IPS Employment Specialist (EPC East)

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust; Ware; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an IPS Employment Specialist to deliver Individual Placement Support for adults with mental health challenges who want to return to paid work. You will manage a caseload of up to 25 service users and work intensively to help them achieve sustainable employment.

You will source job opportunities, liaise with employers, and ensure supportive environments with potential workplace adjustments.

Qualifications

• Educated to a degree level or equivalent, IPS trained.
• Additional training in areas of employment, mental health, coaching.
• Experience with adults with mental health difficulties in health or social care.

Responsibilities

• Carry a caseload of up to 25 service users unemployed who wish to return to work.
• Source job opportunities via tailored search and regular contact with employers.
• Focus on rapid job search and overcoming barriers with service users.
• Develop relationships with external agencies to support employment goals.
• Provide employer education and ongoing support for return-to-work and job retention.

Skills

IPS

Employment support

Coaching

Active listening

Negotiation

Relationship-building

Education

Degree-level qualification or equivalent

IPS training

Tools

MS Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

You will work as a member of the multi-disciplinary Community Team. As an IPS Employment Specialist (ES), you will be responsible for providing Individual Placement Support (IPS) for all Service Users who are currently unemployed who express a desire to gain paid employment as part of their recovery goals. You will carry a caseload of up to 25 service users, providing a high quality employment service service to adults of all ages who have a mental health challenge., You will work intensively with a defined caseload of Service Users who have a severe and enduring mental health condition which impacts on their ability to gain work. You will assist them to obtain and sustain paid employment that is consistent with their goals, utilising the eight principles of Individual Placement Support (IPS).

• To carry a case load of Service Users with severe mental illness who are currently off work / unemployed, receiving specialist mental health services and who wish to return to work.
• Focus on rapid job search with the service user, whilst utilising local support networks to help them overcome their barriers to employment.
• Source job opportunities for service users through tailored job search and regular contact with employers.
• When placing service users with employers, ensure that the quality of work environments is explored, including potential for workplace adjustments that will accommodate individual strengths, skills symptoms and coping skills.
• To develop effective working relationships with a range of external agencies who might be better able to help individuals to achieve their employment goals for example, local colleges, training providers and external supported employment services
• To provide education and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments, return to work strategy and on-going contact with the employer to help with any new or reoccurring issues in relation to mental health and job sustainability.
• To provide individualised support to service users once they have returned to work to assist them in maintaining employment.
• Meet and exceed job outcome targets for service users
• Educated to a degree level or equivalent, IPS trained
• Additional relevant training in areas of employment, mental health, coaching
• Job Retention Training, Considerable experience of working with adults with MH difficulties in a health or social care setting
• Significant experience working in a role delivering employment support.

Desirable criteria

• Supervision of junior staff
• Experience of partnership working, negotiation and liaison with other agencies, Knowledge of disability and special needs issues, policies and legislation in relation to employment
• Understanding of the principles and practice of IPS
• Knowledge of employment law
• Team orientated and work collaboratively within a mixed-disciplinary team
• Experience of partnership working, negotiation and liaison work with other agencies
• Experience of opening up job opportunities with a range of employers, Ability to work with key IT tools such as MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint
• Ability to build rapport with a range of people
• Ability to provide and receive sensitive information regarding services users care and social situation
• Ability to negotiate and persuade appropriately prospective employers of benefits of offering work opportunities to Service Users.
• Active listening skills, ability to ask perceptive questions that tease out important information .

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the Care Quality Commission.

Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout, The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.