IPS Team Leader

Merseycare; St Helens; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 43,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Team Leader in the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Services at Mersey Care. This role involves managing Employment Specialists to support individuals with severe mental health conditions in finding paid employment, contributing to their recovery journey.

Qualifications

• Two years experience in supported employment service with management responsibility.
• Experience of job development with employers and supporting marginalized individuals.

Responsibilities

• Manage and support a team of Employment Specialists.
• Oversee service delivery and ensure KPIs are met.
• Develop training and support packages for job seekers.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Negotiating skills

Selling ability

Job description

Main area Administrative and Clerical - Mental Health Services Grade Band 6 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (12 months) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 350-TWS7135168-A

Site Harry Blackman House, Peasley Cross Hospital Town St Helens Salary £35,392 - £42,618 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 08/06/2025 23:59 Interview date 16/06/2025

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Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.

We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.

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Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 6 Team Leader for the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Services in Knowsley and St Helens. The IPS service supports Mersey Care service users with severe and enduring mental health conditions who are under Community Mental Health and/or Early Intervention Teams and are looking for paid employment as part of their recovery journey. The IPS Teams are situated under the portfolio of The Life Rooms.

Previous applicants need not apply

Main duties of the job

Main duties of the job

The Team Leader will be responsible for:

Managing and providing support for a maximum of 7 Employment Specialists, each of whom will be co-located in a clinical team.

Overseeing delivery of the service specification, ensuring that key performance indicators (KPIs) are met and reported on (through quarterly performance reports to Commissioners)

Assuring that the service is well governed (through monthly Quality Improvement Group reports)

Assuring that the service meets quality standards (through IPS Fidelity Reviews)

Assuring that the service is continuously developed and that new opportunities are identified

Working for our organisation

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Principal Responsibilities:
1. To undertake training as required to fulfil the duties of the post and advise on the training
needs of employment advisors. To assist in the delivery of staff training both in house and
to other organisations and agencies
2. To line manage and provide professional support and guidance to Employment Advisors. To
provide support and advice to Employment Advisors, as required, through regular formal
and informal supervision.
3. To undertake initial appointments with prospective Job Seekers
4. To act independently using own judgement, knowledge and initiative to develop an
understanding of the needs and potential career aspirations of Job Seekers.
5. To sensitively gather information, to develop a shared vocational profile and an agreed Job
Notion or Curriculum Vitae, for each individual Job Seeker. On occasion complex, sensitive
and contentious information will need to be provided and/or received. To deal with
sometimes emotional and distressing behaviour and difficult situations and circumstances.
6. To research the labour market and identify suitable local employers by making direct contact
and promoting the service.
7. To actively pursue employment and/or training opportunities with and on behalf of Job
Seekers developing working relationships with local employers and negotiating contracts
and reasonable adjustments for Jobseekers.
8. To undertake job analyses and workplace assessments, in order to identify the factors this
will contribute to the successful acquisition of specific job skills, and the potential
development of positive and meaningful connections for Job Seekers, with colleagues and
co-workers.
Head of Employment
Band 8a
IPS Team Leader
Band 6
Operational Delivery
Manager
Band 7
9. To provide specialised advice concerning employment to Jobseekers with a range of
different clinical needs.
10. To provide specialised advice to employers concerning recruitment and retention. To
develop workplace introduction strategies which are appropriate to individual Job Seekers,
and individual workplaces.
11. Taking into account the needs of both Job Seeker and employer, to develop and deliver
highly individualised training and support packages which will result in the successful
acquisition of work and job specific skills.
12. To appropriately monitor the progress of individuals through the supported employment
process.
13. To appropriately monitor the career development of individuals in employment
14. To work with other members of the CMHT and clinical teams enlisting appropriate specialist
support as and when necessary.
15. As appropriate, to communicate and liaise with carers, families, employers and other
professionals.
16. To actively promote the integration and inclusion of Job Seekers, into the workforce of local
employers.
17. To contribute to the management of relationships with partner agencies and the continuing
development of further appropriate partnerships with statutory and voluntary sector
agencies.
18. To assist the Vocational Services Manager in seeking out and securing funding which is
consistent with, and is likely to further, the aims of Mersey Care NHS Trust.
19. To prepare and submit to deadlines minimum data set reports and relevant beneficiary
returns as required, to the Vocational Services Manager.
20. To attend the Vocational Services Steering group and take an active part in relevant work streams

Person specification

Values

• Accountability
• Support
• High professional standards
• Responsive to service users
• Engaging leadership style
• Transparency and honesty
• Discreet
• Change oriented
• A demonstrable commitment and clear motivation to work closely with people who find themselves severely marginalised and excluded from mainstream community.
• Capacity to embrace and assist in managing organisational change

Qualifications

• Two years experience working in a supported employment service with first line management or supervisory responsibility.
• Two years experience of job development with employers and supporting marginalised individuals into open employment.
• Three years experience working in community services for people who are severely disadvantaged by
• Experience of working outside fixed structures
• Experience in a voluntary, professional or other capacity of acting as an advocate.
• Experience of taking part in and/or devising service audit quality measures

Knowledge/Experience

• A variety of experiences in and a good understanding of industrial, commercial, manufacturing or other workplaces and processes.
• A sound understanding of how mental illness can impact upon the everyday lives of individuals and people around them and approaches or interventions which help
• A broad knowledge of teaching Principles
• Knowledge of designing and delivering training to individuals and groups.
• Training in Systematic Instruction
• Counselling
• Person Centred Planning

Skills

• Excellent communication skills with a broad spectrum of audiences.
• Selling ability can capture and sustain the interest of an audience including service promotion.
• Reaching shared agreement, effective group/meeting skills.
• Excellent negotiating skills with employers, job seekers, carers, colleagues and partner agencies.

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Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply for all correspondence. All information regarding your application will come from apps.trac.jobs not NHS Jobs.

Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants who consider themselves to be disabled who meet the minimum (essential) criteria for the role in the person specification. If you would like your application to be considered under the Trust’s guaranteed interview scheme you can indicate this in the personal information section of your online application form.

Should you require a reasonable adjustment to our recruitment process please email [e-mail] to ensure that measures can be put in place to support you.

We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

The Trust expects all post holders who require an enhanced DBS for their role subscribe to the DBS Update Service. You will be required to enrol for this service for a fee of £16 per year and maintain registration. Trans applicants who require a DBS check and do not want to reveal details of their previous identity can contact the DBS Sensitive Applications Team (01516761452 or email [e-mail] ) with their application number once they have completed their DBS application form. The team can prevent any previous identity showing on the DBS Certificate, unless the applicant has a conviction under their previous details in which case this will need to be disclosed.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Please be advised that the use of Artificial Intelligence on applications is monitored and if you choose to use this, you must declare this on your application form.

Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.

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Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

FULFIL YOUR POTENTIAL AND SPREAD YOUR WINGS WITH MERSEY CARE

At Mersey Care, our commitment to ‘perfect care’ lies at the heart of everything we do, a person centred care that starts with you. It’s a pledge to create an environment and staff support that will enable you to do the best job you can possibly do, to be the best you can possibly be.

You’ll be joining one of the most innovative and progressive NHS trusts in the country. One that offers specialist inpatient and community services to support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. We are the founding member of the Zero Suicide Alliance, and one of only three Trusts in the country which delivers high secure mental health care.

You’ll be made to feel at home, joining an 11,000 strong Mersey Care family comprising doctors and nurses, as well as countless other roles from dieticians to dentists, from data analysts to physiotherapists. You'll find a full list of our roles in our A-Z list.

You’ll have a home in the North West of England where your work/life balance is respected and working from sites easily commutable from Liverpool, Manchester, North Wales and Cheshire with many roles operating a hybrid working system.

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