IPS Employment Specialist in Coventry

Would you like to work for a leading mental health charity? Do you want a rewarding career where you can make a real difference to someone’s life? If yes, join us here at Rethink Mental Illness.

We’re Rethink Mental Illness, a leading charity provider of mental health services in England. We support thousands of people through our groups, services, policy, campaigns and advice and information. Our work supports us in delivering on our mission: “A better life for everyone severely affected by mental illness.” In everything we do, we seek to demonstrate our values: Passion, Commitment, Openness, Hope, Expertise and understanding. If these values resonate with you, we would love to hear from you.

We have an exciting opportunity at our Coventry & Warwickshire IPS Employment service, where you will join our friendly and inspiring team as an IPS Employment Specialist. Your role will be a permanent position working 37.5 hours per week in a field-based role. The role will be based in the community of South Warwickshire primarily, but you would be expected to cover Coventry and Warwickshire as well, as you might need to be a floating member of staff. A good working local knowledge of all areas of South Warwickshire would be ideal.

You will be integrated into the NHS to provide employment support for people experiencing severe mental illness with the aim of gaining employment. You will attend 6 meetings per week with local employers to build relationships and engage them regarding our service, in the above locations. In addition, you will meet your clients each week to provide them with face-to-face support. Key to this role will also be to undertake administration duties such as producing letters, spreadsheets, and keeping various systems up to date. As part of the role, you will receive System 1 training from the NHS which will be made up of a series of 10 online sessions and a final assessment. You will also be expected to operate Rethink's internal CRM systems on a daily basis; full training will be provided.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of between 20-30 service users at any one time who are currently off work/unemployed, receiving specialist mental health services and who wish to return to work, pro rata.
• Build relationships with clinical teams to generate referrals and create collaborative working partnerships with NHS clinicians where employment support is integrated into mental health treatment and forms part of the Transformation plan.
• Build a multi-disciplinary approach to the return to work. For example, involve clinical staff (where relevant) in managing symptoms at work, liaise with DWP and other stakeholder groups.
• Prepare individuals for a return to work by supporting service users to understand their skills, aspirations and goals through vocational profiling and action planning.
• Focus on rapid job search with the service user, whilst utilising local support networks to help them overcome their barriers to employment.
• Source job opportunities for service users through tailored job search and regular contact with employers, with 6 face-to-face contacts per week in the community.

The person

• A basic understanding of IPS (Individual Placement Support) gained through experience or self-conducted research.
• Experience in recruitment or employment along with advice and guidance on employment needs.
• Ability to engage with employers and build close, trusting, and productive relationships with people.
• Good understanding of the local area and its employers.
• Strong IT skills with the competency to use a range of complex systems and software.
• Good understanding of the principles and practice of supported employment.
• Experience of working in supported employment services is desirable.
• Good time management, diary organisation, be adaptable/flexible as no two days are the same and to be able to work with minimal supervision.
• Experience of working with people with mental health problems or a similar service user group is desirable.
• As you will be working within the community, we do need you to hold a full UK driving licence.