Employment Advisor

Dorset Steps to Wellbeing has a successful and supportive Employment Advice Service branch to its established Talking Therapies service. The service provides therapy for people experiencing mild to moderate anxiety disorders and/or depression.

The service currently has a full time position available (37.5 hours over 5 days a week) and an additional part time position available (30 hours over 4 days a week) for an Employment Advisor who will work alongside the service providing dedicated employment support for people looking to return to work or to retain their current employment.

This is a cutting edge opportunity to create a culture of prevention and early intervention, to make sure that people get timely access to mental health support as well as suitable employment support so that they are supported to avoid long-term unemployment. The post holder will be working towards supporting those with mental health problems helping them to remain in, return to and gain employment.

The training and service experience available will equip the post holder with the necessary knowledge, attitude and capabilities to operate effectively in an inclusive, value driven service.

Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which the Trust will cover the cost of. Applicants who subscribe to the DBS update service are able to present a valid DBS certificate instead of requiring a new check.

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 support service users with common mental health problems to gain, return to or retain employment. The role will involve working directly with Jobcentre Plus, employers, trade unions and employment agencies to keep people in employment and secure employment opportunities.

We are looking for Employment Advisors to work in The Purbeck and East Dorset Team. The base for this role is currently at our Boscombe site at Tower Road, with the view for the Purbeck and East Dorset Employment Advisor to move to a Poole locality in the future.

At Dorset HealthCare we’re on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We’re a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We do things differently here - it’s one of the reasons the CQC rated us ‘outstanding’ in 2019. It’s also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you’re looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.

Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We’re an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

Working with us you’ll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don’t know. And you’ll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.
- To manage a caseload of people who have experienced mental health problems and who wish to retain, return to or regain employment. Using evidence-based interventions.
- The EA work will be led by and focused on the aspirations of the service user. Considering their strengths, difficulties and employment assets in order to offer the most effective support.
- Conduct an assessment, discussing the person’s job goals and any concerns regarding their capacity for work. It is important at this point to establish a job goal (they may wish to change roles or find a job), job tasks gathering evidence about the individual’s abilities including previous work experience (it could be that a role they did previously may be more suitable). Also important is their confidence to perform tasks and any factors that may be issues for employment and whether the individual has or could develop strategies to address them.
- Match job tasks and in the 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. Need to i