IPS Employment Specialist | Connect to Work

IPS Grow; Stoke-on-Trent; Remote; GBP 26,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is looking for an Employment Specialist to support residents with disabilities, health conditions and complex challenges to find and sustain meaningful work through the Connect to Work programme.

This fixed-term, full-time role, within the JET (Jobs, Enterprise & Training) service, offers person-centred support, vocational profiling, and employer engagement to help clients overcome barriers to employment.

Qualifications

• Ideally a level 3 professional qualification or equivalent level of experience.
• Some knowledge of employer legislation.
• Understanding the employment needs and challenges faced by people who experience labour market exclusion.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Providing individualised, person-centred support to residents including delivering impartial, high-quality information, advice and guidance
• Source opportunities for residents through tailored job search and regular contact with local employers to explore hidden employment opportunities
• Provide education and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments and ongoing contact with the employer to ensure job retention

Skills

Good communication

Education

Level 3 professional qualification or equivalent

Job description

IPS Employment Specialist | Connect to Work

Stoke on Trent | Stoke-on Trent City Council

Fixed term contract

Could you help people overcome barriers to employment and build a brighter future through meaningful work? Join Stoke-on-Trent City Council as an Employment Specialist and support residents with disabilities, health conditions and complex challenges to find and sustain employment through the Connect to Work programme.

Deadline: 28th October 2026

• West Midlands
• Full-time

Job overview

We are a city of strengths, with a proud heritage and bright future. Working for Stoke-on Trent City Council is more than just a job, it’s about making, protecting and improving the services for the local population, reducing inequalities and improving independence for the people who live and work in the city. And that’s where you come in. We are always looking for people of the highest calibre with skills, knowledge and experience to help us deliver our compelling vision.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s diverse and talented workforce is its greatest asset and most valuable resource. The skills, knowledge and experience of our c.4,600 employees are essential to delivering our ambitions and vision for our organisation and Stoke-on-Trent. We want to be an employer that people are proud to work for, and where our staff are supported, developed and rewarded in an inclusive way that helps them to excel and to deliver the high-quality services that our residents need.

Role

The Stoke-on-Trent City Council JET (Jobs, Enterprise & Training) service supports the residents of the city with all matters surrounding employment, including if you have recently been made redundant. The Connect to Work service is a voluntary employment programme with the aim of supporting those with disabilities, health conditions and complex personal challenges, through a tailored programme of support to overcome obstacles to employment and sustain employment.

The main purpose of the role is to deliver Connect to Work on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. This is an exciting and rewarding role supporting people who wish to work to find and sustain work through a range of supported interventions.

You will provide person-centred support to clients, including vocational profiling to identify skills and interests and any barriers to employment. You will develop SMART action plans based on needs and employment goals and support with job preparation. There will be elements of employer engagement in the role and you have up to six months to continue to support a client once they are in employment.

Responsibilities

• Providing individualised, person-centred support to residents including delivering impartial, high-quality information, advice and guidance
• Source opportunities for residents through tailored job search and regular contact with local employers to explore hidden employment opportunities
• Provide education and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments and ongoing contact with the employer to ensure job retention

The person

• Ideally a level 3 professional qualification or equivalent level of experience
• Some knowledge of employer legislation
• Understanding the employment needs and challenges faced by people who experience labour market exclusion
• Good communication and interpersonal skills