Connect to Work IPS Team Manager

Salary: £38,682

Contract type: Permanent

Working hours: Full Time (37.5 hrs pw)

Location: Preston PR1 (must have a car to travel between Sites)

For over three decades, we have been dedicated to supporting individuals and employers across the UK. As a nationwide market leader, we have assisted over 13,000 people in the past year alone to retrain, embark on new career paths, or establish their own businesses.

As a Team Manager, you'll lead a small team of Employment Specialists, ensuring they adhere to the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach for health service users. Responsibilities include supervision, training, and caseload management to maintain high-quality service meeting Fidelity standards. You'll assist clients with health support needs in securing sustainable paid employment aligned with their preferences.

What you'll do:

• Effectively manage a high-quality service that adheres to the principles of IPS best practice
• Drive and monitor stakeholder engagement to ensure development of a robust referral pipeline
• Attend multidisciplinary team meetings, delivering presentations as needed to promote provision
• Monitor and manage performance of the IPS Employment Specialists, guiding them individually on best practice and achieving individual and team job outcome targets
• 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
• Spend time getting to know local employers, in order to negotiate job opportunities that meet each individual's strengths, needs, abilities and preferences
• Arrange/facilitate education and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments, return to work strategy and ongoing contact with the employer to ensure job retention.

You’ll need:

• Educated to a degree level or equivalent experience
• Desirable trained in IPS approach
• Knowledge of disability and special needs issues, policies, and legislation in relation to employment
• 3+ years experience of working with people with health support needs, or a similar group within health, social services, or the voluntary sector
• Natural ability to build close, trusting, and productive relationships with people
• Ability to model recovery focused practice including co-production
• Clean driving licence and full-time access to car as this role requires travel. Overseas equivalent qualifications will be accepted.

We welcome applicants with lived experience and encourage applications that reflect the relevance to the post.

Benefits:

• CPD - Broad range of internal training to enhance your knowledge and skills
• Generous pension scheme, with the option to opt out
• Company health plan subject to successful completion of probation period
• 25 days annual leave + 8 bank holidays
• 5-10 sick days per year paid.

Join us at Standguide and be part of a team dedicated to making a meaningful impact on individuals' lives and businesses nationwide. Standguide is an Equal Opportunities Employer and a Disability Confident Leader. We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity and value the diversity of our staff and customers. We thrive on creating positive working relationships, free from discrimination. Successful candidates will be subject to satisfactory references and enhanced DBS check.

For the full job description and person specification, please email Itunu at recruitment@standguide.co.uk.