IPS Grow Support Lead — Midlands

Essex Social Impact Bond; Midland (TX); Hybrid; USD 47,000 - 57,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Job summary

Social Finance seeks an IPS professional based in the Midlands to support expansion of IPS services, focusing on fidelity reviews and hands-on regional support. The role combines remote and on-site work across the region, with travel to England as needed and quarterly events in London and the South Region.

The fixed salary is £39,000 per year, reflecting our mission-driven culture and commitment to evidence-based employment approaches. Flexible working options are available.

Qualifications

• Experience at Employment Specialist or Senior Employment Specialist level with IPS knowledge.
• Track record of delivering employment outcomes and employer engagement.
• Ability to plan, implement and drive improvements in IPS services.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement.
• Willingness to travel across England and work across regions.

Responsibilities

• Quality assurance and fidelity reviews: train to become a fidelity reviewer and support reviews.
• In-field mentoring: coach IPS staff in employer engagement and equitable service delivery.
• Stakeholder engagement: build relationships and support performance conversations and reporting.
• Learning networks: facilitate connections and support national webinars and communities of practice.

Skills

IPS experience

Performance outcomes

Change management

Planning skills

Integrity and empathy

Communication

Willingness to travel

Job description

The opportunity

We are seeking an IPS professional based in the Midlands with current or recent experience at Employment Specialist or Senior Employment Specialist level. Post holders will work with IPS Grow colleagues to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to become an effective IPS professional, supporting the national expansion of evidence-based employment provision within health systems. A key focus of the role is on supporting IPS fidelity reviews as co-reviewer. This position also involves collaborating closely with IPS Grow regional teams to provide hands‑on support to services/delivery partners, remove barriers to successful IPS delivery, and ensure services achieve expected job outcome rates.

A mix of remote and on‑site work across the designated region is required, with some out of region work on occasion. Attendance at quarterly organisational events and regular team days in London and in the South Region is required. Please get in touch with IPS Grow if you have any questions about the locations and/or travel required.

Working at Social Financ

The fixed salary for this position is £39,000 per annum. Working for a mission driven organisation is more than just what we pay though, it’s about our culture, our approach and what else we offer. Read more about working at Social Finance.

Quality assurance and fidelity reviews

• Train to become a fidelity reviewer, with an initial focus on co-reviewing with IPS Grow Regional Leads.
• Support services through fidelity reviews and guided self‑assessments, focusing on client outcomes.
• Produce impactful, concise and accurate fidelity reports and action plans within agreed timescales.
• Ensure active, measurable fidelity and race equity action plans are implemented and monitored regularly.

In field mentoring support

• Model IPS best practices alongside Regional and Workforce Leads.
• Coach IPS staff in employer engagement, delivering racially equitable services, and IPS performance management.
• Support the development of impactful training materials and resources for IPS services.

Stakeholder engagement and performance support

• Build strong relationships with priority IPS services and key stakeholders in the region, maintaining open communication around delivery, performance, and race equity practice.
• Support Regional Leads in performance and quality conversations with services, backing key messages and following up on any actions for teams and/or steering groups.
• Support services to improve data integrity reported to national systems and the IPS Grow Reporting Tool.
• Create accurate and timely reports, including case studies demonstrating impact.

Learning networks and communities of practice

• Identify and facilitate links between services to maximise peer support and learning.
• Collaborate with IPS Grow Regional and Support Leads to support network events and communities of practice.
• Support national webinars and workshops in line with wider team objectives.

About you

Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate:

• IPS experience and expertise: Experience at Employment Specialist or Senior Employment Specialist level, with a foundational understanding of the IPS model, fidelity scale and practical applications.
• Driving performance outcomes: Track record of delivering good employment outcomes for people accessing IPS, with a strong focus on employer engagement and integration.
• Change management: Ability to plan, implement, and solidify positive change within IPS services. Drive improvements in employment outcomes for IPS clients through supporting strategic change initiatives.
• Planning and organisational skills: Manage workloads and competing priorities efficiently and meet deadlines consistently while maintaining high-quality output.
• Driven by a core belief in evidenced-based employment support and integrity to the IPS model.
• Commitment to race equity and willingness to contribute to IPS Grow race equity objectives.
• Takes a structured approach to solving problems and develops creative and innovative solutions to overcome challenges.
• High level of integrity, empathy and commitment to driving social change.
• Thoughtful and effective communicator.
• High levels of initiative and personal leadership and committed to own development and keeping up to date with IPS practice.
• Commitment to travel. The role involves significant travel to build relationships and provide hands‑on support as well as meeting with IPS Grow team members from across England.

About Social Finance

We are an ambitious not for profit organisation that partners with governments, service providers, the voluntary sector and the financial community. Together, we find better ways of tackling social problems in the UK and globally.

Since we started in 2007, Social Finance has helped to pioneer a series of programmes to improve outcomes for individuals with complex needs. Our innovations, including the social impact bond model, have mobilised more than £500 million globally. We have sister organisations in the US, Israel, the Netherlands and India and a network of partners across the world.

What we do

Our unique method combines financial analysis, data science, service design, and social issues research.

We focus this expertise on understanding the needs of service users and working with communities to create new responses to challenging social problems.

We develop models, products and services that are pragmatic and have the scope to drive systemic change to improve people’s lives. In the UK, we focus on issues such as homelessness, domestic abuse, mental health, learning difficulties, loneliness and vulnerable children on the edge of the care system. We also look to improve equity for marginalised communities in social services. Internationally, we design outcomes‑based models for issues such as maternal and neonatal health, education and employment. IPS Grow has been one of those models we have designed and is a core part of our business.

Our Values

Everyone at Social Finance and IPS Grow believes that change for communities is possible. To help us achieve it, we have three core values that guide everything we do. We are curious, empathetic and pioneering.

About IPS Grow

IPS Grow is a national programme designed to support the expansion of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services in mental health, primary care, and drug and alcohol teams across England. The programme is led by Social Finance in partnership with the Centre for Mental Health. It is funded by NHS England and Improvement (NHSE/I), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).

A core element of the programme is the expert assistance provided by a team of IPS professionals, known as IPS Grow Regional Leads, to support providers to improve their fidelity to the IPS model and achieve better employment outcomes for their clients.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We actively encourage applications from under‑represent­ed and minoritised groups, including those with lived experience of the social issues we are working to address. We are an equal opportunities employer and support a range of flexible working options.