Individual Placement Support (IPS) Team Leader

Job summary

1 x Fixed Term contract/secondment opportunity for up to 24 months

Internal applicants who wish to be considered for a secondment opportunity should discuss with their line manager the suitability of a possible secondment

Are you looking for a career where you can make a positive difference to the lives of people with mental health difficulties?

Do you believe you have the leadership skills to support a team of Employment Specialists, to support people to find and sustain employment?

If so, this role may be just what you're looking for!

We are looking for a positive, proactive and empathetic person to join our organisation, as an Individual Placement Support (IPS) Team Lead, where you will help us make a difference to the lives of people with mental health conditions.

90% of people with Severe mental illness want to work, but currently only 8% are in work. Getting into employment can be a critical part of a recovery journey, so as a Team Leader, you will be supporting a team of Employment Specialists, providing supervision, training and role modelling of the IPS approach. This is a dynamic and diverse role, where you will also work as part of mental health teams to promote employment and raise expectations around the ability of service users to access paid employment. The ability to network in the local community and build strong relationships is essential.

Main duties of the job

You will be required to:

o Provide employment support for our client group, who are furthest away from the job market, in the hope that securing employment will aid an individual's recovery and promote social inclusion.

o Work within the principles of the IPS model; to monitor the team's performance and collated and submitted data monthly (this will be shared with NHS England/Government, IPS Grow and other stake holders).

o Lead a team of Employment Specialist to promote referrals from various referral routes, to ensure that the service achieves referral/access targets set by NHS England/Government.

o Lead a team of Employment Specialist through external monitoring (Guided Self Assessment and Fidelity reviews) and help build adherence to the IPS model.

o Promote and nurture a positive team environment with open communication, collaboration and a shared goal.

o To work directly with employers to secure employment opportunities and support your team to develop good links with local employers. You will need to be confident to make approaches of this nature on behalf of jobseekers.

o Hold a degree or equivalent qualification or be a qualified mental health professional, for example a registered Occupational Therapist, Nurse or Social Worker.

o You will have experience both in the field of employment support and with clients experiencing mental ill health.

About us

We have in excess of 5000 staff working over 50 sites, providing a diverse range of services. We strive to support an organisational culture that is welcoming, builds and celebrates inclusivity and diversity and provides a sense of belonging and trust.

The annual NHS Staff Survey gives our people the opportunity to tell us about their experience working at the Trust. For the 2023 survey just over 2800 colleagues gave us their views (58.5%). It was great to see from the results that colleagues are saying that:

• 89.7% believe they are making a positive difference to patients/service users;
• 73.3% would recommend the organisation as a place to work;
• 82.4% agree that care of patients and service users is the organisations priority;
• 76.7% would be happy with the standard of care for a friend or relative

Our results put us as 5th nationally as a Community, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Employer of Choice and 1st equal amongst all NHS Provider Trusts in the South West. However, we know we have more to do and will continue to drive forward our commitment to making GHC a Great Place to Work.