IPS Employment Specialist

Prospects; Maidstone; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave (plus bank hols)

2 days volunteering leave annually

Enhanced pension after 6 months

Life Assurance at 3x salary

Learning and development opportunities

Diversity networks and wellbeing tools

Job summary

Shaw Trust is seeking an IPS Employment Specialist to support individuals with mental health needs into sustainable paid work. You will deliver the IPS approach, provide person-centred guidance, and build relationships with local employers to secure opportunities, while coordinating a journey from profiling to placement.

The role is community-based across Maidstone and surrounding areas, with limited home working and close collaboration within mental health services and IAPT teams.

Responsibilities

• Deliver the IPS approach with person-centred advice and guidance to clients with mental health support needs.
• Build positive relationships with local employers to secure sustainable paid employment.
• Support clients along the employment journey from profiling to job placement and withdrawal of support when appropriate.
• Work as part of a community mental health team or IAPT/early intervention team with minimal home working.

Job description

“Shaw Trust promotes team spirit, inclusiveness and it is an organisation where everybody is somebody. I am proud to be part of this great organisation.”

At Shaw Trust we believe everyone has the right to live a decent and dignified life and an opportunity for rewarding work. We are a social purpose organisation challenging inequality and breaking down barriers to enable social mobility.

For us being part of the solution is about creating the conditions for this to happen, advocating and delivering services that make a real difference. Working in partnership not competition, we are part of an eco-system of purpose-led organisations, striving for a fairer, more equal society centred on opportunity for all.

Purpose

Working with clients, health professionals, service providers and employers, IPS Employment Specialists are focused on making sure a person’s journey into employment, with associated improved social inclusion and wellbeing is as easy as possible. You will work with clients (managing a caseload) who have mental health support needs, to assist them in securing sustainable paid employment in line with their preferences. Your role will be to deliver the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach (for which training will be given); providing person centred advice and guidance to clients, whilst building positive relationships with local employers to enable clients to move into suitable employment.

You will work as part of a community mental health team and/or early intervention psychosis team or Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) team, maintaining positive and integrated relationships, fostering a holistic approach to recovery through employment.

As an IPS Employment Specialist, you will need to be an able communicator, passionate about getting it right and focused on transforming individual lives through sustainable solutions. This role is a peripatetic and will work the majority of time in the community or at clinical hubs. There is no/minimal home working as part of this role.

You will work with people on their individual employment journey from vocational profiling to the point where they no longer require face to face in work support. The six key stages on a typical journey are: outreach/referral; vocational profiling; action planning; job search activities (including working on a one to one basis with employers to match people with appropriate employment); job placement and coordinating support whilst in employment; managing withdrawal of support as the in work support is no longer required.

Download The Job Description For Full Details

Location

This is community based role covering Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Maidstone, Aylesford and the surrounding Areas.

Employee Benefits

• 25 days annual leave per year (plus bank holidays), with incremental increases post 3 years’ service up to 28 days, and the option to purchase additional holiday
• 2 days paid volunteering leave each year
• An enhanced pension scheme after 6 months
• Life Assurance at 3 times your annual salary rate
• Access to a suite of learning and development opportunities including paid for apprenticeship and masters’ levels qualifications, and management development programmes
• Opportunities to connect with our employee diversity networks (LGBTQ+ Support Network, Racial Equality Network, Disability Equality Network, Neurodiversity Peer Support Network, Women’s Network, MANaging Network, Menopause Network Group)
• Health and Wellbeing initiatives including internal support, employee assistance programme and health cash plan
• Opportunity to request flexible working from day one

Our Strategy

To find out more about Shaw Trusts aims in our 2030 Strategic Directive available here: Vision-2030-Strategic-Directive-5-9.pdf

Join a diverse and inclusive organisation

• We are proud to be certified as an employer who meets the National Equality Standard, the accepted standard for inclusiveness in business across the UK.
• We are Disability Confident Leaders, support the guaranteed interview scheme and use of the government’s Access to Work scheme.
• Living our values, we are keen to reflect the diversity of UK society at every level within our organisation.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community including from people with lived experience and/or knowledge of disability or social exclusion.

If you have accessibility requirements and/or would like further information about the role, please contact: [e-mail]

Shaw Trust reserve the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient applications are received.