IPS Employment Specialist – Mental Health Employment Services

Help make employment part of someone's recovery

For someone living with serious mental illness, the right job can provide far more than an income.

It can restore confidence, create structure, strengthen independence and become an important part of their recovery. As an IPS Employment Specialist, you will work alongside NHS clinical teams to help people experiencing serious mental illness find and sustain meaningful paid employment.

You will have a manageable caseload, allowing you to understand each person's strengths, preferences and circumstances and provide genuinely individualised support.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with experience in employability, careers advice or information, advice and guidance who wants to develop specialist skills within mental health employment support.

Full training in the Individual Placement and Support model will be provided.

IPS stands for Individual Placement and Support. It is an internationally recognised, evidence-based approach to helping people experiencing serious mental illness move into competitive paid employment.

The principle is straightforward: if someone wants to work, they should receive practical support to begin looking for the right job without being held back by lengthy assessments or assumptions about whether they are "ready".

This is not classroom-based employability provision and it is not about directing people towards any available vacancy.

You will work with each person to understand the job they want, begin a rapid and personalised job search and provide continued support once employment starts.

Your focus will be the right job, for the right person, with the right support.

You will be integrated within an NHS clinical team, working alongside mental health professionals as part of a person’s wider recovery support.

You will attend clinical meetings, develop trusted relationships with NHS colleagues and ensure employment is considered as an important part of recovery planning.

You will also spend considerable time in the community.

You might meet someone in a clinical setting, community venue or another agreed location.

You will visit employers, identify suitable opportunities and support people before and after they enter work.

You may start your day attending an NHS clinical meeting, discussing referrals and identifying people who want support to return to work.

You could then meet a participant to complete a vocational profile, exploring their skills, experience, interests and preferred type of employment.

Later, you might approach local employers to understand their workforce needs and identify opportunities that will not necessarily appear on job boards.

In the afternoon, you could help someone prepare for an interview, discuss whether and how they want to disclose a health condition, or visit a participant who has recently started work to provide in-work support.

You will also maintain accurate case records, track progress and plan the next action for every person on your caseload.

No two days will be identical, but every day must move people closer to meaningful employment.

• Manage a manageable caseload of people experiencing serious mental illness
• Deliver individual advice and guidance to adults and young adults
• Complete detailed vocational profiles and employment action plans
• Understand each person's skills, experience, aspirations and job preferences
• Support CV development, applications and interview preparation
• Help people make informed decisions about disclosing a health condition
• Explore workplace adjustments and strategies for managing health at work
• Build relationships with local employers
• Approach employers directly to identify advertised and hidden opportunities
• Match people with jobs that reflect their individual goals and strengths
• Work as an integrated member of an NHS clinical team
• Attend clinical and multidisciplinary meetings
• Maintain effective communication with clinicians about wellbeing and risk
• Provide continued in-work support to participants and employers
• Help people sustain employment when difficulties arise
• Track job starts, sustainment and progression
• Maintain accurate, timely and fidelity-compliant case records
• Work towards clear individual and service outcome targets
• Follow safeguarding, confidentiality and data-protection requirements

Suitable opportunities will not always be found by searching online job boards.

You will need to develop relationships with local employers, understand their workforce needs and introduce the support available through the IPS service.

This will involve:

• Contacting employers who do not already know you
• Asking employers about current and future opportunities
• Promoting inclusive recruitment
• Exploring job carving and flexible working arrangements
• Discussing reasonable workplace adjustments
• Maintaining contact after someone starts work

You must be comfortable initiating employer…