Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
Senior Employment Specialist
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Senior Employment Specialist Band 6
Join a Growing Service Transforming Lives Through Employment
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated Senior Employment Specialist to join our established and expanding Employment Support Service (ESS) within Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.
This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced IPS practitioner or team leader who is passionate about helping people with mental health challenges achieve their employment aspirations through the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model.
Since 2019, our Employment Support Service has continued to grow, supporting increasing numbers of people into sustainable employment and demonstrating the powerful connection between work, recovery and improved health outcomes.
About The Role
As a Senior Employment Specialist, you will provide leadership, guidance and support to a team of Employment Specialists, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality, recovery-focused service that consistently meets IPS fidelity standards and achieves positive employment outcomes for service users. You will play a key role in supporting service development, continuous improvement and partnership working across mental health and community services.
You will lead and support a team of Employment Specialists embedded within Community Mental Health Teams across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Working closely with clinical colleagues and the Employment Support Service Team Lead, you will help ensure the delivery of a high-quality IPS service that supports individuals receiving specialist mental health care to gain and sustain meaningful employment.
This role combines leadership with service development responsibilities. Alongside supporting staff performance and service delivery, you will contribute to fidelity reviews, quality improvement initiatives and the ongoing development of the service to ensure it remains responsive to local needs and aligned with IPS best practice.
You will support Employment Specialists to build strong relationships with local employers, understand local labour market opportunities and utilise the hidden job market to create meaningful employment opportunities for service users.
Please note that although the base listed on the advert is Trust Headquarters, your role will be embedded within one of our community mental health teams across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Every effort will be made to accommodate preferences; however, this cannot be guaranteed.
About You
We are looking for someone who is passionate about the transformative impact employment can have on recovery and wellbeing.
The Successful Candidate Will
- Have experience working with people accessing secondary or tertiary mental health services.
- Have experience supporting people to achieve employment, recovery-focused or vocational goals.
- Have previous leadership experience, including line management, supervision, mentoring or coaching responsibilities.
- Have an understanding of HR process.
- Possess a strong understanding of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model and the principles of high-fidelity IPS delivery.
- Demonstrate excellent communication, organisational and relationship-building skills.
- Have experience working collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams.
- Be able to build effective relationships with employers, clinical teams and external partners.
- Have experience supporting performance management, quality improvement or service development activities.
- Be passionate about supporting people to achieve their employment aspirations and improve their wellbeing through work.
- Demonstrate a commitment to delivering high-quality, person-centred and recovery-focused employment support.
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Informal Enquiries
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact:
Charlotte Yates
Team Leader - Employment Support Service
Main Duties And Responsibilities
Key responsibilities will include:
- Leading and managing a team of Employment Specialists working within Community Mental Health Teams.
- Providing effective line management, supervision, coaching and professional support to team members.
- Working collaboratively with the Employment Support Service Team Lead to ensure the service continues to develop and deliver positive outcomes for service users.
- Ensuring the service is delivered in line with IPS fidelity standards and best practice principles.
- Supporting fidelity reviews, audits and quality improvement initiatives to drive excellent service delivery and outcomes.
- Monitoring service performance and employment outcomes, using data to identify trends, opportunities and areas for continuous improvement.
- Supporting staff to achieve individual and team performance targets while maintaining a person-centred and recovery-focused approach.
- Supporting Employment Specialists to develop effective employer engagement strategies, build relationships with local employers and maximise opportunities within the local labour market.
- Supporting, where required, recruitment processes to maintain appropriate staffing levels.
- Planning for periods of staff absence and coordinating caseload cover to ensure continuity of support for clients.
- Reallocating urgent appointments and managing caseloads where necessary during periods of leave or sickness.
- Building positive working relationships with clinical teams, employers and external partners to achieve the best outcomes for service users.
- Promoting recovery-focused practice and ensuring individuals are supported to achieve their employment goals in line with IPS principles.
About Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) provides community health, mental health and learning disability services for people of all ages across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
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Our 6,500 colleagues work across over 100 locations, from inpatient wards to community settings, delivering care and support to more than one million people.
We are committed to creating a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We actively promote equality, diversity and inclusion, and warmly welcome applications from all backgrounds, particularly those from underrepresented groups.
Additional Information
We may close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received. We therefore encourage you to apply as soon as possible. All substantive appointments (excluding medical staff) are subject to a six-month probationary period. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Any DBS check required for this role will be arranged by the Trust.
Why Join Us?
By joining our Employment Support Service, you'll become part of a passionate, innovative and successful team dedicated to helping people rebuild confidence, achieve their career ambitions and improve their mental health through meaningful employment.
This is an exciting opportunity to lead within an established IPS service, contribute to service development and quality improvement, and make a genuine difference to people's lives every day while continuing to develop your own leadership and professional skills.
We may close the advert early, if we receive a sufficient number of applicants, so please apply as soon as possible.
About Us
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) provides a range of community health, mental health and learning disability services for people of all ages. Delivered through over 100 settings from inpatient wards to out in the community, our 6,500 staff serve over 1 million people living in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
We aim to develop a workforce that reflects our community. We actively implement equal opportunities in employment and service delivery and seek people who share our commitment. We strongly encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly from underrepresented groups.
Details of our benefits, leadership behaviours and other important information can be found in the Information for Applicants, please view the supporting documents.
We will consider requests to work alternative hours or varied working patterns in line with our flexible working policy.
For all substantive roles, new staff (excluding medical staff) are appointed subject to a 6-month probationary period (see Probation Policy).
All jobs will require permission to work in the UK.
For all jobs the cost of any DBS disclosure required will be met by the individual. This will be deducted from salary once started.
Applicants at risk within the local NHS who meet essential criteria will have preference for interview.
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