Employment Retention Worker

NHS; Wednesbury; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job description

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Department: Employment Retention Service, with IPS Employment Services

Location: Black Country

Band: 5

Hours: 37.5

Contract Type: Fixed Term for 18 months until March 2026

Main duties of the job

We are looking to recruit two Employment Retention Workers into our secondary care mental health services. You will join a team of specialist advisors that will support individuals with severe and enduring mental health needs. This post will focus on supporting individuals to retain their employment if they are off sick or at risk of losing their job.

About us

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health, learning disability, and community healthcare services for the population of the Black Country.

Across the whole of the region we provide:

• Adult and older adult mental health services
• Specialist learning disability services
• CAMHS

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was formed on 1 April 2020, after NHS England and NHS Improvement approved the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Combining resources, strategies and talented workforce enables us to deliver a wider variety of outstanding services that are based on best practice and are continually improving.

We currently employ over 3,000 members of staff and just like the population we serve, we are made up of diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Job responsibilities

You will manage your own caseload of clients and support them and their employers to resolve any issues, look at sustainable return to work plans, and offer advice on reasonable adjustments to the workplace that can enable our clients to remain at work. You will receive regular supervision and support from the team and will be part of the wider Employment Service. Ideally, the successful candidate will have previous experience of supporting people with mental health problems or disabilities to retain their employment. This could be from a background in human resources, occupational health/therapy or from an advocate/trade union perspective. Training and support will be provided to the successful candidate as will a full induction into the role.

Person Specification

Education

• Degree or equivalent level of experience
• L4 Information, Advice and Guidance

Skills

• Effective communication skills to convey complex information to a range of providers

Abilities

• Ability to maintain accurate and detailed client notes and write concise reports and correspondence
• Ability to motivate and support clients to resolve workplace issues

Experience

• Experience of supporting people with mental health problems in the community

Knowledge

• Working knowledge of support that is available to employed individuals, and the rights of those with disabilities

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.