Employment Specialist

Are you passionate about helping people overcome barriers and find meaningful work that transforms their lives?

Deadline: 20th March 2026

• South East
• Full-time

Working with clients, health professionals, service providers and employers, IPS employment specialists are focused on making sure a person’s journey into employment, with associated improved social inclusion and wellbeing is as easy as possible. You will work with clients (managing a caseload) who have mental health support needs, to assist them in securing sustainable paid employment in line with their preferences.

Your role will be to deliver the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach (for which training will be given); providing person centred advice and guidance to clients, whilst building positive relationships with local employers to enable clients to move into suitable employment.

You will work as part of a community mental health team and/or early intervention psychosis team or Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) team, maintaining positive and integrated relationships, fostering a holistic approach to recovery through employment.

As an IPS employment specialist, you will need to be an able communicator, passionate about getting it right and focused on transforming individual lives through sustainable solutions. This role is a peripatetic and will work the majority of time in the community or at clinical hubs. There is no/minimal home working as part of this role.

You will work with people on their individual employment journey from vocational profiling to the point where they no longer require face to face in work support. The six key stages on a typical journey are: outreach/referral; vocational profiling; action planning; job search activities (including working on a one to one basis with employers to match people with appropriate employment); job placement and coordinating support whilst in employment;

managing withdrawal of support as the in work support is no longer required.

See full job description attached

You will have:

• Trained/Knowledge of the IPS approach (E)
• Experience/understanding of working with people with mental health support needs, or a similar client group within health, social services or the voluntary sector (E)
• Experience of working with someone on a one-to-one basis (E)
• Proven experience of meeting and exceeding outcomes and targets (E)
• Experience of managing multiple tasks at any one time (E)
• Previous experience of working assertively to influence decision makers (E)
• Experience of supporting people to obtain or keep work (E)