Employment Specialist

NHS; Greater London; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job description

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

We are seeking an Employment Specialist to join our well-established team in Kingston. You will have the opportunity to proactively manage a caseload of people who have experienced mental health problems who are unemployed and/or currently off work. This role enables you to deliver the Individual Placement and Support approach - an evidence-based model of vocational rehabilitation for people with mental health problems.

Working directly with all relevant stakeholders, including the service user, IRH staff, GPs, Employers, Human Resources and Occupational Health services to enable people experiencing mental health issues to gain, retain and sustain employment.

Main duties of the job

You will also work with a close and supportive vocational team, sharing experiences, challenges and achievements with regular peer support and supervision while having an active role in the development and evolution of our successful vocational rehabilitation service. Our vocational team works with a collaborative coaching style, helping each other to grow and develop, which helps contribute to feeling valued and empowered while also receiving regular professional support and supervision.

Agile and flexible working:

As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible and agile working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. In this role you will be able to work Monday to Friday in the time frames from 9am to 5pm giving you the very best of good work life balance.

About us

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti-racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Job responsibilities

1. To manage a caseload of a maximum of 25 service users at any one time who are currently off work / unemployed and who wish to return to work.
2. To be integrated with South Kingston IRH being responsible for those service users who want to return to employment.
3. To meet regularly with IRH staff to co-ordinate and integrate employment support into health treatment and care plans.
4. To support care co-ordinators to discuss employment being a realistic goal with service users at the assessment stage, at care plan reviews etc.
5. To prepare individuals for a return to work through assessing each persons individual employment needs through vocational profiling/assessment.
6. To proactively undertake job development with employers based on the service users preferences to secure employment opportunities for service users.
7. To proactively engage and work with employers to retain employment opportunities for service users.
8. To provide education and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating reasonable adjustments, return to work strategy and on-going contact with the employer to ensure job retention.
9. To provide individualised support to individuals once they have returned to work to assist them in sustaining employment.
10. To provide outreach services as necessary to individuals when they appear to disengage from the service. Maintain some contact with individuals even without a vocational focus if necessary to sustain engagement.
11. To assess individuals support needs related to work which might typically include help with benefits, travel to work, graded return to work etc.
12. To develop good working relationships with other organisations that are better able to help individuals to achieve their employment goals for example, Jobcentre Plus providers (Work Programme, Work Choice, Access to Work), local colleges and training providers.
13. To deliver individual employment outcomes in line with service outcomes as set by commissioners in line with Trust key performance indicators.

Person Specification

TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS

• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• Trained in the IPS approach

Experience

• Experience of working with and supporting people who have experienced mental health problems (or other unemployed disadvantaged groups) into and in employment within health, social services or the voluntary sector
• Experience of successfully helping people to obtain or keep education/work
• Experience of partnership working, negotiation and liaison work with other agencies
• Experience of job development

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• Knowledge of welfare benefits and disability/employment related benefits
• Knowledge of disability and special needs issues in relation to employment/ education
• An understanding of the issues of user involvement in mental health services
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• A good understanding of the principles and practice of supported employment
• Report writing skills
• Knowledge of government and local funding opportunities regarding learning and employment opportunities
• Basic coaching skills

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.

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

£34,521 to £41,956 a year per annum inclusive of outer London HCAS