IPS Employment Retention Worker in Walsall

Are you passionate about helping people stay in work and thrive during difficult times? Join our Employment Retention Service and support individuals with severe mental health needs to keep their jobs and build brighter, more stable futures.

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health, learning disability, and community healthcare services for the population of the Black Country. Across the whole of the region we provide:

• Adult and older adult mental health services
• Specialist learning disability services
• CAMHS

Role Contract Type: Fixed Term for 18 months until 31st July 2027

You will manage your own caseload of clients and support them and their employers to resolve any issues, look at sustainable return to work plans, and offer advice on reasonable adjustments to the workplace that can enable our clients to remain at work. You will receive regular supervision and support from the team and will be part of the wider Employment Service. Ideally, the successful candidate will have previous experience of supporting people with mental health problems or disabilities to retain their employment. This could be from a background in human resources, occupational health/therapy or from an advocate/trade union perspective. Training and support will be provided to the successful candidate as will a full induction into the role.

Responsibilities

The post holder will contribute to IPS employment outcomes by supporting clinical pathways to enable individuals to return to their substantive employment. The retention service provides high quality support to employed service users who are at risk of losing their job as a result of mental ill health. The service provides advice and advocacy support to the service user and their employer to negotiate return to work, remain in work or termination of employment focusing on the desired outcome of the service user.

The Retention Worker deals with cases involving disciplinary hearings, phased return to work plans and mediation between employers and employees. More complex cases involving tribunals and grievances will be supported under the guidance of the Retention Workers, but independent legal advice should also be sought. Supporting the service user throughout by providing reports liaising with employers, occupational health and human resources to negotiate a satisfactory resolution for the service user; this is often done at a time when the service user is experiencing deterioration in their mental health.

The Retention Worker also provides education and support to employers around mental health awareness, reasonable adjustments in the workplace as well as providing ongoing support to the service user when they return to work. In the event of a service user being unable to return to work the Retention Worker will refer on to the Individual Placement Support (IPS) team who will support the service user to look for alternative employment.

The Retention Workers will be expected to record robust patient data and collate vocational statistics for our funders. The clinical recording system RIO will be used to input project outcomes, client progress and related paperwork such as assessments, wellness action plans and reviews etc. Face to face and non-face to face contacts recorded on RIO, and project monitoring and service statistics provided for manager. Accurate and impartial records are a vital part of the service.

The employment service delivery model supports the Trust’s commitment to put recovery at the heart of the service user journey. The service also contributes to national minimum data set targets around service user employment.

The person Relevant degree or equivalent level of experience in mental health or employment support L4 Information, Advice and Guidance Effective communication skills to convey complex information to a range of providers Organisational skills and time management Ability to maintain accurate and detailed client notes and write concise reports and correspondence within set timescales Ability to motivate and support clients to resolve workplace issues Ability to submit timely statistical information and outcomes.

Experience Essential Experience of supporting people with mental health problems in the community with workplace issues Preferably at least 12 months experience of supporting clients with severe mental health needs with employment Working knowledge of relevant employment law especially the Equality Act 2010 Working knowledge of other services available e.g. Access to Work Demonstrates a commitment to empowering the individual to make informed choices.