Employment Specialist

Job summary

Employment Specialist - IPS (Individual Placement and Support) Help change minds. Help change lives. Work is a vital part of recovery for people needing mental health support. With increased funding, we are recruiting new Employment Specialists to support clients accessing the Worcester City Neighbourhood Mental Health Service.

You'll play a key role in helping people with mental health needs gain and sustain paid employment. The role involves managing your own caseload, working closely with clinical teams, employers and partners, and providing hands on support from initial engagement through to job retention. Empathy, resilience and compassion are essential as you help remove barriers, challenge assumptions and empower people to reach their potential. Experience in employment support or mental health is ideal, and knowledge of employment rights and job retention is an advantage.

The role is 37.5 hours per week, mainly office hours, with occasional planned work outside these times. This is a community based post covering the Worcester area and some cross county travel. The ability to meet travel demands, including to locations without public transport, is essential. Mileage expenses are provided

Applicants must read the attached guidance notes before submitting your application for full understanding of Trust requirements.

Main duties of the job

Proactively manage a caseload of people who have experienced mental health problems to become established in the workplace.

Assess and record client's identified vocational needs and liaise with clinicians in the team if necessary. Agree and produce person centred action plans and support clients to achieve their goals.

Assist with activities such as producing a cv, interview techniques confidence building and any other identified actions.

Assist clients in gaining employment through job search skills as well as maintaining regular contact with local employers to build lasting and meaningful relationships, identify as well as creating suitable positions such as "hidden vacancies" for clients.

Liaise closely with DWP and providers where appropriate.

Supporting clients who have secured employment or have experienced difficulties in the workplace retain and sustain their employment status. Through the awareness and development of tools such as benefits advise, work adjustments and support plans, strategies, and tools to share personal information.

Enhance job sustainment through education, advice and guidance to employers on support needs and negotiating reasonable adjustments and considerations.

Attend weekly team meetings both as part of the clinical team and the employment services provision.

About us

At Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, we are working together to deliver outstanding care. We run community hospitals and community health services across Worcestershire and provide mental health and learning disability services across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Our people (all 4500+ of them) provide services for people of all ages, experiencing both physical and/or mental health conditions from over 100 sites.

We will support you to thrive; offer flexible working options for a great work-life balance, help you fulfil your ambitions, and empower you to make positive changes within your team or service. We value diversity and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities.

What we offer;

• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when you work unsocial hours
• Flexible and agile working opportunities
• Great maternity, paternity, and adoption support
• Wide range of supportive staff networks
• Health and wellbeing opportunities

If you would like to know more, please visit our website Staff benefits | Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

Sharing your data -As a data controller we may sometimes need to process your data to pursue our legitimate business interests, for example to request a survey from you (optional), to support the Trusts understanding of where you gained interest in working for the Trust.

Job descriptionJob responsibilities

We welcome people from a range of backgrounds and with all kinds of life experience and actively encourage those who have lived experience of mental illness. To be successful in this role we would like you to have:

• One to one employment support of helping people to obtain or keep education/work
• An understanding of the employment needs and difficulties of people who experience mental health problems
• Knowledge of range of resources for helping people to maintain employment when facing ill health difficulties
• Skills in vocational assessment and in assessing ill health obstacles to returning to work and working with employees to overcome these
• Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently
• Skills in vocational assessment and in assessing ill health obstacles to returning to work and working with employees to overcome these
• Employment support experience
• Knowledge of IPS
• Experience of working with people on a one-to-one basis, offering motivation and support
• The ability to build good relationships with a range of different people, from employers to clients
• The ability to manage multiple tasks at once
• Excellent administrative and organisational skills
• Data collection experience
• A passion for making a difference to peoples lives
• An ability to meet the travel requirements of the role, including areas not accessible by public transport

A preparedness to work flexible hours through prior arrangement as the needs of the job dictate (e.g some evenings)

For full details of the duties and criteria please refer to the job description and person specification attached.

Person SpecificationExperienceEssential

• Minimum of 1 year's experience of working with people who have experienced mental health problems with health, social services, voluntary sector or mainstream educational or employment services.
• An understanding of the employment needs and difficulties of people who experience mental health problems.
• Of helping people to obtain or keep education/work.
• Experience of supporting clients on a 1-1 basis.

Desirable

• Experience and knowledge of welfare benefits and all disability/employment related benefits.
• Personal experience of mental health recovery.
• Experience of carrying out person centre recovery plans.

KnowledgeEssential

• Working knowledge of a broad range of occupations and jobs.
• An understanding of the employment needs and difficulties of people who experience mental ill-health.
• Knowledge of range of resources for helping people to maintain employment when facing ill health difficulties.
• Understanding of Equality Act (2010) in relation to employment.
• Awareness and understanding of confidentiality.
• Basic counselling skills.
• Ability to initiate and develop relationships with employers whilst being astute to their needs.
• Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently.
• Vocational assessment and profiling.
• Partnership working to reach positive outcomes for clients.
• IT skills including Microsoft programmes.

Desirable

• Report writing skills.
• Solution focused therapy skills.
• An understanding of the principle and practice of supported employment. Equality Act. Disability and special needs issues in relation to employment and education.

QualificationsEssential

• Education to degree level or equivalent relevant experience.
• GCSE (Grade A-C) or equivalent in English Language.
• Willingness to train in IPS.

Desirable

• Employment Law and welfare benefits training.
• Mediation training.

Other requirementsEssential

• Ability to see solutions rather than problems.
• A preparedness to work flexible hours through prior arrangement as the needs of the job dictate (e.g. some evenings).
• Skills in vocational assessment and in assessing ill health obstacles to returning to work and working with employees to overcome these.
• This post involves a significant amount of travel, sometimes conveying clients from place to place across a wide area. Therefore, a driving licence and own car is essential to this post. NB If a health condition or disability prevents a candidate from driving, reasonable adjustments and alternative travel arrangements will be considered where appropriate to assess whether the travel requirements of the role can be fulfilled.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer detailsEmployer name

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

Address

Studdert Kennedy House

Spring Gardens

Worcester

WR12AE

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.hacw.nhs.uk/careers (Opens in a new tab)

For questions about the job, contact:

Employment Services Coordinator - South Worcs

Paul Wilcox

paul.wilcox@nhs.net

030013139892