Job overview

Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is an internationally recognised evidence-based model for supporting people with serious mental illness back into employment as part of their recovery.

IPS is expanding across England with the NHS committed to ensuring more people have access to employment support across both primary and secondary care systems.

South West London & St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust was the first NHS service to integrate IPS into its Mental Health teams and we now looking to further expand our service with new Employment Specialist roles across Wandsworth, Kingston, Richmond, Sutton and Merton.

Role

We are currently recruiting for multiple positions and are looking for individuals who share our values and belief that Employment should be available for everyone regardless of their mental health condition or other barriers.

As an Employment Specialist, you will work with a small caseload of 20-25 individuals who are experiencing severe mental illness. You will work alongside a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals to ensure that employment is part of the recovery plan for our patients.

A core part of IPS is the work we do with local Employers, and as part of this role you will be responsible for employer engagement in line with client preferences and help to bridge the gap into competitive employment that many of our clients need support with.

Responsibilities

  • To manage a caseload of a maximum of 25 service users at any one time who are currently off work / unemployed and who wish to return to work.
  • To gain referrals from both primary and secondary care services, being responsible for those service users who want to return to employment.
  • To meet regularly with health professionals to co-ordinate and integrate employment support into health treatment.
  • To prepare individuals for a return to work through assessing each person’s individual employment needs through vocational profiling/assessment.
  • To provide individualised, support to individuals once they have returned to work to assist them in sustaining employment.

    • * To proactively engage and work with employers to retain employment opportunities for people who have experienced mental health problems.

  • To provide education and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments, return to work strategy and on-going contact with the employer to ensure job retention.
  • To provide outreach services as necessary to individuals when they appear to disengage from the service. Maintain some contact with individuals even without a vocational focus if necessary to sustain engagement.
  • To assess individuals support needs related to work which might typically include help with benefits, travel to work, graded return to work etc.*

The person

We welcome applications from those who are already working in IPS or other employment programmes as well as individuals with other relevant and transferable skills who are willing to learn and develop in the IPS approach to employment support.

Please use the supporting information section of the online application form to tell us about the skills and experience you have that relates to the attached person specification and to tell us more about why a career in IPS is right for you.