# Employment Specialist, IPS Employment Service > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/employment-specialist-ips-employment-service/f875c27a-8a35-43d4-a54e-d84195660aa0 - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/employment-specialist-ips-employment-service/f875c27a-8a35-43d4-a54e-d84195660aa0.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - **Town:** Bracknell - **Region:** South East - **Country:** England - **Profession:** Administrative and IT - **Grade:** Band 5 - **Salary:** £32,073 - £39,043 per annum - some locations also attract HCAS - **Contract type:** Permanent - **Employment type:** Full time - 37.5 hours per week - **Closing date:** 2026-05-31T23:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-05-22T09:01:17.223Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/Berkshire/Newbury/Berkshire_Healthcare_NHS_Foundation_Trust/Individual_Placement_Support_East/Individual_Placement_Support_East-v8031866 - **Application URL:** https://apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/8031866?ShowJobAdvert=&feedid=9002 - **Employer website:** https://www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job overview People with severe mental health issues face huge barriers when it comes to employment. Over 75 per cent of them would like paid work, but only 6-8 per cent achieve it. Could you be part of the team that’s dedicated to addressing this injustice? Berkshire Healthcare’s Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment service, now in its tenth anniversary year, are looking for employment specialists to champion our mission and support people with severe mental health issues – your clients – to gain, sustain and retain paid work. Our diverse team brings together a wide range of strengths and skills. We’ll train you in the IPS approach so you can support clients effectively, build relationships with employers, and help change perceptions of mental health. Experience in supported employment or working with severe mental health issues is beneficial, but empathy, hope, and determination are essential. We have 2 full time roles available (37.5 hours) within our West & East Berkshire Community Mental Health Services teams. Based at Reading or Bracknell you would be expected to travel across Berkshire occasionally. It’s a highly varied job where you’ll spend most of your week in the community, meeting clients and employers, and making a vital contribution to the team’s activities. *For salary some locations attract HCA supplement ### Main duties of the job - You’ll have the opportunity to transform the lives of your clients, to give them hope, direction and support their recovery journey. It's also challenging, so you’ll need to be able to demonstrate perseverance, whilst being empathic and dedicated to finding clients a role that’s right for them. - You’ll support a caseload of up to 20 people with severe mental health issues who are unemployed or struggling in the workplace. - Working directly with all relevant stakeholders – including clients, clinicians, consultant psychiatrists and employers and Job Centre Plus – you’ll aim to enable your clients to gain, sustain and retain paid employment. ### Detailed job description and main responsibilities The “must haves” for this role: - Degree or evidence of equivalent relevant experience. - Experience of working with and supporting people who have mental health issues, (or other disadvantaged groups) into employment . - A Car Driver with access to a vehicle that can be used for work purposes. For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification. We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted. Please note: We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. While we are a licensed sponsor, we must follow the criteria set by UK Visas and Immigration for sponsoring overseas nationals under the Skilled Worker route. After reviewing this position, we believe it does not meet the requirements for sponsorship. For more information on Skilled Worker visa eligibility, please visit the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed. ## Job Details People with severe mental health issues face huge barriers when it comes to employment. Over 75 per cent of them would like paid work, but only 6-8 per cent achieve it. Could you be part of the team that’s dedicated to addressing this injustice? Berkshire Healthcare’s Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment service, now in its tenth anniversary year, are looking for employment specialists to champion our mission and support people with severe mental health issues – your clients – to gain, sustain and retain paid work. Our diverse team brings together a wide range of strengths and skills. We’ll train you in the IPS approach so you can support clients effectively, build relationships with employers, and help change perceptions of mental health. Experience in supported employment or working with severe mental health issues is beneficial, but empathy, hope, and determination are essential. We have 2 full time roles available (37.5 hours) within our West & East Berkshire Community Mental Health Services teams. Based at Reading or Bracknell you would be expected to travel across Berkshire occasionally. It’s a highly varied job where you’ll spend most of your week in the community, meeting clients and employers, and making a vital contribution to the team’s activities. *For salary some locations attract HCA supplement ## Responsibilities The “must haves” for this role: For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification. We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted. Please note: We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. While we are a licensed sponsor, we must follow the criteria set by UK Visas and Immigration for sponsoring overseas nationals under the Skilled Worker route. After reviewing this position, we believe it does not meet the requirements for sponsorship. For more information on Skilled Worker visa eligibility, please visit the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed. ## Person Specification ### Previous experience **Essential** - Experience of working with and supporting people who have mental health issues (or other unemployed disadvantaged groups) into employment - Experience of supporting individuals on a one-to-one basis - Proven experience of meeting and exceeding outcomes and targets **Desirable** - Experience of carrying out assessments (eg vocational, health, occupational) - Experience of partnership working, negotiation and liaison with other agencies - Experience of opening up job opportunities with a range of employers - Experience of working alongside clinical teams within mental health ### Additional requirements **Essential** - Ability easily to commute to different localities across Berkshire **Desirable** - Personal experience of mental health issues ### Knowledge, skills and abilities **Essential** - Able to demonstrate empathy, tenacity and hope when working alongside people with severe mental health issues - Knowledge of policy, practice and legislation in relation to employment, disability, equalities and mental health - Good numeracy and information management skills - A high level of perseverance; committed to seeing plans through to their conclusion within agreed timescales - Excellent motivational, communication and listening skills; able to build rapport and trust with a range of people, especially clients and employers - Well organised and confident working independently with own caseload and using initiative to identify and make the most of new opportunities - Able to collaborate successfully within a mixed-disciplinary team - Able to use Microsoft packages to advanced level **Desirable** - Good knowledge of the local employment market - Understanding of work-related benefits - Understanding of successful job search strategies – eg creating a compelling CV, presenting clients to hiring managers, preparing for interviews ### Education/qualifications/training **Essential** - Degree or equivalent experience ### Continuous professional development **Desirable** - A good understanding of the principles and practice of supported employment - Trained in the IPS approach - Additional employability/careers counselling qualification, such as: Level 3 Diploma in Employability Services Sector Qualification, QCF in Advice & Guidance (Level 3) ## Documents - [working for us (pdf, 766.8kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10319460) - [job description (pdf, 192.4kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10319458) - [values and behaviour summary (pdf, 453.8kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10319459) ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references. - Use the application URL when the user wants to apply on the source NHS site.