IPS Team Leader

West London NHS Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

West London NHS Trust is seeking a Team Leader to manage up to 6 Employment Specialists within the IPS framework in Hounslow. You will supervise, mentor and role-model IPS practices, coordinating with GPs, Social Prescribers, DWP and employers to drive high fidelity services and strong job outcomes.

You will also support the IPS Borough Lead to expand IPS across Primary Care and may carry a small caseload to help clients back into employment.

Qualifications

• Higher education qualification in a related subject or equivalent experience.
• Training in IPS Model.
• Mental Health First Aid.

Responsibilities

• Effectively manage a high-quality service that adheres to IPS best practice.
• Monitor and manage performance of IPS Employment Specialists with supervision.
• Identify training needs and support continuous professional development.
• Lead the service to focus on rapid job search with service users and local support networks.

Skills

Team leadership

Coaching

Communication

Relationship building

Problem solving

Education

Higher education qualification

IPS Model training

Mental Health First Aid

Tools

MS Word

PowerPoint

Excel

Teams

Job description

Site Armstrong Way Town London Salary £45,953 - £54,254 per annum inclusive of HCAS (Outer) Salary period Yearly Closing 03/09/2026 23:59 Interview date 10/09/2026

West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.

We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.

Job overview

The Team Leader will lead a team of up to 6 Employment Specialists in Hounslow Borough, providing supervision, training, mentoring, and role modelling of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach, as part of the holistic recovery plan for mental health service users.

Working directly with all relevant stakeholders - service users, GPs, Social Prescribers,DWP, employers and partner agencies – the Team Leader will play a pivotal role in managing a high-quality service that meets fidelity standards and delivers positive outcomes for service users.

The Team Leader will support the IPS Borough Lead to expand the provision of IPS to other Trust services and PCNs across Primary Care.

The Team Leader may also be required to manage a small caseload of people who have experienced mental health problems and who are unemployed to support them back into employment.

• Effectively manage a high-quality service that adheres to the principles of IPS best practice
• Monitor and manage the performance of the IPS Employment Specialists, guiding them individually in best practice and aiming to achieve individual and team job outcome targets, through group and individual supervision
• Create a culture of continuous improvement, and involve service users in co-producing service developments wherever possible.
• Identify training needs of staff and arrange appropriate training to support with continuous professional development
• Identify barriers for service excellence and work with internal and external stakeholders to implement solutions to ensure a high fidelity service is delivered which meets required service user employment targets
• Assist the team to build relationships with clinical teams to generate referrals and create a collaborative working partnerships with NHS clinicians where employment support is integrated into mental health treatment.
• Lead the service to focus on rapid job search with the service user, whilst utilising local support networks to help them overcome their barriers to employment
• Lead the team to ensure that ES spend enough time in face to face meetings with employers to find the right job match.
• Build relationships with partners to expand the IPS service into Primary Care.

Working for our organisation

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.

Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.

The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding ’.

The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required . Please view as attached

The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Higher education qualification in a related subject (eg career guidance, information, advice & guidance, human resources, psychology, counselling, social work etc) or equivalent experience
• Training in IPS Model
• Mental Health First Aid

Experience

• Relevant experience of working in supported employment services
• Relevant experience of working with people with mental health problems of a similar service user groups within health, social services of the voluntary sector
• Experience of partnership working, negotiation and liaison work with other agencies
• Experience of staff supervision and coaching
• Experience of opening up job opportunities with a range of employers
• Experience of delivering training
• Experience of working within an Employment Service using the IPS model
• Experience of line management

Knowledge

• Knowledge of the welfare benefits system
• Knowledge of IPS principles and approach
• Knowledge of disability issues, policies and legislation in relation to employment
• Good understanding of the principles and practice of supported employment
• Able to use IT and tools such as MS Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Teams
• Knowledge of employment law
• Knowledge of treatment and care for Serious Mental Illness in the UK
• Knowledge of project management techniques to managing competing demands and priorities

Skills

• Able to role model excellent practice and standards and motivate the team to achieve performance targets
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, tailored to a variety of audiences
• Excellent coaching and active listening skills, ability to ask perceptive questions and to support team members to build their skills
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and ability to build strong working relationships and partnerships with a range of people and organisations
• Ability to build close, trusting and productive relationships with people
• Creative problem solving to tackle obstacles that arise and fulfil requirements of the role in innovative ways to deliver greater impact
• Manage change effectively and facilitate innovation

Other

• Flexibility to travel within the region and to working out of normal office hours on occasion
• Passion and drive to make a positive difference to people’s lives
• Belief that people with mental illness can gain and sustain meaningful work
• Ability to self-reflect and understand own reactions and flex accordingly to any situation
• Reliably deliver excellent results and go the extra mile for service users and employers
• Lived experience of a mental health condition

As an employee of West London NHS Trust, you have a responsibility to maintain a sound understanding of, and a commitment to uphold the National Health Service values and principles set out in the NHS Constitution.

We reserve the right to close adverts prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to West London NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, you will be required to undergo a pre-employment checks which can take between 4-8 weeks . After which your information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system (ESR ).

Please ensure you include email addresses for your referees which MUST be at supervisory or managerial capacity covering the last 3 years of employment to date to avoid delay in the recruitment process.

West London NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We encourage the thoughtful use of technology as a demonstration of strong time management and a commitment to innovation. However, we encourage applicants to personalise their recruitment application to showcase their unique skills and experiences.

While AI-generated content can be a helpful tool, relying solely on generic responses instead of highlighting your own strengths and achievements may impact the success of your application. The success of an application will always be assessed against the essential and desirable criteria for the role, so it is important to ensure that your application and any supporting information clearly demonstrate how you meet these requirements.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

At West London NHS Trust, we want you to support you to build a career you can be proud of and this starts before your first day with us. Our people live our values every day as they deliver, manage and work to improve our services to patients, carers, families and other professionals.

We’re committed to making our recruitment process clear and efficient. It’s in everyone’s interest that we get the very best people on board as soon as we can.