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Job summary

Main area
Administrative
Grade
Band 5
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
270-TH315-MH
Employer
Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Campbell House
Town
Northampton
Salary
£32,073 - £39,043 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
17/09/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust logo

Individual Placement and Support - Employment Specialist

Band 5

Job overview

The service has 8 principles that are followed based on the Individual Placement Support model (Centre for Mental Health, 2021):

1. It aims to get people into competitive employment

2. It is open to all those who want to work

3. It tries to find jobs consistent with people's preferences

4. It works quickly

5. It brings employment specialists into clinical teams

6. Employment specialists develop relationships with employers based upon a person's work preferences

7. It provides time unlimited, individualised support for the person and their employer

8. Benefits counselling is included

 

This role  is designed  to support   individuals to recognise and better equip them to meet the  challenges  of  achieving and maintaining paid employment as a fundamental and integral part of their desired recovery journey.

Main duties of the job

The service is individually tailored to the person’s needs and requirements. The overall aim of the service is to get the person into paid employment that is of interest to them and that will aid their mental health recovery. Following evidenced-based Individual Placement and Support (IPS) principles, key duties will include:

·       Raising the profile of employment as an essential part of the recovery journey within the mental health teams

·       Raising expectations around the ability of service users under those teams to find employment.

·       Preparing people who have experienced mental health conditions to find paid work and supporting them to the practicalities of job searching and applications

·       Engaging with and building effective working relationships with a range of employers to secure job opportunities for people who have experienced mental health conditions.

·       Providing on-going in work support according to needs of both employer and employee in order to enable people to retain employment.

·       Helping those currently employed  who may require support to retain employment due to their mental health condition.

 

Working for our organisation

NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools. We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

NHFT promotes a culture of learning to improve the care and safety of our patients and staff, which focuses on people who enable our Trust to be ‘outstanding’ by supporting opportunity, innovation, development and growth.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Employment Specialists identify and meet service users vocational goals by providing individually tailored programs using a person centred approach. The IPS staff sit within Community Mental Health clinical teams so that they are embedded and part of that MDT and wider discussion. 

·       Completing initial assessments of service users’ vocational needs

·       Work collaboratively with service users to complete a Vocational Profile

·       Confidential and individualised support to meet service user’s employment goals.

·       Help to search for jobs quickly

·       Help to build or rebuild CVs, make applications and prepare for interviews

·       Support with the disclosure of mental health conditions, should service users choose to disclose

·       Contact with local employers to seek fresh opportunities and support for the employer to help service users to return to work

·       Continued support once service users are in work for them and their employer

·       Work Retention support

·       Actively and regularly engage with employers and employment services

·       Attend and actively contribute to CMHT team allocation meetings

·       Complete required records for caseload and service activity and achievement of outcomes

·       Work flexibly across the county to support service need

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Educated to GCSE level
Desirable criteria
  • Qualification in delivering Employment or Vocational Activities

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria
  • Experience of helping people to obtain or keep work.
  • An understanding of the principles and practices of supported employment.
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of supporting people with mental health conditions into vocational/employment activities
  • An understanding of the principals and practices of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model.

Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria
  • Excellent written communication skills for writing CVs, employer contacts and job applications
  • Excellent internet use skills for job search, research and online applications
  • An ability and confidence to initiate and develop face to face relationships with employers and other agencies
  • Ability to travel easily between locations around Northamptonshire
Desirable criteria
  • Basic Counselling or Motivational Interviewing Skills

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyWorkplace Wellbeing Charter LogoArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardDisability confident employerCare quality commission - OutstandingStep into health

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Carlotta Oakenfull
Job title
Service Manager Mental Health Recovery Pathway
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07850542714
Additional information

Martin Page 

IPS Team Lead

[email protected]

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