Job summary
- Main area
- Individual Placement Support - East
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 371-MHS725-B
- Employer
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Church Hill House
- Town
- Bracknell
- Salary
- £32,602 - £39,686 per annum (Incl. of HCAS)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 13/08/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Employment Specialist, IPS Employment Service
Band 5
Job overview
Candidates who have applied in the last three months need not apply
People with severe mental health issues face huge barriers when it comes to employment. Over 80 per cent of them would like paid work, but only 8 per cent achieve it.
Could you be part of the team that’s dedicated to addressing this injustice? Berkshire Healthcare’s Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment service, now in its tenth anniversary year, are looking for an employment specialist to champion our mission and support people with severe mental health issues–your clients–to gain, sustain and retain paid work.
Ours is a diverse team and brings many strengths and skills together. We’ll train you in the IPS approach, giving you the tools you need to provide expert support and advice to clients, while also building positive relationships with employers, opening doors, and changing perceptions around mental health. Previous experience working in supported employment and with people with severe mental health issues is an advantage. But above all you'll need empathy, hope and tenacity when working alongside your clients.
There will be a two-stage interview process:
-
By telephone–informal discussion
-
Face to Face (please note we do not offer interviews online)
Main duties of the job
We have 1 full time role available (37.5 hours) within our East Berkshire Mental Health Integrated Community Services (MHICS) team, and you would be expected to travel across East Berkshire, to include Windsor & Maidenhead, Slough and Bracknell.
It’s a highly varied job where you’ll spend most of your week in the community, meeting clients and employers, and making a vital contribution to the team’s activities.
- You’ll support a caseload of up to 20 people with severe mental health issues who are unemployed or struggling in the workplace
- Working directly with all relevant stakeholders – including clients, clinicians, consultant psychiatrists and employers and Job Centre Plus – you’ll aim to enable your clients to gain, sustain and retain paid employment.
- You’ll have the opportunity to transform the lives of your clients, to give them hope, direction and support their recovery journey. It's also challenging, so you’ll need to be able to demonstrate perseverance, whilst being empathic and dedicated to finding clients a role that’s right for them.
Working for our organisation
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust site
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The “must haves” for this role:
-
Degree or equivalent experience
-
Experience of working with and supporting people who have mental health issues (or other disadvantaged groups) into employment
-
Ability to travel across East Berkshire, to include Windsor & Maidenhead, Slough and Bracknell.
-
Able to demonstrate through examples offered at interview - empathy, tenacity and hope when working alongside people with severe mental health issues
-
Able to demonstrate through examples offered at interview excellent motivational, communication and listening skills
-
Able to demonstrate a high level of organisation and perseverance in the application and at interview
Person specification
Education/qualifications/training
Essential criteria
- Degree or equivalent experience
Continuous professional development
Desirable criteria
- A good understanding of the principles and practice of supported employment
- Trained in the IPS approach
- Additional employability/careers counselling qualification, such as: Level 3 Diploma in Employability Services Sector Qualification, QCF in Advice & Guidance (Level 3)
Previous experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working with and supporting people who have mental health issues (or other unemployed disadvantaged groups) into employment
- Experience of supporting individuals on a one-to-one basis
- Proven experience of meeting and exceeding outcomes and targets
Desirable criteria
- Experience of carrying out assessments (eg vocational, health, occupational)
- Experience of partnership working, negotiation and liaison with other agencies
- Experience of opening up job opportunities with a range of employers
- Experience of working alongside clinical teams within mental health
Knowledge, skills and abilities
Essential criteria
- Able to demonstrate empathy, tenacity and hope when working alongside people with severe mental health issues
- Knowledge of policy, practice and legislation in relation to employment, disability, equalities and mental health
- Good numeracy and information management skills
- A high level of perseverance; committed to seeing plans through to their conclusion within agreed timescales
- Excellent motivational, communication and listening skills; able to build rapport and trust with a range of people, especially clients and employers
- Well organised and confident working independently with own caseload and using initiative to identify and make the most of new opportunities
- Able to collaborate successfully within a mixed-disciplinary team
- Able to use Microsoft packages to advanced level
Desirable criteria
- Good knowledge of the local employment market
- Understanding of work-related benefits
- Understanding of successful job search strategies – eg creating a compelling CV, presenting clients to hiring managers, preparing for interviews
Additional requirements
Essential criteria
- Ability easily to commute to different localities across Berkshire
Desirable criteria
- Personal experience of mental health issues
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Gurpreet Athwal
- Job title
- IPS Team Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07815 485139
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