Individual Placement and Support - Employment Specialist

NHS; Northampton; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization is looking for an Employment Specialist to support individuals facing mental health challenges in securing and retaining employment. This role emphasizes personalized support tailored to each individual’s goals and needs. Candidates should be educated to GCSE level and have experience in supported employment practices. Excellent communication and internet skills are essential. This position is based in Northamptonshire and requires flexibility to travel across the county.

Responsibilities

• Identify and meet service users vocational goals.
• Work collaboratively with service users to complete a Vocational Profile.
• Support service users in job applications and CV building.
• Engage with local employers to seek job opportunities.
• Provide ongoing support once service users are in work.

Skills

Excellent written communication skills

Excellent internet use skills

Ability to build relationships

Motivational Interviewing Skills

Education

Educated to GCSE level

Certificate in Supported Employment or Equivalent

Qualification in delivering Employment Activities

Job description

Go back Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

Individual Placement and Support - Employment Specialist

The closing date is 06 October 2025

The service has 8 principles that are followed based on the Individual Placement Support model (Centre for Mental Health, 2021):

1. It aims to get people into competitive employment

2. It is open to all those who want to work

3. It tries to find jobs consistent with people's preferences

4. It works quickly

5. It brings employment specialists into clinical teams

6. Employment specialists develop relationships with employers based upon a person's work preferences

7. It provides time unlimited, individualised support for the person and their employer

8. Benefits counselling is included

This role is designed to support individuals to recognise and better equip them to meet the challenges of achieving and maintaining paid employment as a fundamental and integral part of their desired recovery journey.

Main duties of the job

The service is individually tailored to the person's needs and requirements. The overall aim of the service is to get the person into paid employment that is of interest to them and that will aid their mental health recovery. Following evidenced-based Individual Placement and Support (IPS) principles, key duties will include:

Raising the profile of employment as an essential part of the recovery journey within the mental health teams

Raising expectations around the ability of service users under those teams to find employment.

Preparing people who have experienced mental health conditions to find paid work and supporting them to the practicalities of job searching and applications

Engaging with and building effective working relationships with a range of employers to secure job opportunities for people who have experienced mental health conditions.

Providing on-going in work support according to needs of both employer and employee in order to enable people to retain employment.

Helping those currently employed who may require support to retain employment due to their mental health condition.

About us

NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools.We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

NHFT promotes a culture of learning to improve the care and safety of our patients and staff, which focuses on people who enable our Trust to be 'outstanding' by supporting opportunity, innovation, development and growth.

Job responsibilities

Employment Specialists identify and meet service users vocational goals by providing individually tailored programs using a person centred approach. The IPS staff sit within Community Mental Health clinical teams so that they are embedded and part of that MDT and wider discussion.

Completing initial assessments of service users vocational needs

Work collaboratively with service users to complete a Vocational Profile

Confidential and individualised support to meet service users employment goals.

Help to search for jobs quickly

Help to build or rebuild CVs, make applications and prepare for interviews

Support with the disclosure of mental health conditions, should service users choose to disclose

Contact with local employers to seek fresh opportunities and support for the employer to help service users to return to work

Continued support once service users are in work for them and their employer

Work Retention support

Actively and regularly engage with employers and employment services

Attend and actively contribute to CMHT team allocation meetings

Complete required records for caseload and service activity and achievement of outcomes

Work flexibly across the county to support service need

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE level
• Certificate in Supported Employment or Equivalent
• Qualification in delivering Employment or Vocational Activities

Knowledge & Experience

• Experience of helping people to obtain or keep work.
• An understanding of the principles and practices of supported employment.
• Experience of supporting people with mental health conditions into vocational/employment activities
• An understanding of the principals and practices of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model.

Skills & Abilities

• Excellent written communication skills for writing CVs, employer contacts and job applications
• Excellent internet use skills for job search, research and online applications
• An ability and confidence to initiate and develop face to face relationships with employers and other agencies
• Ability to travel easily between locations around Northamptonshire
• Basic Counselling or Motivational Interviewing Skills

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust