Employment Specialist - Retention

Position: Employment Specialist - Job Retention
Reports to:

Service Manager

Location:

Hybrid (Office, Community and Remote). Office based in Leatherhead but must be willing and able to travel within Surrey and NE Hants

Hours:

Full-time (37 hours per week)
Contract Type:
Fixed-Term Contract Salary: £25,877.80 - £34,240.03 per annum

Please note that the starting point for this role will be £30,093 per annum

Please note:

The salary listed reflects the full earning potential for this role. Starting salaries depend on experience and progression within the band.

About Waythrough Waythrough was formed in 2024 following the merger of Humankind and Richmond Fellowship. Together, we’ve created one of the largest mental health and social support charities in England.

Every year, we support around 125,000 people through nearly 200 services – and it’s all made possible by our 3,500 brilliant staff and volunteers.

Make a real difference in your community

Are you passionate about helping others live safer, healthier, more independent lives? Join our team at Waythrough and support people facing challenges around mental health, substance use, housing or domestic abuse. This is more than just a job – it’s a chance to build meaningful relationships and create lasting change.

About You You are passionate about helping people improve their mental health through meaningful employment and believe that good work plays an important role in recovery. You are compassionate, person-centred and motivated to empower individuals to overcome barriers and achieve their employment goals.

You have:

Experience supporting people with mental health conditions or other barriers to employment.

A strengths-based, recovery-focused approach.

Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.

The ability to motivate, coach and empower individuals.

Confidence managing a varied caseload and complex employment situations.

Resilience, adaptability and sound judgement when working in challenging or sensitive circumstances.

Strong organisational and IT skills, with experience maintaining accurate electronic records.

A good understanding of safeguarding, confidentiality, equality, diversity and inclusion.

Ideally, experience within mental health, Talking Therapies, supported employment or vocational rehabilitation services.

Knowledge of employment legislation and workplace adjustments is desirable.

What You'll DoAs an Employment Specialist within the Job Retention team, you will provide personalised, recovery-focused support to people experiencing mental health difficulties who are at risk of losing their jobs.

Your responsibilities will include:

Managing a varied caseload and delivering tailored one-to-one employment support.

Supporting individuals to overcome barriers affecting their ability to remain in work.

Completing vocational assessments and developing personalised support plans.

Providing coaching on workplace wellbeing, confidence, stress management and work-life balance.

Working with employers (with participant consent) to promote reasonable adjustments, inclusive workplaces and successful return-to-work plans.

Managing complex employment situations while balancing the needs of participants, employers and healthcare professionals.

Collaborating with therapists, clinicians and partner organisations to ensure employment remains a key part of recovery.

Maintaining accurate records, monitoring outcomes and contributing to continuous service improvement.

What We're Looking For We're looking for an enthusiastic, compassionate and proactive Employment Specialist who believes in the positive impact that meaningful employment can have on mental health and recovery.

The ideal candidate will:

Be committed to delivering person-centred, recovery-focused support.

Have experience supporting people facing mental health or employment-related challenges.

Build strong, trusting relationships with participants, employers and healthcare  confident handling sensitive and complex employment situations with professionalism and empathy.

Work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams and external organisations.

Demonstrate excellent organisational, communication and record-keeping  able to travel across Surrey and North East…