IPS Team Leader

Are you a natural coach who loves seeing people thrive? Step into a pivotal role where your leadership can transform lives. As an IPS Team Leader, you’ll guide and inspire Employment Specialists to deliver truly life‑changing employment support for people on their mental health recovery journey.

A career at Pure Innovations is an opportunity to make a positive impact every single day, helping people to achieve their goals and to live a fulfilled life. We are proud to be an inclusive employer that provides opportunities for all colleagues to grow both personally and professionally.

Role

The Team Leader will manage a team of up to 10 Employment Specialists providing supervision, training, caseload management, and role modelling of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach, as part of the holistic recovery plan for mental health service users. The Team Leader will provide a pivotal role in managing a high-quality service that meets fidelity standards and delivers positive outcomes for service users. You will work with clients (manage a small caseload) who have mental health support needs, who are unemployed, to assist them in securing sustainable paid employment in line with their preferences.

Responsibilities

• Effectively manage a high-quality service that adheres to the principles of IPS best practice.
• Take responsibility for the recruitment and retention of Employment Specialists joining the team.
• Monitor and manage performance of the IPS Employment Specialists – guide them individually on best practice and achieving individual and team job outcome targets.
• Create a culture of continuous improvement.
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures, overseeing their effective implementation within the team.
• Identify training needs of staff and arrange appropriate training to support with continuous professional development.
• Support the design and delivery of in-house staff training and development (including facilitating peer learning and best practice).
• Coordinate the work of Employment Specialists in a region in relation to building relationships with employers to effectively access the hidden labour market, external agencies and delivery of job seeking groups.
• Produce regular monitoring reports for internal and external stakeholders, including commissioners.
• Identify barriers for service excellence and work with internal and external stakeholders to implement solutions to ensure a high-fidelity service.
• Provide solution focused monthly supervisions for each employment specialist within the team, including caseload management.
• Lead the team to ensure Employment Specialists spend enough time in face-to-face meetings with employers to find the right job match.
• Guide, mentor and coach the team to deliver on employment engagements/job development strategies.
• Ensure that contractual KPI’s and quality compliance is achieved.
• Facilitate various feedback opportunities for clients to provide feedback on the service and use this to review and develop the service.

Relationship Management

• Arrange regular meetings with clients to monitor and review progress pre and post-employment.
• Meet with the Service Manager to agree priorities and work plans.
• Spend time getting to know local employers, in order to negotiate job opportunities that meet each individual’s strengths, needs, abilities and preferences.
• Develop effective working relationships with a range of external agencies who can help individuals to achieve their employment goals.
• Work effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds, understanding and respecting various cultural norms, values, and perspectives while ensuring an inclusive and non-discriminatory approach to employment support.

Other

• Undertake mandatory training as required, including training in the IPS approach.
• Actively participate in own continuous professional development.
• Advocate for the well-being and rights of clients.
• Implement the Trust/organisation’s policies and procedures as required.
• Responsible for marketing and profiling the service for the team.
• Ensure that effective monitoring and evaluation systems are adhered to and keep abreast of changing practice within the sector.
• Manage feedback, comments and complaints.
• Provide covering support where needed across Pure’s IPS service in Greater Manchester.

The person

• Trained in IPS approach or another supported employment framework (e.g. SEQF).
• 3+ years’ experience of working with people with mental health support needs, or a similar group within health, social services or the voluntary sector.
• 2+ years’ experience working in employment services.
• Proven experience of meeting and exceeding outcomes and targets.
• Experience of managing multiple tasks at any one time.
• Experience of staff supervision, management and/or mentoring.
• Experience of managing change effectively and facilitating innovation.