Individual Placement and Support - Employment Specialist

Job overview

The service has 8 principles that are followed based on the Individual Placement Support model (Centre for Mental Health, 2021):

• It aims to get people into competitive employment
• It is open to all those who want to work
• It tries to find jobs consistent with people's preferences
• It works quickly
• It brings employment specialists into clinical teams
• Employment specialists develop relationships with employers based upon a person's work preferences
• It provides time unlimited, individualised support for the person and their employer
• Benefits counselling is included

This role is designed to support individuals to recognise and better equip them to meet the challenges of achieving and maintaining paid employment as a fundamental and integral part of their desired recovery journey.

Main duties of the job

The service is individually tailored to the person’s needs and requirements. The overall aim of the service is to get the person into paid employment that is of interest to them and that will aid their mental health recovery. Following evidenced-based Individual Placement and Support (IPS) principles, key duties will include:

• Raising the profile of employment as an essential part of the recovery journey within the mental health teams
• Raising expectations around the ability of service users under those teams to find employment.
• Preparing people who have experienced mental health conditions to find paid work and supporting them to the practicalities of job searching and applications
• Engaging with and building effective working relationships with a range of employers to secure job opportunities for people who have experienced mental health conditions.
• Providing on-going in work support according to needs of both employer and employee in order to enable people to retain employment.
• Helping those currently employed who may require support to retain employment due to their mental health condition.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Employment Specialists identify and meet service users vocational goals by providing individually tailored programs using a person centred approach. The IPS staff sit within Community Mental Health clinical teams so that they are embedded and part of that MDT and wider discussion.

• Completing initial assessments of service users’ vocational needs
• Work collaboratively with service users to complete a Vocational Profile
• Confidential and individualised support to meet service user’s employment goals.
• Help to search for jobs quickly
• Help to build or rebuild CVs, make applications and prepare for interviews
• Support with the disclosure of mental health conditions, should service users choose to disclose
• Contact with local employers to seek fresh opportunities and support for the employer to help service users to return to work
• Continued support once service users are in work for them and their employer
• Work Retention support
• Actively and regularly engage with employers and employment services
• Attend and actively contribute to CMHT team allocation meetings
• Complete required records for caseload and service activity and achievement of outcomes
• Work flexibly across the county to support service need

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.