Lewisham Talking Therapies are offering the opportunity for a Permanent Full Time Employment Advisor. We are looking for a creative and driven person who has the ability to motivate and inspire people with mental health concerns, to find and sustain paid work.

In this role you will utilise a range of employment interventions to assist people to achieve their employment goals. You will work in a supportive environment alongside employment and clinical professionals in both NHS and community settings. The ability to communicate effectively, develop excellent partnerships with local services and build rapport with a range of people are essential skills needed to succeed in this role.

We are a friendly and welcoming service and pride ourselves on valuing our team members, listening to their views, drawing upon their skills and strengths and supporting them in their development.

You should be available to work in an office on a full time basis although may be some Hybrid working initially.

We strongly believe that meaningful employment can assist with the recovery of our clients and improve wellbeing and quality of life for people with mental health problems. If you share our values and passion for helping others to achieve their potential, we look forward to hearing from you!

Main duties of the job

• Help clients identify and consider options for returning to work and their personal career goals.
• Use coaching techniques to help overcome practical and psychological barriers to employment.
• Support clients to undertake training, volunteering and paid employment opportunities and meet employers as necessary.
• Identify a range of concerns (housing, benefits, health, debt) and signpost to support from internal / external agencies.
• Teach employability skills one-to-one and group workshops including CV writing, Interview skills, social media for Job hunting.
• Communicate with clients and clinicians regularly face-to-face, email, text, video or telephone.
• Write clear and concise session notes, entering data to a clinical database in order to capture outcomes.
• Keep updated with local / national labour market trends, education/training opportunities, welfare benefits and employment law for people with mental health conditions.
• Promote the service to referral agencies (Jobcentre Plus, GP practices, training providers, community organisations) and clinical services.
• Work independently managing own workload, keeping track of progress towards targets, reflecting on own performance to improve and develop.
• Work as part of a team, sharing knowledge / expertise, contributing to team meetings and service development activities.
• Manage a caseload ensuring Data is completed timeously and with attention to detail, in accordance with guidance, capturing statistics for Funding.

About us

About the location:

We work across Lewisham and also from home as we continue to extend our bases and our availability to be at the office 5 days a week and work directly with other staff. Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2). We also provide services and operate across other locations, such as London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, and substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Lambeth, Greenwich and Wandsworth.

Benefits:

We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family. We want you to feel like you are part of a close-knit team at SLaM. It's important to us that you feel valued and appreciated and that is why we have a comprehensive benefits package on offer. Some of our benefits are highlighted here:

• Generous pay, pensions and leave
• Work life balance
• Career development
• Car lease
• Accommodation
• NHS discounts

• Counselling services
• Wellbeing events
• Long service awards
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan
• Childcare vouchers

Job description

Job responsibilities

This role is part of an employment advice service, working closely with clinicians who provide psychological therapies to people with common mental health problems.

The post holder will support people with common mental health problems to gain, return to or retain employment. The role will involve working directly with employers, trade unions, occupational health, Community services and employment agencies to keep people in employment and secure employment opportunities.

The employment service is small in Lewisham but is also part of the Work Well network, a SLaM initiative that brings together over sixty Employment Specialists from four boroughs to share best practice and innovate.

See attached JD & PS for further information.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Relevant degree level qualification in a related field (e.g. psychology, occupational therapy, human resources), or equivalent knowledge acquired through experience.

Desirable

• Qualification in employment or career advice, or equivalent knowledge acquired through training.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of providing one-to-one advice, guidance or support.
• Experience of networking and building relationships

Desirable

• Lived experience of mental health problems or caring for someone with mental health problems.
• Experience of delivering Employment Support Advice
• Experience of working with Clients to resolve workplace issues and concerns

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Innovative, creative and a willingness to try something new when necessary.
• Strong commitment to challenging stigma and discrimination of people with mental health conditions in employment and experience of working with diverse communities.
• Pragmatic and positive approach to problem solving, and committed to taking initiative.

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Ability to manage time effectively and prioritise tasks to meet deadline, project targets and maintain the required standards.
• A high standard of verbal and written English, including excellent grammar, spelling and punctuation.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to express empathy and understanding to others
• Ability to be self-motivated and work proactively independently or as part of a team.
• High standard of ICT skills including Microsoft Word, Outlook and Databases
• Ability to digest complex information, asking pertinent questions in a sensitive and time bound manner

Desirable

• Group training/workshop creation and facilitation

Knowledge

Essential

• Understanding of the employment barriers faced by people with mental health conditions.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the Equality Act in relation to the employment of people with disabilities and mental health problems.
• Knowledge of the UK Welfare Benefits system and the Welfare Reform Act.

Employer details

Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Lind Clinic

James Lind House, Grove Street

London

SE8 3QF

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

334-CLI-6331820