Job summary
Base: Prospect Park, Reading
Overview
We are looking for someone to join our team as an employment specialist, to champion our mission and help people with severe mental health issues - your clients - get into, sustain and retain paid work. For people who need mental health support, work can be a vital step on their recovery journey. But, although 90% of people with severe mental health issues want to work, only 8% of them are in paid employment.
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust's Individual Placement and Support Employment Service, now in its seventh year, has a diverse team and brings many strengths together. We welcome people from a range of backgrounds and with a variety of experience for this role - you don't need any specific qualifications or clinical experience, but you must clearly be able to demonstrate that you are able to meet the person specification. We'll train you in the Individual Placement and Support approach, giving you the tools you need to provide expert support and advice to clients, while also building positive relationships with employers, opening doors, and changing perceptions around mental health.
Main duties of the job
You'll manage a caseload of up to 20 people at any time, following the IPS approach. These will be people who have severe mental health issues and are unemployed or struggling in work due to their mental health issues. Depending on need, your caseload will be flexibly drawn from Reading CMHT unemployed clients, and clients on our retention pathway (who are either struggling in work due to their mental health or perceived it to be). Working directly with all relevant stakeholders - including clients, clinicians, consultant psychiatrists and employers, Job Centre Plus, and other employment support providers - you'll aim to enable most of your clients to gain, sustain or retain paid employment.
This is an incredibly rewarding role - 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.
More information about the employment specialist role: Why work in IPS? - IPS Grow
The 'must haves' for you to be considered for this role:
- Degree or equivalent experience
- Experience of working with and supporting people who have mental health issues
- Experience of supporting disadvantaged groups into employment
- Strong and empathic communication and influencing skills
- A high level of organisation and perseverance
About us
Some of the benefits of joining our team:
- Agenda for Change salary starting at £28,407 per annum
- Flexible working opportunities and a strong emphasis on your work/life balance
- Annual leave: 27 days for new starters, plus bank holidays. Increasing to 29 days after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years NHS service. Pro rata for part time staff
- Excellent learning and development opportunities
- Salary sacrifice scheme for a new car
- Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave for eligible staff Advanced IT enablement and support
- Confidential telephone care service providing independent support and advice for staff
- And so much more
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see attached job description for more information about this role and working at Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see attached job description for more information about this role and working at Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Person Specification
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)
- Job retention case management and knowledge of legal and rights framework in the workplace
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 supporting employed clients who are struggling in work to retain their employment
- 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, and liaising with employers to retain jobs for clients struggling in work
- Experience of working alongside clinical teams within mental health
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
Additional requirements
Essential
- Ability to easily commute to different localities across Berkshire
Desirable
- Personal experience of mental health issues
Person Specification
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)
- Job retention case management and knowledge of legal and rights framework in the workplace
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 supporting employed clients who are struggling in work to retain their employment
- 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, and liaising with employers to retain jobs for clients struggling in work
- Experience of working alongside clinical teams within mental health
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
Additional requirements
Essential
- Ability to easily commute to different localities across Berkshire
Desirable
- Personal experience of mental health issues
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.
