Senior Employment Advisor

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

The post holders will manage and support a team of Employment Advisor’s (EAs) in offering a support service to individuals with common mental health problems to gain, return to or retain employment.

The Senior Employment Adviser is responsible for managing a team of Employment Advisors. Ensuring the effective delivery of all work focused and non-work focused interventions by ensuring effective leadership and management of teams of Advisers.

The Senior EA will be accountable and responsible for the professionalism of the EA’s, ensuring they provide a personalised service to clients. They will give EA’s the confidence to use the flexibilities available to them, recognising innovation and rewarding those EA’s who are most successful at helping clients either remain in or find work.

Approach a wide range of complex problems/decisions and select the appropriate course of action from a range of options. They are also expected to bring to bear the full range of experience and to exercise sound judgement.

Sheffield Talking Therapies places high quality patient care and staff wellbeing at is centre. Join our team of nearly 200 staff members who are making a difference to the people of Sheffield each day.

Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust is a major employer and provider of services. Our Service Users, Carers and Staff are central, and our Values are important, to the delivery of high-quality care.

Core Duties

Undertake training needs analysis of your EAs in Sheffield NHS Talking Therapies service and identify the modular needs of the individual EAs.

Be a member of the Sheffield NHS Talking Therapies Service Management Team

Support and promote the use of employment interventions, including:
Conduct an assessment, discussing the person’s job goals and any concerns regarding their capacity for work.

Match job tasks to an individual’s ability to do the job and any work solutions that may be required to develop the match.

Refer the person to other support if they have particularly complex barriers.

Offer the person support agreeing a written action plan with the person detailing the steps to be taken to either get back into or retain employment and the appropriate support route.

The EA will develop in-depth knowledge of the local labour market, local support and new initiatives, taking into account the needs of the client to broker effective interventions. Including specialist schemes to help with retaining or finding employment.

Work closely with local agencies to identify appropriate job vacancies.

Advocate on behalf of the person with prospective employers if necessary, aiming to identify work solutions that will overcome or minimise difficulties within the workplace.

Where appropriate signpost the person to other agencies in the statutory and voluntary sectors who will be able to provide advice on other benefits/support the person may be entitled too.

Provide continued personalised support after an individual has returned to work or secured employment to help them to sustain employment.

Build and promote strong relationships and enable effective links between employers and other agencies to support delivery of a personalised client focused service. It is also crucial that you can build relationships with Job Centre Plus and trade unions.

Provide a service that is comprehensive and accessible to a broad range of patients who have commonplace mental health problems and who are over 18 years of age.

To provide a service that is equitable and non-discriminatory in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and disability.

Support therapists, GPs and other primary care workers in making appropriate referrals and in carrying out the employment aspects of their own roles.

Develop a ‘knowledge’ of the locality and its services and facilities, particularly in relation to mental health issues.

Provide a service that is flexible as far as possible in terms of clinic hours, enabling, where possible, at least one clinic to be run outside normal working hours.

Liaise as appropriate with secondary care mental health services and social service departments.

Ensure that all necessary paperwork is completed, including questionnaires, reports and minutes for each interaction.

Signing off timesheets and travel claims for the Employment Advisors

General

In addition, there is a significant case management, line management and clinical supervision component to the post. This is an opportunity for qualified and experienced NHS Talking Therapies Psychological Well-being Practitioners who are enthusiastic and excited by the development of low intensity services to share their interest and passion, and to develop these qualities and skills in others.

The SEA would be required to implement policies and standard operating