Senior IPS Employment Specialist

Cumbria Health; Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare organization is looking for a Senior Employment Specialist to support individuals facing barriers to employment. This role involves providing tailored, one-on-one support and supervising a team to ensure effective service delivery. Applicants should have experience in employment support, strong interpersonal skills, and relevant qualifications. The position is primarily based in Barrow-in-Furness, with travel required across Cumbria.

Qualifications

• Experience working with individuals facing barriers to employment.
• Ability to build rapport and effective relationships at all levels.
• Excellent IT skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide day‑to‑day operational management to Employment Specialists.
• Independently manage a small caseload of participants with complex needs.
• Support participants to create tailored job action plans.

Skills

Confident

Good team player

Excellent interpersonal skills

Ability to motivate and support others

Strong negotiation skills

Organisational skills

Experience supporting people with employment goals

Education

GCSE in English and Maths at Grade C or above

Level 4 professional qualification or degree in relevant subject area

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

CumbriaHealth provides high quality, responsive health services across Cumbria. We are looking for highly motivated Senior IPS(Individual Placement and Support) Employment Specialist who can support the delivery of the Connect to Work service in Cumbria.

Connect to Work is a new employment support programme across Cumbria, designed to help individuals overcome barriers to entering or remaining in employment. The service supports people seeking work, those returning to the workforce, and employers or partner organisations looking to develop and retain their workforce.

**37.5 hours per week, fixed term until March 2028**

For the first six months of the contract, the successful candidate will be primarily based on‑site in Barrow‑in‑Furness. During this period, travel will be supported through the use of a Cumbria Health pool car.

Beyond this initial phase, the role will involve travel across the county to provide support to individuals as required throughout the duration of the contract.

Closing Date: 12.01.2026

Interviews: 22.01.2026

PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR MOBILE NUMBER ON YOUR APPLICATION SO WE CAN CONTACT YOU IF NEEDED. PLEASE ALSO CHECK YOUR SPAM OR JUNK FOLDER REGULARLY AS EMAILS FROM US MAY OCCASIONALLY BE FILTERED THERE.

We encourage you to apply as early as possible as this job may close earlier than the advertised closing date once enough applications have been received.

Please note that we are unable to offer an Employer Sponsored Visa for this role.

Main duties of the job

The Senior Employment Specialist will help people with health conditions and other significant barriers to employment to find and sustain meaningful employment. They will provide personalised, one‑to‑one support, working closely with participants to understand their skills, interests, and goals. They will also build relationships with employers, helping to match participants to suitable job opportunities and offering ongoing support to both parties to ensure job retention.

The Senior Employment Specialist will supervise a team of Employment Specialists, providing support and day to day management to ensure smooth service delivery.

All staff are expected to work to CumbriaHealth Values:

Clinically focused - Everything that every one of us does is for the patient.

Responsive - We listen, and we respond quickly in a patient focussed way.

One Team - We work together to provide a high‑quality service which is organised and consistent, and in partnership with both the local Acute and Community Trusts.

High Standards - We provide skilled professionals working to the highest standards who are passionate about improving patient care.

Growth & Sustainability - With our strong roots we will continue to thrive and grow.

Communities - Connecting and engaging to meet local needs.

About us

Cumbria Health - CH places the patient, their family and their community at the heart of everything we do. We are an award‑winning organisation, the first out‑of‑hours organisation in the country to be rated as outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

We provide primary health care services, both in and out of hours, across Cumbria. We are values‑driven and place great emphasis on inclusivity and the wellbeing and development of our staff, while striving to provide a consistently high‑quality service. Our service is designed to improve health and wellbeing.

Working for CH can offer flexible opportunities in terms of location, hours and working patterns so you can enjoy a great work life balance. In order to provide the best patient care we understand the importance of ensuring staff satisfaction and are consistently trying to ensure we offer our staff a positive working environment whether that be through training or social events.

Listen to your heart. Have the work life balance you'd love.

Job responsibilities

This list of duties and responsibilities, which follows, represents the broad range of tasks which may be required to be undertaken either routinely or periodically. This list is not exhaustive, and the role may include additional duties which are not listed here.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide day‑to‑day operational management, supervision, and professional support to Employment Specialists, ensuring IPS principles and fidelity standards are maintained.
• Oversee team caseloads, ensuring appropriate allocation, progress monitoring, and delivery of high‑quality, person‑centred employment support.
• Conduct regular supervision sessions and performance reviews, offering coaching, mentoring, and guidance to develop staff skills and confidence.
• Independently manage a small caseload (e.g., up to 1012 participants) with complex needs or higher support requirements.
• Deliver tailored support in line with the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) principles.
• Produce action plans with SMART targets for each participant to help them gain and sustain paid employment.
• As part of job matching for each person, consider factors identified during vocational profiling, and how these factors apply to, and influence job roles discussed, and actions plans developed.
• Support participants to agree a written action plan detailing the steps required to gain paid employment and the appropriate support route. This will include, abilities, preparation for work, work solutions, disclosure.
• Provide help to find the right job and provide advice and support on training and how to prepare for employer interviews. This may include help with benefits, transport to work, access to work, and addressing health at work.
• Support participants with job searching, CV and application form preparation, and interview techniques.
• Signpost participants to relevant local services, training programmes, and employment support opportunities.
• Update the CRM system with all activities to meet compliance requirements, record evidence for relevant fidelity scales, track performance and report against targets.
• Plan own workload using comprehensive diary management, managing competing demands to ensure IPS is delivered to a high standard across the county.
• Build and maintain relationships with employers, local agencies, trade unions, and employment agencies to identify, create and secure paid job opportunities.
• Work in partnership with health services, education providers, and community organisations to deliver tailored interventions providing support to address specific issues (e.g. debt advice, substance misuse).
• The Senior Employment Specialist will develop in‑depth knowledge of the local labour market, local support offers, considering the need of the participant and to broker effective interventions. This includes specialist schemes to find and retain employment.
• Support participants and employers to sustain employment, providing guidance on reasonable adjustments and workplace inclusion.
• Promote social inclusion, adhere to relevant legislation, and engage in ongoing training and professional development.
• Deliver presentations, sessions, and workshops on employment, education, and skills.
• Travel across the county to meet participants, employers, and partner organisations as required.

Person Specification

Personal Circumstances

• Confident
• Well organised
• Good team player
• Flexible

Other requirements

• Willingness to undertake further training
• Ability to motivate, support, and manage individuals or teams.
• Excellent interpersonal and facilitation skills.
• Good negotiation and communication skills.
• The ability to initiate and develop rapport with participants and establish relationships with stakeholders.
• The ability to work independently and take responsibility for own workload.
• Excellent IT skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office suite.
• Experience supporting people with employment related goals.
• Ability to deliver employment support interventions competently.
• Ability to plan and organise a given caseload and prioritise effectively.
• Ability to build rapport and effective relationships at all levels.
• Demonstrate initiative.
• Ability to maintain workload in a busy and demanding environment.
• Experience working with people with mental ill health.
• Experience working with individuals facing barriers to employment including, but not limited to ex‑offenders, those with substance addictions, refugees, care experienced, those with disabilities and learning disabilities and those with health conditions.
• Ability to lead group sessions

Qualifications

• GCSE or equivalent in English and Maths at Grade C or above
• Award in Employability and IPS Integration or willingness to work towards
• Level 4 professional qualification or degree in relevant subject area

Knowledge

• IPS Fidelity
• Strong working knowledge of the local labour market across Cumbria
• The Equality Act 2010 and implementation of reasonable adjustments into the workplace
• A good working knowledge of the local labour market in the specified geographical locations Knowledge of VCFE organisations and local employers
• Knowledge and understanding of issues relevant to participants
• Knowledge of safeguarding and child protection
• Experience of working directly to support people with employment needs.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer name

Cumbria Health

Address

Cumbria Health

4 Wavell Drive, Rosehill Industrial Estate