Employment Specialist Team Leader

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: CtW Employment Specialist Team Lead

Location:Milton Keynes

Hours:37.5 pw

Accountable To: CtW Service Manager

Background

Intuitive Thinking Skills place a high value on the life experiences of individuals, regardless of their backgrounds. As such, all roles within the organisation are primarily focussed on fostering these experiences, supporting employees to thrive in whatever sector they are working in.

This emphasis on the skills of our workforce is primary to all other activities, as without a relevantly skilled, empowered and highly motivated workforce we will fail to support the needs and aspirations of our customers.

The Connect to Work programme supports people who face more complex challenges in finding or staying in a job. The programme is completely voluntary and offers personalised, one‑to‑one employment support to help you build confidence, find work, and keep it.

We are committed to embedding the voices, expertise and leadership of people with living & lived experiences in everything we do, from service design to delivery and evaluation.

Key Relationships: Local employers, Jobcentre Plus, Primary and Community health services, VCSE organisations, education and training providers, other local employment services, and Milton Keynes Council.

Job Summary:

The post holder will provide professional supervision to a team of 2 to 4 Employment Specialists, and hold a caseload of up to 10 participants. They will contribute to the on-going development of the Connect to Work service in Milton Keynes, working alongside Milton Keynes Council. You will be responsible for the day to day line management, training and onboarding, ensuring the achievement of key outcomes, and ensuring compliance with Supported Employment Fidelity and Quality requirements.

Overview of main responsibilities:

• To manage a limited caseload of up to 10 participants who wish to return to, or start, paid employment. Providing ongoing In Work Support where required
• To building effective working relationships with local employers, training providers and colleges to secure relevant opportunities and employment for CtW participants
• To provide job development and job search activities directed toward positions that are individualised to the interests and uniqueness of the participant, following the evidence-based principles and procedures of supported employment.
• To provide ongoing support according to both the employee’s and employer’s needs to enable people with barriers to retain employment once secured.
• To ensure that the service achieves and maintains good fidelity to the evidence-based supported employment model(s) being delivered.
• To ensure that people are provided with help and advice to apply for posts in open employment, and advised about accessing in-work welfare benefits as appropriate.
• To promote the CtW service to referral partners and the general public, whilst raising expectations around the ability of clients to attain paid work.

• To provide leadership and professional supervision to Employment Specialists within the team.
• To provide field mentoring to employment staff to enable them to further develop their practice and increase outcomes.
• To liaise with Service Manager, commissioners, health practitioners and other stakeholders around the on-going implementation of the evidence-based Supported Employment models.
• To work with referral partners and other support services through case conferencing, to ensure that participants receive appropriate, holistic support from everyone in their support network during the return to work process.
• To lead a local employer engagement strategy to involve employers (including the local authority and partner services), and open-up and secure work experience and paid employment opportunities for Connect to Work participants
• To provide advice and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments and on-going contact with supervisors to ensure job retention.
• To assess individual support needs related to work which might typically include help with benefits, travel to work, managing health and work etc.
• To work flexibly on occasion as required by participants and employers, which may require some working out of normal office hours.

Professional Development

• To participate in your own development, objective setting/appraisals, and professional development plan.
• To provide regular supervision to Employment Specialists, including group supervision to the team, and overseeing their professional development plans.

Policy and/or Service Development

• To work with the Service Manager and Employment Specialists, to ensure that the vocational support services offered continue to develop effectively.
• To ensure participation in monitoring and evaluation systems to accurately capture and report Key Performance Items.

Benefits:

Employer pension contributions, annual leave, company events, access to a range of discounts and offers

Inclusive Recruitment and Accessibility

Intuitive Thinking Skills is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. We welcome applications from candidates with a range of backgrounds, experiences and working styles. Candidates are encouraged to let us know if they require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process.

Applicants do not need to meet every desirable criterion to apply; we are interested in relevant skills, potential and values alignment as well as direct experience.

Compliance

All colleagues are responsible for following organisational policies, procedures and relevant legal and regulatory requirements, including safeguarding, Prevent, health and safety, equality and inclusion, UK GDPR/data protection and information security.

The postholder must support compliance with applicable organisational standards, including ISO 27001 Information Security, ISO 9001 Quality Management and ISO 14001 Environmental Management, by maintaining accurate records, protecting confidential information and escalating concerns appropriately.