MULTIPLE posts available across Hertfordshire!!!

Each Community Services Hub provides a specialist care pathway to Service Users with Non pyschotic disorders and Personality disorder. They also provide specialist care pathways to those with psychotic disorders. Employment Support forms part of the pathways.

As the IPS Employment Specialist or IPS Retention Specialist, you will be responsible for providing Individual Placement Support (IPS) for all Service Users who are currently unemployed who express a desire to gain paid employment as part of their recovery goals. You will carry a caseload of up to 15-20 service users. There may be a requirement to support with job retention.

Main duties of the job

As the IPS Retention Specialist (RS) for the quadrant you will be responsible for providing predominantly job retention support for all Service Users who are currently in existing employment and experiencing challenges with their employment, at risk of losing their job, and people who are off sick and preparing to return to work. You may also support a small amount of people who are unemployed and looking for paid employment.

You will work directly with all relevant stakeholders: the service user, Community Services staff, consultant psychiatrists, partner agencies and employers to support the service users on your caseload to gain and retain paid employment.

You will be a fully integrated community team staff member, attending team meetings etc. Supervision will be provided by the IPS Senior Employment Specialist or IPS Team Leader. You will also be part of the Virtual IPS team receiving support from peers in other Community teams.

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from theCare Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.

Our family of over 3500 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.

The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Our Trust values are:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!

Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?

Job description

Job responsibilities

Below is just a small sample of the work involved for more details please read the person and job description attached

• To carry a case load of Service Users who are currently off work / unemployed, receiving specialist mental health services and who wish to return to work.
• To provide Job Retention support to those service users currently under secondary health services or enhanced Primary Care services who are at risk of losing their job through supporting with meetings and responses to Managers, Occupational Health Departments, HR departments and Legal representatives. This may occasionally include supporting Services out of a job which despite adjustments and best efforts remains detrimental to their wellbeing To prepare individuals for a return to work by supporting service users to understand their skills, aspirations and goals through vocational profiling and action planning.
• Focus on rapid job search with the service user, whilst utilising local support networks to help them overcome their barriers to employment.
• Source job opportunities for service users through tailored job search and regular contact with employers.
• When placing service users with employers, ensure that the quality of work environments is explored, including potential for workplace adjustments that will accommodate individual strengths, skills symptoms and coping skills.
• To develop effective working relationships with a range of external agencies who might be better able to help individuals to achieve their employment goals for example, local colleges, training providers and external supported employment services
• To provide education and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments, return to work strategy and on-going contact with the employer to help with any new or reoccurring issues in relation to mental health and job sustainability.
• To provide individualised support to service users once they have returned to work to assist them in maintaining employment.
• Meet and exceed job outcome targets for service users
• Build a multi-disciplinary approach to the return to work. For example, involve clinical staff (where relevant) in managing symptoms at work, medication reviews and supporting rehabilitation needs e.g. social skill development, budgeting, travel training etc.
• Contribute to the effective monitoring and evaluation of systems relating to IPS delivery within the quadrant

Person Specification

QUALIFICATIONS/ EDUCATION/TRAINING

Essential

• Educated to a degree level or equivalent

Desirable

• IPS trained
• Additional relevant training in areas of employment, mental health, coaching
• Job Retention Training

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Considerable experience of working with adults with MH difficulties in a health or social care setting
• Significant experience working in a role delivering employment support.

Desirable

• Supervision of junior staff
• Experience of partnership working, negotiation and liaison with other agencies

SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/ABILITY

Essential

• Knowledge of disability and special needs issues, policies and legislation in relation to employment
• Understanding of the principles and practice of IPS
• Knowledge of employment law
• Team orientated and work collaboratively within a mixed - disciplinary team
• Experience of partnership working, negotiation and liaison work with other agencies
• Experience of opening up job opportunities with a range of employers
• Ability to work with key IT tools such as MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Essential

• Ability to build rapport with a range of people
• Ability to provide and receive sensitive information regarding services users care and social situation
• Ability to work effectively in a team
• Knowledge of appropriate professional relationships and boundaries
• Ability to negotiate and persuade appropriately prospective employers of benefits of offering work opportunities to Service Users
• Active listening skills, ability to ask perceptive questions that tease out important information
• Compelling written and verbal communication skills, tailored to a variety of audiences

Desirable

• Mentoring/Coaching Skills

ANALYTICAL SKILLS

Essential

• Ability to respond and adjust appropriately to the changing needs of service users
• Able to work independently and use initiative to think quickly on the spot in different, and often challenging situations
• Creative problem solving to tackle obstacles that arise and fulfil requirements of the role in innovative ways to deliver greater impact

Employer details

Employer name

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

HPFT Bases in Hertfordshire - HPFT sites in HERTFORDSHIRE

Hertfordshire

AL10 8YE

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

367-WEST-6742-G