Senior Employment Advisor

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust; Wimborne Minster; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A community health provider in Wimborne Minster is seeking a professional to supervise a team of Employment Advisors, providing crucial support to patients in accessing employment services linked to their mental health treatment. The role includes managing a caseload, leading the service delivery, and maintaining knowledge of relevant employment legislation and local resources to aid patients. This position is critical in helping individuals gain and retain employment while navigating mental health challenges.

Responsibilities

• Support and supervise a team of Employment Advisors.
• Manage a caseload of patients, providing employment support and advice.
• Use interpersonal skills to lead and deliver an Employment Support service.

Job description

About the role

Dorset Steps 2 Wellbeing Service provides talking therapies for people experiencing mild to moderate depression and/or anxiety disorders and has an established and successful Employment Advice Service. The service is highly regarded nationally and is helping to create a culture of prevention and early intervention, ensuring that people get timely access to mental health support as well as suitable employment support to help people stay in employment and avoid long‑term unemployment.

Responsibilities

• Support and supervise a team of Employment Advisors who are offering employment support to patients accessing Talking Therapies treatment, helping patients gain, return to, or retain employment.
• Manage a caseload of patients, providing employment support and advice.
• Use a range of well‑developed interpersonal skills to motivate, influence, inspire and lead others to deliver an Employment Support service that meets national standards.
• Lead on providing professional information, advice and guidance to service users throughout their engagement with the service, including information on reasonable adjustments, the Equality Act 2010, formal work procedures and welfare benefits.
• Develop and maintain an in‑depth knowledge of signposting opportunities to partner organisations for additional support where appropriate (basic skills, vocational training, housing issues, benefits advice, debt advice, etc.).
• Develop and maintain an in‑depth knowledge of the local labour market, local support and new initiatives, including specialist schemes to help with retaining or finding employment, to support Employment Advisors in providing effective interventions.
• Develop in‑depth knowledge of HR policies and procedures, employment legislation, workplace health & safety, benefit systems and local housing resources/issues to support Employment Advisors in providing effective interventions.

About the organization

At Dorset HealthCare we’re on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through outstanding, joined‑up healthcare services. We’re a dynamic, forward‑looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people. We do things differently – it’s one of the reasons the CQC rated us ‘outstanding’ in 2019, and 95% of patients say they have a good or very good experience of our services. 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. We have a 7,000‑strong workforce at the heart of what we do and celebrate diversity, believing in equal opportunities and building an inclusive workplace where everyone can be their best.