IPS Employment Specialist

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There’s a place for you at CNWL. We’re passionate about delivering first-class patient-centred, safe and effective care, whether it is in a hospital setting, in a community clinic or in the patient’s own home. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Providing top quality care depends on our ability to employ the best people. We’re always looking to recruit outstanding people who will go the extra mile to support our patients, colleagues, teams and the Trust. With every new employee we’re hoping to find our future leaders and we’ll support our staff by providing opportunities to develop your career. With a diverse culture and equally diverse range of opportunities across mental health, community services, addictions, eating disorders, learning disabilities and more – whatever stage of your career you're at, there's always a place for you at CNWL.

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Site Brent Town London Salary £36,943 - £44,900 per annum inc HCAS (pro rata if P/T) Salary period Yearly Closing 02/10/2026 23:59

CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.

Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff. We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page

Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.

Job overview

We are looking for motivated, passionate self-starters who want to kickstart a career in the mental health sector. These position, with on-the-job training, is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference and support those with mental health needs.

As an IPS Employment Specialist you will play a vital role in helping people with mental health needs find meaningful and fulfilling employment. You’ll receive all the training and support you need to take on the role, develop your skills, and have access to a broad range of opportunities. Joining a passionate and driven team, you’ll be working towards creating a fairer and more inclusive society for people with mental health needs.

We welcome applications from all experience levels and backgrounds. What you will need is the ability to motivate and build relationships with service users, strong organisational skills, the confidence to communicate and engage with a range of employers, and a fundamental belief that anyone with a mental health condition can work.

Main duties of the job

What is an IPS Employment Specialist?

This is a rewarding and dynamic role where no day is the same and you’ll be making a genuine difference to people’s lives. Using the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model you’ll be:

• Supporting and motivating individuals with mental health conditions to access and sustain paid employment.
• Regularly meeting with clients to listen, offer support and help them identify their best job match, reflecting their skills and aspirations.
• Supporting the clients through CV production, interview techniques and managing their health at work.
• Advocating for your clients by educating and engaging with employers regarding the IPS service.
• Sourcing job opportunities for your clients through regular contact with local employers within the community.
• Promoting employment and raising expectations around the ability of service users to access paid employment, breaking down the barriers for them.

Working for our organisation

Working for Central North West London NHS Trust

You will also be part of the Trustwide Employment Services Team which comprises of over 40 people.

You will receive a number of staff benefits working for CNWL Trust, this includes an attractive pension scheme, a range of staff networks, travel discounts, employee assistance programme and discounts at hundreds of retailers nationwide.

This role is an excellent opportunity to start a long-term career within the mental health sector, develop your skills and a gateway to the vast number of opportunities within CNWL.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Who are we looking for?

Firstly, you will need strong and persuasive communication skills, excellent time management and exceptional organisational skills. Also, the ability to initiate and develop relationships with a variety of individuals and be able to engage employers using a variety of methods such as via the telephone or face-to-face in the community.

It would also be helpful, but NOT essential, if you have experience of working with people with mental health support needs (or similar groups) OR have experience working in employment support services (or equivalent), this can include working with people on a one-to-one basis, offering motivation and support, or engaging with a range of stakeholders. We are actively interested in individuals who have experience using a persuasive communication style or promoting a service to a variety of audiences, this can include marketing, recruitment, or sales roles.

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification on this advert for further info.

Outline of your main responsibilities within these two areas:

Client support:

• Manage a caseload of between 20-25 people who have experienced mental health or substance misuse problems who wish to return to work, and challenge inequalities and discrimination experienced by the service users.
• Prepare individuals for a return to work by supporting people to understand their skills, aspirations, and goals by offering employment profiling, job matching, action planning and employment case management support.
• Focus on rapid job search with service users, whilst utilising local support networks to help individuals overcome their barriers to employment.
• Assess individual support needs related to work which might typically include help with in-work benefits, travel to work, managing health at work etc. and continue providing this once in employment to ensure they retain work.
• Deliver and promote employment workshops, employment surgeries and job clubs to service users who are not able to access the caseload.

Employer engagement and Service Promotion:

• Source job opportunities for service users through tailored job search and proactive engagement with employers to open-up and secure paid employment.
• Engage employers to access the hidden labour market or ‘carving out’ jobs where specific tasks can be assigned by using a variety of methods such as face to face contact, social media platforms (e.g. LinkedIn), phone and email.
• Build effective working relationships with local training providers, local colleges and external employers to secure education opportunities and paid employment.
• 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.
• Build the profile of the employment service and promote co-production within the clinical team, alongside raising expectations around the ability of service users to access paid work.

Throughout your role you will be implementing the evidence-based employment practice Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model and its fidelity approach. The model focuses on delivering a person-centred, high-quality service and results, meeting and exceeding sustained job outcome targets for people accessing the service.

Another key part of this role is the administrative aspect, through keeping accurate and appropriate records of casework, providing information for monitoring and evaluation, and recording the progress of individuals. Thus, it is essential that the postholder is efficient, responsible, can maintain a high level of personal organisation and has strong IT skills of using word processor and data systems.

Person specification

• Significant experience of working with people with mental health difficulties or a similar client group within health, social services or the voluntary sector
• Experience of supporting people to obtain or keep work
• Own personal lived experience of using secondary mental health or addiction services
• Own personal lived experience of recovery from mental health difficulties
• Experience and knowledge of the benefits agency and all disability/employment related benefits

Skills