IPS Employment Specialist

Do you understand the importance of work and the vital role it can play in the lives of those with health conditions or disabilities?

Do you take pride in what you do, and can you think creatively about how different organisations can work together to deliver a better service?

Are you happy to talk with employers and help match people into meaningful work?

If this sounds like you, then you might be ideal for our new Employment Specialist roles.

This role will require travel across Greater Manchester on a daily basis.

The starting salary will be dependant on experience (up to £29,000 per annum), and will be raised to £29,000 after a 6 month 's successful probation, if this is not the starting salary.

The Growth Company’s (GC) Individual Placement Support (IPS) team aims to increase the number of people moving into employment from specialist community health services.

You will work on a program that supports adults with a physical or mental health disability who are out of work, to find, and sustain, employment. You will deliver the IPS approach (for which training will be given), providing person-centered advice and guidance to clients, whilst building positive relationships with local employers to enable clients to move into suitable employment.

Key Responsibilities:

* To manage a caseload of around 24 clients who are motivated to start/return to work. Working with participants to progress them on their journey towards employment by delivering the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach and overcoming their work, skills health, and personal circumstances barriers to ultimately support participants into sustainable work.

* Attend weekly team meetings as an embedded IPS practitioner. Once employment has been secured continue to provide quality service through conducting regular visits, effective monitoring, and in-work support to clients and employers to help sustain employment to ensure that all required entry to the Esyncs is accurate and compliant and documentation relating to the participant is completed and maintained in an accurate, compliant, timely and respectful manner.

* Spend time getting to know local employers, to negotiate job opportunities that meet everyone’s strengths, needs, abilities, and preferences.

* To challenge inequalities experienced by clients and address existing discrimination, whilst ensuring a process of learning for the organisation.

* Develop effective working relationships with a range of external agencies that can help individuals to achieve their employment goals. This may include local colleges and training providers.

* Partake in continuous learning about disability and mental health conditions, their impact, and how they can be managed and undertake mandatory training as required.

* Meet and support clients to understand their key skills, aspirations, and goals by completing a Vocational Profile and producing an Action Plan to help them obtain and sustain competitive employment. This includes support with their job search, CV production, application forms, interview techniques, and career development.

* Assess client support needs relating to work which may include benefits/welfare advice, disclosure of mental health symptoms, etc., and provide support & guidance.

* Source job opportunities for clients through tailored job searches and regular contact with local employers to explore hidden as well as advertised employment opportunities.

* Provide education and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments, return to work strategy, and ongoing contact with the employer to ensure job retention.

* Establish positive and integrated relationships with Primary Care teams, employers, and other service providers.

* Ensure that all relevant policies are implemented such as information governance, safeguarding, etc.

About you:

* Experience talking to employers and helping people into work.

* We want great communication skills and the ability to build relationships with everyone from the frontline up to CEO level.

* Negotiation skills and commercial acumen.

* Drive, passion, and commitment.

* Proven ability to build rapport with people and especially understanding issues for people with affected by substance misuse or similar conditions.

* Strong written skills/verbal/ organisational skills.

Skills Required:

* Strong interpersonal, communication, and negotiating skills.

* Ability to work in a target-driven environment, with a focus on the successful achievement of job outcomes and sustained outcomes.

* High-level guidance skills, with the ability to deliver one-to-one and group sessions to at least Grade 2 standard.

* Previous experience working on outreach and lone working.

* Experience in guidance, advice & counselling environments.

* An understanding of working with disabled people, or a similar client group within health, social services, or the voluntary sector is desirable.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of everyone including vulnerable adults and young people, we expect all staff to share this commitment. All appointments will be subject to Safer Recruitment Procedures which include a DBS check. This will be conducted by Due Diligence Limited (DDC Ltd) on behalf of GC. Please note that the successful candidate will not be required to pay for this.

If you are on the Barred List, it is against the law to apply and to be hired for a role that includes regulated activity with the concerned group.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce, we provide a guaranteed interview to applicants who meet the essential requirements for a role. This commitment applies to candidates who have a disability or are from a diverse ethnic community.

As part of our application process, you can ask to be considered under this scheme if you are from an ethnic community or have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. Providing that you meet the essential criteria for the role, you will then be invited for an interview. Your guaranteed interview application will only be shared with the Hiring Manager and our Internal Recruitment Team.

We are a member of the national campaign Ban the Box; this campaign aims to open opportunities for people with convictions to compete for jobs. We’re supporting the campaign by removing conviction questions at the applications stage.

GC aims to promote a culture of flexibility and agile working. Going forward we will be transitioning to a culture where full agile working will be a feature of many of our roles. We also recognise that there may be a need for more permanent flexibility in your working arrangements and in such cases, we encourage you to have these discussions at the interview stage, to enable your flexible working request to be considered as early as possible.

All GC colleagues will work inline with the Health & Safety at work act and the GC Health & Safety Policy