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IPS Employment Specialist

The closing date is 16 November 2025

IPS (Individual Placement and Support) is an evidence-based approach to helping people with mental health conditions find and keep a paid job.

Having a job can bring numerous benefits to people. We know having a job can help people with mental health conditions to recover.

At present, only around 8% of people receiving support from secondary mental health services are in paid employment, while studies suggest almost 90% of people with serious and enduring mental health conditions want to work.

A new and exciting opportunity has arisen for a number of permanent Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Employment Specialists covering the following area.

The IPS worker will be working with people who have a mental illness and support them into competitive employment and then enabling them to retain that employment. As an IPS worker you will be looking for paid employment opportunities for clients who are currently involved with secondary care adult mental health services. This will involve developing opportunities with local employers and supporting them as well as the client, to ensure the right person is in the right job.

You must have the Right to Work in the UK in order to be successfully appointed to this role. Please note, this role does not meet the required eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa and therefore the Trust is unable to offer sponsorship for this particular role.

You will support clients with job searching, completing CVs and application forms and interview preparation. Working with our clients, you will liaise and signpost to a range of employment and training programmes within the local area, to include Job Centre Plus.

Developing your knowledge and networks of employment related support services and inclusive employers within the local area is essential to this role. Employment opportunities would include those within TEWV itself.

This role is part of a wider employment support service, working closely with people with moderate to severe common mental health problems and their clinicians. The post holder will support service users to gain or return to competitive (paid) employment following the Individual Placement and Support process, aiming for fidelity to this delivery model. The role will involve working directly with Jobcentre Plus, employers, trade unions and employment agencies to secure paid employment opportunities, including supporting them and their employers to retain these opportunities for up to one year once gained.

We're committed to co-creating a great experience for our colleagues. This means listening to what staff are telling us and working together to be the best employer we can be.

Our staff are our most important asset and recognising their excellent work and the vital contributions they make to patient care is very important.

We have achieved the gold Investors in People (IIP) standard and have been commended on great people management practice and demonstrating a commitment to staff development.

We are signed up to the Disability Confident Scheme. This means we have to demonstrate that we're taking positive action to attract, recruit and retain disabled people

We have an award-winning system for delivering efficiency through clinician-led quality improvements.

All staff who join us are provided with a comprehensive induction programme, starting on their first day of employment.

Continuous professional development is important to us. Once you're comfortable in your new role, you and your manager will work collaboratively to form a Personal Development Plan (PDP), your personal career aspirations are taken into account and the trust will provide you with the resources you need to develop.

It's important our staff are able to raise concerns about patient safety and let us know when we need to improve services. We have a number of ways people can do this.

The successful applicants will establish ongoing monitoring and support systems for clients once employment is secured. This will include review of employment gained to ensure that this is meeting both clients and employers needs. This will include offering support to employers and clients with any problems that may arise and promoting disability awareness among employers to ensure a positive integration of our clients into the workforce.

The successful candidate will be dynamic and highly motivated, with excellent communication skills to enable you to work/engage effectively with a wide range of agencies and employers, clients and sometimes their families. Innovation, determination and ability to influence assertively are key to the success of this role.

You will apply consistently high standards, have knowledge of relevant legislation and be willing to attend training as required. The successful candidate needs to demonstrate a strong commitment to employment and social inclusion.

IPS supervision and clinical support from community mental health team members will be offered on a regular basis with ongoing training and development opportunities relevant to the post.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.

• Numeracy and Literacy level 2 (or above)
• Minimum of level 4 qualification related to IPS practice e.g. Level 4 - Certificate of higher education (CertHE), higher apprenticeship, higher national certificate (HNC), level 4 award, level 4 certificate, level 4 diploma, level 4 NVQ If level 4 award (or higher) is not a health or social care related subject will complete care certificate during first 6 months of employment.
• OR A minimum of 2 years of experience in e.g. delivering employment support, delivering health/social care support, providing coaching/advice and guidance
• Evidence of additional qualifications relevant to role

• Ability to work collaboratively with members of the MDT to provide an effective service.
• Ability to deliver employment support interventions competently
• Ability to communicate information (verbal and written) effectively in a manner appropriate to the individual and situation
• Adherence to Trust record keeping standards.
• Ability to adapt intervention using own initiative within own scope of practice.
• Ability to plan and organise a given caseload and prioritise effectively.
• Fully compliant with statutory and mandatory training.
• Completed "Doing What Works" IPS
• Ability to lead a group session. training or equivalent.
• Ability to use employment related software packages/platforms.
• Demonstrate IPS and service specific competencies.
• Ability to lead a group session

• Effective written and oral communication skills.
• Good negotiation skills and a persuasive style
• Organisational and time management skills.
• Ability to prioritise and plan own caseload.
• Ability to provide vocational assessments and profiling, or willingness to gain this ability in a specific timeframe.
• Ability to assess individual strengths in relation to employment
• Ability to adapt activities to be appropriate for the needs of an individual client.
• Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets
• Excellent interpersonal skills- including the ability to develop relationships with clients, carers, staff, employers and other agencies being astute in relation to the needs of all
• Ability to collect and report data to support service performance and evaluation
• Ability to negotiate with employers on behalf of service users
• Ability to be flexible, open and creative in problem solving
• Ability to work as part of a multi - disciplinary team

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.

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust