Jonathan Allan will be retiring at the end of March 2022. Jonathan has been a member of the IPS Expert Forum and Consortium partner (representing Enable) supporting the development and expansion of IPS across England. His work, commitment and dedication to IPS is admired by many across the community and we wish him the very best for the future.

Jonathan has been an integral part of developing IPS across the Midlands, securing multiple contracts and building strong relationships with stakeholders over the years. He has been working at Enable for nearly 25 years, where the organisation has grown from 4 to 130. 

Jonathan’s IPS journey goes back many years and includes a visit to Dartmouth with other IPS Leaders, which was organised by Centre for Mental Health in 2010. He has been advocating and leading Enable in delivering IPS as a Centre of Excellence ever since.  

Jonathan has been involved in IAPT National Pilots with DWP and Department of Health (2014), West Midlands IPS Mental Health and Offenders Project (2013-2016), IPS and Veterans Pilot (2016-2017), IMPROVE Project (2011-2012) and the National IPS expansion in line with the NHS LTP (2019 onwards).  

Speaking about his impact, Jan Hutchinson (Centre for Mental Health) said; “Jonathan is such an inspiration, a great leader, with enormous intelligence and vision. Jon’s work to create a regional lead position and offer technical support to new services in the Midlands (IMPROVE and IMPROVE II) predated the IPS Grow consortium and helped many new IPS staff to develop into the leaders of today. He will leave a huge gap in the IPS community.” 

Reflecting on his work, his colleague Ruth Davies acknowledged that Jonathan has developed a great network with a diverse range of stakeholders to whom he stays connected, “He always has his finger on the pulse and remains 100% focused on and connected to the individuals that we are supporting. He holds the same passion and commitment to IPS now, as he did when he started.” 

Speaking with his peer Martin Dominy at Southdown, Martin reflected that it’s been Jonathan’s passion and belief in IPS that has kept the fight going. “It would have been easy at times when funding was at risk to stop fighting and pushing forward, but he always was such an advocate to ensure that employment was part of recovery and he made it work. He’s worked across many contracts, working across the system to position the service and delivery of IPS at Enable to where it is now.” 

The National IPS Grow Lead, Lynne Miller said; “I have known Jonathan for many years and have always found him to be an amazing advocate for the employment agenda, and he has achieved so much over the years. We also know him as someone who is authentic and really supports his staff. He will be very much missed, and I have enjoyed our regular catch-ups over the years to share learning and reflections.” 

This is just a small glimpse into what Jonathan has achieved over his time, he has been a great advocate of IPS – raising the profile of IPS across the Midlands and supporting the expansion and development nationally. We wish him the very best for his future.

Enable Shropshire