Employment Specialist Ref: 0187Zs

Withyou; Torquay; On-site; GBP 29,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days annual leave

Birthday day off

Enhanced parental leave

Volunteer leave

Pension scheme

Blue Light Card

Flexible working opportunities

Refer a Friend £500 bonus

Job summary

WithYou in Torquay is seeking an IPS Employment Specialist to support people into work within a community substance misuse service. You will work with employers to secure meaningful opportunities and deliver supported employment as part of the IPS model.

Based at Shrublands House, you will join a multidisciplinary team and manage a small caseload, promoting inclusive, person-centred employment support for adults 18+. A Full UK Driving Licence is required.

Qualifications

• Experience of recruitment processes and employability skills development.
• Ability to develop relationships with multiple stakeholders including employers and partner agencies.
• Knowledge of best practice in addictions and employability services.
• Ability to lead, motivate others, and manage time effectively; IT skills with Google Workspace.
• Degree level education and understanding of employment impact for those facing challenges.

Responsibilities

• Deliver IPS model as a specialism within a community substance misuse service.
• Work with employers to secure employment opportunities for service users.
• Support a small caseload of clients into meaningful employment and monitor progress.
• Collaborate with recovery teams and partner agencies to ensure integrated support.

Skills

Recruitment processes

Stakeholder relationships

Addictions knowledge

Leadership

Google Workspace

Degree holder

Driving licence

Education

Degree level

Tools

Google Workspace

Job description

About the Role

Join our team as an IPS Employment Specialist in Torquay.

Do you believe you have the skills to help people return to employment, do you take pride in what you do, and can you think creatively about how different organisations can work together to deliver a better service? Are you happy to talk with employers and help match people into meaningful work? Are you a compassionate and motivated individual who wants to change people’s lives? Our team in Torquay is looking for an individual who is passionate about supporting people into work, to join them in providing high-quality recovery support to a diverse client group. If you are enthusiastic, creative and have a genuine desire to help others, we’d love to hear from you.

As a leading charity supporting people with drug, alcohol, and mental health challenges, we operate over 80 services across England and Scotland, providing free and confidential support to more than 100,000 people each year.

Please use the Job Description to support your application.

Closing date: Sunday 12th November 2026. Please note this role may close earlier than the stated deadline if we receive a high volume of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. All applicants must submit a CV along with a cover letter explaining why they should be considered for this role.

Job Opportunity

As an IPS Employment Specialist, we offer a starting salary of £29,325 rising each year in line with our pay progression salary bands to £33,960 per year (This includes a Cornwall allowance of £1,000). For further details please reach out to a member of the recruitment team.

As an IPS Employment Specialist, you will support the IPS model as a specialism within a community substance misuse service and deliver support to people who are in treatment or recovery into employment. You will work directly with employers to secure

We have an exciting opportunity for an IPS Employment Specialist to join our team.

Our Individual Placement and Support (IPS) team aims to increase the number of people moving into employment from our drug and alcohol support service. This is an exciting opportunity to help make a real difference to people's lives.

The role will deliver supported employment to people in community treatment for substance use. You will be based at Shrublands House, Torquay working alongside the Torbay Drug and Alcohol Service, an established integrated community service supporting people aged 18 and over with substance misuse issues in Torbay. The team is a friendly, supportive, multidisciplinary team made up of recovery workers, nurses, social workers, doctors, peer supporters, and volunteers. You will work closely with the recovery team to support a small caseload of service users into employment opportunities.

Essential Skills

We’re excited to receive applications from those with:

• Experience of recruitment processes and employability skills development. Experience of supporting individuals with complex needs to gain and or maintain employment.
• Have the ability to develop relationships with multiple stakeholders, including employers, partner agencies, clients and their family/carer. Have experience of multi-agency partnership working.
• Have sound knowledge of best practice in the provision of addictions and/or employability and employment services. Knowledge and understanding of issues faced by people in treatment/ recovery in the job market, and in employability and employment services.
• Be able to lead and motivate others, nurture and encourage clients. Have strong IT skills - ideally in Google Workspace. Be organised and have excellent time management skills.
• We are looking for someone with relevant work experience or who is educated to degree level.
• You will understand the importance of good employment and the role it can play in the lives of those with multiple challenges and substance misuse issues.
• You will be confident working with a range of employers and have excellent multi-agency and partnership-working skills.
• Good communication skills are key, as is a non-judgmental, empathetic approach. You will have experience working with people from a variety of backgrounds, including those facing additional challenges in gaining employment.
• Have the flexibility to work from different locations in order to deliver the services required, and the ability to work flexible and unsocial hours as required.
• Have a Full UK Driving Licence and access to a car.

DE&I

As an organisation, we continue to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices and experiences of our staff. We know that representing the communities we serve is key to us meeting our vision of a future where everyone lives a life free from the harm associated with drugs and alcohol. We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring and we encourage people from underrepresented communities and backgrounds to apply to join our team, including people with lived experience, people with disabilities, people from racialised communities, LGBTQ+ people, people of all ages and armed forces veterans.

As part of our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant we provide a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates that are veterans and meet all the essential criteria for a role. With You is also a Disability Confident Employer and we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with a disability and meet all the essential criteria for a role.

If you have a disability, a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or a medical condition which you believe may affect your performance during any aspect of our selection process, we’ll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to perform at your best.

Please note that you will be required to provide 3 years worth of references and where applicable, undergo an enhanced DBS check, to be considered for a role at WithYou.

Please review our recruitment FAQs before submitting your application.

Internal Applicants - please note that fixed term roles will be offered as secondments.

Benefits

• 28 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
• An extra day off for your birthday or a special occasion of your choice
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• 2 days paid volunteer leave per year
• Auto-enrollment into We Are With You’s pension scheme
• Access to a Blue Light Card - giving you great savings on big high-street and online brands
• Flexible working opportunities and access to a range of services and resources to support you with your wellbeing
• We have an excellent Refer a Friend scheme which offers you a £500 bonus for any recommendations, any role! Our scheme allows you to recommend your friends and family to work with us and earn a £500 bonus payment for every successful referral you make. Please note, the Refer a Friend scheme is only applicable once your recommended friend has been employed for 6 months