Ips employment specialist jobs in Redbridge, devon
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IPS – Employment support
For people who need mental health support, getting back into work is a vital step on their recovery journey. The evidence backs this up, but although 90% of people with severe mental illness want to work, only 8% of them are in paid employment.
If you would like to join our team and champion our mission and help people who need employment support to get back into work. You will be supporting clients who are under the care of Secondary Mental Health services to gain and retain paid employment and will be based within a clinical team.
This is an incredibly rewarding role. You'll have the opportunity to transform the lives of clients, to give them hope, direction and support with their recovery journey alongside other key professionals. This is also a challenging role, so you’ll need to be empathetic, adaptable and dedicated to finding clients a role that’s right for them.
As an Employment Specialist, you’ll build a good rapport with your clients, gaining a real understanding of their key skills, their aspirations and their career goals and finding them opportunities to match. You'll also spend time building productive relationships with employers in order to identify and negotiate job opportunities in the hidden labour market.
Successful applicants for this post will receive training in the IPS approach, giving you the tools, you need to provide expert support and advice to clients, staff within your clinical team (e.g. Psychiatrist, Social Workers or Mental Health Nurse), while also building positive relationships with employers, opening doors and changing perceptions around mental health.
We welcome applications from people with personal experience of using mental health services.
Job Summary
To provide support into employment for people with mental health problems including:
· Managing a caseload of clients who wish to return to paid work, enabling them to find or retain employment by liaising with work and training providers, accessing benefits advice and by personally providing on-going support to clients in job search and after gaining employment, in accordance with evidence based supported employment practice such as the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment.
· Link with local employers and voluntary bodies in order to secure employment opportunities within the community
· Pro-actively support and motivate clients in obtaining employment opportunities
· Provide on-going support according to both the employee’s and employer’s needs to enable clients to both gain and retain employment.
Key responsibilities
· To work in partnership with individuals to support them in finding paid employment, or taking steps towards this.
· To develop strong links with other agencies such as voluntary, statutory and businesses in the development of work opportunities for clients.
· To support Community Mental Health Team colleagues with information about work and training opportunities.
· To report on outcome measures for the service.
· To provide monitoring/audit information to the Senior IPS Employment Specialist responsible for Employment Services.
Main duties
· Manage a caseload of people who have experienced mental health problems who wish to work.
· Prepare individuals for employment by assessing each person’s individual vocational needs which might typically include identifying strengths, help with benefits, support networks, travel to work plans, etc.
· Co create employment action plans with the individual, and provide this to the care co-ordinator and other professionals where appropriate.
· Assist individuals in job search and prepare them to apply for employment/education, liaising with colleagues as required e.g. Disability Employment Advisors, Jobcentre Plus, DWP contract providers and local colleges.
· Contact and meet with employers to identify job opportunities for individual clients.
· Have a proactive approach in developing jobs tailored to suit individual clients’ needs by contacting local employers, discussing mutual requirements and negotiating opportunities.
· Accompany job seekers to interviews if required.
· Provide education and support to employers, as agreed with the individual and provide job retention interventions to people at risk of losing their employment, negotiating adjustments to the job role with employers to enable the person to retain their employment.
· Support clients in the workplace by supporting them to learn the job role if necessary, and/or negotiating with employers to adapt the role at the start of employment or if difficulties arise in the workplace.
· Identify any barriers for return to work and develop appropriate strategies to overcome those barriers for clients who wish to gain or retain open employment maintaining a positive attitude to addressing challenges.
· Contribute to the opportunities for an individual’s increased social inclusion by developing partnership working with voluntary sector agencies, and linking with primary care employment and job retention initiatives.
· Promote the Mindful Employer initiative and best practice in mental health and employment within the mental health services and in other organisations in the local area.
· Maintain and develop close links with referrers, care co-ordinators and Community
· Regularly attend Team meetings.
· Complete data monitoring sheets and keep accurate caseload records.
· Maintain high standards of personal development and undertake further training as may be required.
· Undertake regular supervision and annual appraisal.
· Undertake other duties as may reasonably be required by the organisation
Person specification
Qualifications and experience
Essential
· Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
· Experience/understanding of working with people with mental health support needs, or a similar client group within health, social services or the voluntary sector
· Experience of working with someone on a one-to-one basis
· Experience of managing multiple tasks at any one time
Desirable
· Trained in IPS approach
· Experience of supporting people to obtain or keep work
· Experience of working within health, social services or voluntary sector with people who have experienced mental health problems.
· Experience of working assertively to influence decision makers
· Own personal lived experience of recovery from mental health difficulties
· Previous experience of delivering a service using the IPS model is a bonus
· Proven experience of meeting and exceeding outcomes and targets
Skills and knowledge
Essential
· An understanding of the employment needs, and challenges faced by people who experience mental health difficulties
· Developing a knowledge of a broad range of occupations and jobs
· Able to use IT systems, databases and tools such as MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel
· Strong motivational, communication and listening skills
· Outstanding interpersonal skills and ability to build rapport with a range of people
· Good organisational ability
· Natural ability to build close, trusting and productive relationships with people
· Team orientated and able to work collaboratively within a mixed-disciplinary team
· Ability to work independently and use initiative to develop and promote a service
Desirable
· Knowledge of DWP and disability/employment related benefits
· Knowledge of good practice in employment legislation protecting Disability and Equality
Interviews will take place on 14th, 16th and 21st April 2026.
Email CV and Cover letter or supporting statement
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Social Finance is an ambitious non-profit that designs, funds and scales solutions to complex social problems. Our vision is a fairer world where together we unleash the potential of people and communities. We work with governments, funders, communities and the social sector to tackle some of the most persistent challenges facing society in the UK.
Our multidisciplinary team brings together experience from the public, private and charity sectors. We are known for our collaborative and intellectually curious culture and for delivering systems change, improving how entire systems operate so they produce better, lasting outcomes.
One of our most significant initiatives is IPS Grow, which supports the national expansion of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment services across England. IPS is an evidence-based approach that helps people experiencing severe mental illness, addiction and other health challenges find and sustain competitive employment with tailored support.
IPS Grow works with commissioners, healthcare providers and delivery partners to expand high-quality IPS services, improve quality and learning across the system, and ensure the data and evidence behind IPS continue to demonstrate its impact. Scaling IPS has been a priority for Social Finance since 2015 and continues to be an integral part of our work today.
With IPS Grow transitioning from a fast‑growing initiative to a mature organisation with expanding reach and influence, we are now looking for an experienced Chief Operating Officer to join the IPS Grow and Social Finance Senior Leadership Team.
The COO will provide strategic leadership across IPS Grow’s operational infrastructure, ensuring the organisation has the systems, processes and capabilities required to deliver impact at scale. You will strengthen financial oversight, resource planning and risk management while helping develop IPS Grow’s data and digital capability. The role will also help shape the organisational structures and culture needed to support sustainable growth.
We are looking for a senior operational leader with experience in finance and the non-profit or publicly funded sectors, ideally with a track record of helping organisations scale. You will bring strong financial literacy, sound strategic judgement and the ability to build effective operational frameworks in complex environments.
You will be a collaborative partner across IPS Grow and the wider Social Finance organisation, building trusted relationships, bringing clarity to operational challenges and fostering a strong “one team” culture across a distributed team.
This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the next phase of IPS Grow’s development. If this resonates with you, we would be delighted to hear from you.
To download a full copy of the candidate brief and learn more about the role, please click the ‘Apply’ button, where you will be redirected to the website of our recruitment partner, Tall Roots.
Applications should include a CV and covering letter responding to the following questions:
- What is motivating you to become our new Chief Operating Officer for IPS Grow? (200 words)
- Given what you have read about us so far, what do you believe would make an effective Chief Operating Officer for IPS Grow? (200 words)
- Please describe your experience ensuring an organisation had the right systems, processes or capabilities in place to use data effectively. What was your role and what difference did this make? (250 words)
- Please tell us about a time when you built strong partnerships across teams or organisations to deliver a shared goal. What approach did you take and what was the outcome? (250 words)
Thank you!
At Hestia, we are guided by our core values and are dedicated to fostering an equitable, diverse, and inclusive organisation. Our mission is to empower individuals to rebuild their lives and achieve independence. Right now, we are looking for a Employment Specialist to play a pivotal role in our Employment Services in Barnet.
Sounds great, what will I be doing?
We are seeking a dedicated and adaptable professional to manage a caseload of up to 20 clients, supporting individuals with mental health conditions into meaningful employment using the IPS model. The ideal candidate will work closely with clinical teams, contribute to multi-disciplinary care planning, and build strong relationships with employers to tailor job opportunities. Strong organisational and communication skills are essential for managing referrals, job retention support, and compliance with NHS and Hestia protocols. The role also requires accurate KPI tracking, benefit guidance, and flexibility to work across various settings. A commitment to professional development, collaboration, and client-centred outcomes is key.
What do I need to bring with me?
You'll need to be able to demonstrate the core skills this role requires as well as match our values and mission. You don't have to tick all the boxes right away; the important thing is that you're willing to learn. We also value lived experience of the areas we support, so if you feel comfortable, please do mention this on your application.
Someone who is a self starter and comfortable with a lone working environment, you will have strong empathy skills and an eye for detail. You should have experience of supporting people in a job search and have made an impact on this. To succeed you would need to have worked in a target environment and used to meeting and exceeding targets.
Interview Steps
We keep our interview process simple, so you know exactly what to expect.
- Shortlisting call: We have a team of dedicated recruitment specialists who will speak to you about your experience, motivations and values. They will also tell you about all the great work we do!
- Face to face interview: Now you will have face to face interview with the hiring manager. Our interviews are value and competency based.
Don't be alarmed if there are other stages in the process, it's all part of the plan for some of our roles.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Our services users come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds because it makes us stronger. We are committed to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce and value the skills, abilities, talent and experiences, different people and communities bring to our organisation.
We are a disability confident employer
Hestia is proud to be a disability confident employer, dedicated to the employment and career development of individuals with disabilities. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for all applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the role they have applied for. We also provide reasonable adjustments during the selection and interview process, and throughout your employment with us.
Safeguarding Statement
Hestia is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of adults, children and young people who are potentially at risk, and we therefore expect all staff and volunteers to do the same. We require all staff to undertake internal and external safeguarding training throughout their employment with Hestia.
Important Information for Candidates
If your application is successful, please be aware that you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks before a formal offer of employment can be confirmed.
We reserve the right to close this job advert early should we receive a high volume of applications or if the position is filled before the closing date. We encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible to ensure their application is considered.
Registered Charity
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We deliver services across London as well as campaign and advocate nationally on the issues that affect the people we work with.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.