Employment Specialist

Sandwell, Dudley, Wolverhampton & Walsall | Shaw Trust

Permanent contract

Make a real impact in your community by helping people with mental health needs find meaningful, sustainable employment. As an IPS Employment Specialist with Shaw Trust in Sandwell, Dudley, Wolverhampton & Walsall

Deadline: 31st January 2026

• West Midlands
• Full-time

“Shaw Trust promotes team spirit, inclusiveness and it is an organisation where everybody is somebody. I am proud to be part of this great organisation.”

At Shaw Trust we believe everyone has the right to live a decent and dignified life and an opportunity for rewarding work. We are a social purpose organisation challenging inequality and breaking down barriers to enable social mobility.

For us being part of the solution is about creating the conditions for this to happen, advocating and delivering services that make a real difference. Working in partnership not competition, we are part of an eco-system of purpose-led organisations, striving for a fairer, more equal society centred on opportunity for all.

Working with clients, health professionals, service providers and employers, as an Supported Employment or IPS Employment Specialist you will be 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) or Supported Employment 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.

This is a performance-focused role, with clear targets aligned to our contractual commitments. These include supporting participants to enrol on programme, enter employment and sustain their new/existing job role, as well as adhering to the Individual Placement and Supported Employment Models.

The IPS delivery model you will be expected to delivery is underpinned by 8 key principles and 25 Items under the Fidelity Scale. 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, job coaching and coordinating ongoing support whilst in employment.

Contract specific details:
Areas of Delivery:
Sandwell, Dudley, Wolverhampton & Walsall

• Manage and support an active caseload of around 18 – 25 clients who are in or motivated to start/return to work.
• Meet and exceed performance targets for referrals, programme starts, employer engagement, job starts and sustainment’s in line with contractual guidelines.
• Deliver the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) or Supported Employment approach for which training will be given.
• Meet and support clients to understand their key skills, aspirations and goals through completing a Vocational Profile and produce 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’s support needs related to work which may include benefits/welfare advice, disclosure of mental health symptoms etc., and provide support & guidance.
• Attend weekly clinical team meetings as an embedded practitioner.
• Source job opportunities for clients through tailored job search and regular contact with local employers to explore hidden as well as advertised employment opportunities.
• Spend your working week actively engaging with participants, employers and referral partners in the community in line with IPS Fidelity model (monitored through regular tracking and reporting) and Supported Employment BASE guidelines. This includes regular visits to accessible public venues such as coffee shops, public libraries and health services daily.
• Adherence to Shaw Trust Lone Working and ‘Check in and out’ Procedure.
• To build and maintain employer relationships and maintain employer engagement database, includes completing 6 meaningful face to face employer contacts per week.

Download the Job Description for full details.

Essential:

You will have:

• Experience of working with people with health conditions / disabilities, substance misuse needs, or a similar client group within health, social services or the voluntary sector (E)
• Some knowledge of IPS or Supported Employment principles (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 supporting people to obtain or keep work (E)

Download the Job Description for full details.