Employment Support Coach Leeds Mind

40% of people who are unemployed struggle with their mental health. Many want to work, but face barriers. With a little support, coaching, guidance and patience, we can change this. You can change this. As an Employment Support Coach, you’ll work with people with severe mental health challenges, assisting them to find meaningful, long term employment. You’ll work with their clinical team to help find ways to break down barriers to working, and support them in taking the next steps in their career.

The role has two major focuses:

• You’ll spend time in the community working with a caseload of 20 clients. We find the best results come from meeting face to face with job seekers, so you’ll spend time meeting in public places like coffee shops, libraries, or community hubs. Here you’ll work on CV support, interview coaching, helping to decide what roles would be best to apply for, and helping build action plans to make meaningful steps towards employment.
• You’ll support your clients through every step of their journey. The rest of your time will be spent building connections with local employers. Whether it’s large employers with many opportunities, or the local butchers who have a team of 4. When looking for opportunities for our clients, it’s not the size of the employer that matters, it’s the opportunities they can provide.

This role does come with KPI’s. The two main ones are how many people you help into long term jobs in a year, and how many potential employers you connect with on a weekly basis. The numbers are realistic, and reflect the support needed by our clients to gain employment. You’ll be trained on how to track your progress on our internal systems so that we can feedback on our progress to the funders of this work.

A day in the life of an Employment Support Coach will involve:

• Supporting a caseload of around 20 clients with mental health challenges to find, prepare for, and sustain meaningful employment.
• Developing personalised action plans to help clients identify job goals, tackle barriers, and build confidence for interviews and applications.
• Reaching out to local employers through networking, cold calling, and face-to-face meetings to create opportunities for your clients.
• Building lasting employer relationships, challenging mental health stigma in the workplace, and providing ongoing support to both employer and employee.
• Delivering one-to-one coaching on CVs, job applications, interview techniques, reasonable adjustments, and workplace disclosure.
• Working closely with clinical teams, attending multi-disciplinary meetings, and co-locating in community settings.
• Maintaining accurate, timely records in line with GDPR and safeguarding requirements, and contributing to audits and quality improvement.

To be a successful Employment Support Coach, you’ll need:

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage a caseload, prioritise tasks, and meet deadlines.
• Empathy and sensitivity when working with people experiencing mental health difficulties, with a non-judgemental approach.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport with clients, employers, and clinical teams.
• A solution-focused mindset to help clients overcome barriers and achieve their employment goals.
• The initiative to network with and engage employers and stakeholders.
• Good IT skills including Microsoft Word and Excel, and confidence using digital case management systems.
• A basic awareness of safeguarding vulnerable adults and a commitment to equality and diversity.
• Willingness to complete the IPS Employment Specialist training programme.

In return for your commitment and expertise, you’ll get:

• Annual leave – 28 days plus 8 statutory holidays, rising to 31 days after 3 years’ service.
• Pension scheme – 3% employer contribution, 5% employee contribution, enhanced through salary exchange.
• Supportive leave and flexible working policies, including enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
• Death In Service at 3x your salary.
• A monthly ‘Wellbeing hour’.
• 24/7 Life & Progress Employee Assistance Programme.
• Values Spotlight – monthly recognition scheme.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Access to Simply Health cash plan.
• Access to social care charity work discount schemes.
• Mental and physical health wellbeing activities timetable.
• A fully funded IPS Employment Specialist training programme and ongoing competency support.
• Reflective supervision, observed practice, and regular opportunities for professional development.
• The opportunity to make a genuine, lasting difference to people’s lives through meaningful employment support.

We’ve made significant progress in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in recent years, resulting in a diverse team. We are committed to maintaining strong representation in our workforce and always encourage applications from LGBTQIA+, culturally diverse, neurodivergent and disabled individuals within Leeds Mind.

If you have applied for an Employment Support or Employment Specialist role with Leeds Mind in the past 6 months, we are unable to accept another application at this time.