IPS Employment Specialist

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

NHS pension

Staff networks

Travel discounts

Employee assistance programme

Retailer discounts nationwide

Job summary

Central North West London NHS Trust is seeking an IPS Employment Specialist to help people with mental health needs secure work. You will receive comprehensive training, join a collaborative team, and work to promote inclusive employment within the community.

Key duties include client support, job matching, and employer engagement to create paid opportunities. Strong communication and relationship-building skills are essential, with experience in health or employment support valued.

Qualifications

• Degree level education or equivalent workplace experience.
• Significant experience with mental health support or similar client groups.
• Experience supporting people to obtain or keep work.
• Ability to initiate relationships with employers and stakeholders.
• Strong communication, negotiation and marketing abilities.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of 20–25 service users seeking return to work.
• Support clients to understand skills, aspirations and goals with profiling and matching.
• Provide action planning and employment case management support.
• Engage employers, source opportunities and promote the IPS service.

Skills

Communication skills

Time management

Organisational skills

Relationship building

Persuasive communication

Marketing skills

Independent working

Education

Degree or equivalent

Job description

Job Overview

We are looking for motivated, passionate self-starters who want to kickstart a career in the mental health sector. These position, with on-the-job training, is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference and support those with mental health needs.

Main duties of the job

As an IPS Employment Specialist you will play a vital role in helping people with mental health needs find meaningful and fulfilling employment. You'll receive all the training and support you need to take on the role, develop your skills, and have access to a broad range of opportunities. Joining a passionate and driven team, you'll be working towards creating a fairer and more inclusive society for people with mental health needs.

What is an IPS Employment Specialist?

• Supporting and motivating individuals with mental health conditions to access and sustain paid employment.
• Regularly meeting with clients to listen, offer support and help them identify their best job match, reflecting their skills and aspirations.
• Supporting the clients through CV production, interview techniques and managing their health at work.
• Advocating for your clients by educating and engaging with employers regarding the IPS service.
• Sourcing job opportunities for your clients through regular contact with local employers within the community.
• Promoting employment and raising expectations around the ability of service users to access paid employment, breaking down the barriers for them.

Working for Central North West London NHS Trust

You will also be part of the Trustwide Employment Services Team which comprises of over 40 people.

You will receive a number of staff benefits working for CNWL Trust, this includes an attractive pension scheme, a range of staff networks, travel discounts, employee assistance programme and discounts at hundreds of retailers nationwide.

Benefits

• Attractive pension scheme
• Range of staff networks
• Travel discounts
• Employee assistance programme
• Discounts at hundreds of retailers nationwide

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Who are we looking for?

Firstly, you will need strong and persuasive communication skills, excellent time management and exceptional organisational skills. Also, the ability to initiate and develop relationships with a variety of individuals and be able to engage employers using a variety of methods such as via the telephone or face-to-face in the community.

It would also be helpful, but NOT essential, if you have experience of working with people with mental health support needs (or similar groups) OR have experience working in employment support services (or equivalent), this can include working with people on a one-to-one basis, offering motivation and support, or engaging with a range of stakeholders. We are actively interested in individuals who have experience using a persuasive communication style or promoting a service to a variety of audiences, this can include marketing, recruitment, or sales roles.

Client support

• Manage a caseload of between 20-25 people who have experienced mental health or substance misuse problems who wish to return to work, and challenge inequalities and discrimination experienced by the service users.
• Prepare individuals for a return to work by supporting people to understand their skills, aspirations, and goals by offering employment profiling, job matching, action planning and employment case management support.
• Focus on rapid job search with service users, whilst utilising local support networks to help individuals overcome their barriers to employment.
• Assess individual support needs related to work which might typically include help with in-work benefits, travel to work, managing health at work etc. and continue providing this once in employment to ensure they retain work.
• Deliver and promote employment workshops, employment surgeries and job clubs to service users who are not able to access the caseload.

Employer engagement and Service Promotion

• Source job opportunities for service users through tailored job search and proactive engagement with employers to open-up and secure paid employment.
• Engage employers to access the hidden labour market or carving out jobs where specific tasks can be assigned by using a variety of methods such as face to face contact, social media platforms (e.g. LinkedIn), phone and email.
• Build effective working relationships with local training providers, local colleges and external employers to secure education opportunities and paid employment.
• Provide advice and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments and on-going contact with supervisors to ensure job retention.
• Build the profile of the employment service and promote co-production within the clinical team, alongside raising expectations around the ability of service users to access paid work.

Person specification

Previous experience (paid/unpaid)

Essential criteria

• Significant experience of working with people with mental health difficulties or a similar client group within health, social services or the voluntary sector
• Experience of supporting people to obtain or keep work

Desirable criteria

• Own personal lived experience of using secondary mental health or addiction services
• Own personal lived experience of recovery from mental health difficulties
• Experience and knowledge of the benefits agency and all disability/employment related benefits

Skills, Knowledge And Abilities

Essential criteria

• A commitment to learning about and working within the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model
• An understanding of the principles and practices of supported employment.
• Good presentation, negotiation, and marketing skills. negotiation skills
• An understanding of the employment needs and difficulties of people who experience mental health challenges
• Ability to work independently, reliably, and consistently
• Basic word processing/computing skills
• Excellent time management and organisational skills

Desirable criteria

• An understanding of the principles and practices of supported employment or the IPS model.
• An understanding of the Equality Act 2010.

Attitudes, aptitudes, personal characteristics

Essential criteria

• Ability to provide vocational assessments and profiling.
• Ability to see solutions rather than problems.
• Ability to work in strength-based ways.
• Ability to work independently of direct supervision

Education And Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to degree level or equivalent workplace experience.