Employment Specialist

The Growth Company’s Employment team have a new vacancy for an Employment Specialist who will actively engage with individual participants in structured treatment for drug and/ or alcohol, ensuring that through the delivery of a multi-channel, multi-agency, and multi-place service delivery model, the participant is enabled and empowered to successfully complete their personal journey into, and progression within the working environment.

**Please note that this role will be based and our Crewe and Macclesfield.**

We help to make a lasting difference to the lives of people throughout the North of England and beyond, by supporting individuals to gain meaningful employment. Our highly skilled advisers and keyworkers work with a range of individuals; from people who have found themselves recently out of work, to those with complex barriers such as physical disabilities, mental ill-health and debt.

**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
- Build relationships with colleagues in clinical teams to engage and generate referrals and create collaborative working partnerships with clinical staff (promoting employment as a positive intervention)
- Able to support participants with appropriate prioritisation of solutions for personal circumstances, skills, health as well as employability
- 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 recording systems (CRiiS) is accurate and compliant and documentation relating to the participant is completed and maintained in an accurate, compliant, timely and respectful manner
- To establish positive and integrated relationships with Clinical teams, employers, and other service providers
- Spend time getting to know local employers, to negotiate job opportunities that meet each individual’s strengths, needs, abilities, and preferences
- Partake in continuous learning about substance use and mental health conditions, their impact, and how they can be managed and undertake mandatory training as required
- 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
- Work with employers to promote the service, identify job opportunities, and ensure appropriate strategies are in place to reduce barriers in the workplace - this can include exploring ‘job carving’ i.e., carving small slices of work from the duties other staff do not have time to complete

**About you**
- Knowledge in relation to the issues affecting individuals with multiple barriers to progressing to employment and sustained employment
- Experience in relation to the support agencies that can assist individuals with complex needs (e.g., debt, substance misuse, housing, etc)
- Developing knowledge of a broad range of occupations and jobs
- A warm, approachable empathetic style and the ability to establish a rapport and build relationships with customers that support their progression to sustained employment

**Skills Required**:

- Strong interpersonal, communication, and negotiating skill
- 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
- Experience of working with people with multiple and complex needs, including health conditions and disabilities
- Experience of working on outreach and lone working
- Trained in IPS approach is desirable
- Experience/understanding of working with disabled people, or a similar client group within substance use treatment, health, social services, or the voluntary sector is desirable

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 wor