigma and create opportunities.
• Manage a caseload of up to 20 people in the community.

Skills

Empathy

Excellent communication

Organisational skills

Motivational skills

Perseverance

Education

Degree or equivalent experience

Job description

Help us close the gap: over 80% of people with severe mental health issues want paid work, but only 8% achieve it. We’re working hard to change that, and you could be part of it.

Join Berkshire Healthcare’s Individual Placement and Support (IPS) team, now in its 10th year, we are looking for a passionate Employment Specialist to support people with severe mental health issues to find, secure and sustain meaningful employment, while building strong partnerships with employers to challenge stigma and create opportunities.

You will support people with severe mental health issues to find, secure and sustain paid work. Much of your week will be spent in the community, meeting clients and employers, building partnerships, opening doors, and challenging stigma around mental health in the workplace.

We’ll provide full training in the IPS approach, equipping you with the tools to offer expert support and advice while also developing positive, lasting relationships with employers.

This is a full-time role (37.5 hours) within our Newbury CMHT team, covering West Berkshire.

Interview process:

1. Telephone – informal discussion
2. Face to face (please note online interviews are not offered)

At interview, you’ll need to demonstrate:

• Empathy, tenacity and hope when supporting clients facing complex challenges
• Excellent communication, listening and motivational skills
• Strong organisation and perseverance (evident in your application)

We have 1 full time role available (37.5 hours) within our West Berkshire Community Mental Health Team, and you would be expected to travel across West Berkshire.

It’s a highly varied job where you’ll spend most of your week in the community, meeting clients and employers, and making a vital contribution to the team’s activities.

• You’ll support a caseload of up to 20 people with severe mental health issues who are unemployed or struggling in the workplace
• Working directly with all relevant stakeholders – including clients, clinicians, consultant psychiatrists and employers and Job Centre Plus – you’ll aim to enable your clients to gain, sustain and retain paid employment.
• You’ll have the opportunity to transform the lives of your clients, to give them hope, direction and support their recovery journey. It's also challenging, so you’ll need to be able to demonstrate perseverance, whilst being empathic and dedicated to finding clients a role that’s right for them.

Applications will be reviewed as received and may close early if the right candidate is found.

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working options to support work-life balance
• 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
• Free parking across Trust site

The “must haves” for this role:

1. Degree or equivalent experience
2. Experience of working with and supporting people who have mental health issues
3. Experience of supporting disadvantaged groups into employment
4. Strong and empathic communication and influencing skills
5. A high level of organisation and perseverance
6. A car driver with access to a vehicle that can be used for work purposes.

We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.

Please note: We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.