Job overview

For people who need mental health support, getting back into work is a vital step on their recovery journey. The evidence backs this up, but although 90% of people with severe mental illness want to work, only 8% of them are in paid employment.

If you would like to join our team and champion our mission and help people who need employment support to get back into work. You will be supporting clients who are under the care of Secondary Mental Health services to gain and retain paid employment and will be based within a clinical team.

This is an incredibly rewarding role. You’ll have the opportunity to transform the lives of clients, to give them hope, direction and support with their recovery journey alongside other key professionals. This is also a challenging role, so you’ll need to be empathetic, adaptable and dedicated to finding clients a role that’s right for them.

Role

As an Employment Specialist, you’ll build a good rapport with your clients, gaining a real understanding of their key skills, their aspirations and their career goals and finding them opportunities to match. You’ll also spend time building productive relationships with employers in order to identify and negotiate job opportunities in the hidden labour market.

Successful applicants for this post will receive training in the IPS approach, giving you the tools, you need to provide expert support and advice to clients, staff within your clinical team (e.g. Psychiatrist, Social Workers or Mental Health Nurse), while also building positive relationships with employers, opening doors and changing perceptions around mental health.

We welcome applications from people with personal experience of using mental health services.

Responsibilities

  • Manage a caseload of clients and provide one-to-one employment support
  • Deliver the IPS model in line with fidelity principles
  • Work collaboratively with community mental health teams and partner services
  • Build relationships with local employers and identify suitable job opportunities
  • Support clients with CVs, applications, interview preparation and in-work support
  • Maintain accurate records and meet service performance targets

The person

Essential

  • Experience supporting people into employment, education or training
  • Understanding of mental health and recovery approaches
  • Strong communication, relationship-building and organisational skills
  • Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities

    • Desirable

  • Experience delivering the IPS model or supported employment services
  • Knowledge of local labour market and employer engagement approaches
  • Experience working in partnership with NHS or community mental health services