IPS Employment Specialist

Job Introduction

IPS Employment Specialist – Mental Health Employment Services

Help make employment part of someone’s recovery

For someone living with serious mental illness, the right job can provide far more than an income. 

It can restore confidence, create structure, strengthen independence and become an important part of their recovery. As an IPS Employment Specialist, you will work alongside NHS clinical teams to help people experiencing serious mental illness find and sustain meaningful paid employment. 

You will have a manageable caseload, allowing you to understand each person’s strengths, preferences and circumstances and provide genuinely individualised support. 

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with experience in employability, careers advice or information, advice and guidance who wants to develop specialist skills within mental health employment support.

Full training in the Individual Placement and Support model will be provided. 

A different kind of employment support 

IPS stands for Individual Placement and Support. It is an internationally recognised, evidence-based approach to helping people experiencing serious mental illness move into competitive paid employment. 

The principle is straightforward: if someone wants to work, they should receive practical support to begin looking for the right job without being held back by lengthy assessments or assumptions about whether they are “ready”. 

This is not classroom-based employability provision and it is not about directing people towards any available vacancy. 

You will work with each person to understand the job they want, begin a rapid and personalised job search and provide continued support once employment starts. 

Your focus will be the right job, for the right person, with the right support. 

The real job 

You will be integrated within an NHS clinical team, working alongside mental health professionals as part of a person’s wider recovery support. 

You will attend clinical meetings, develop trusted relationships with NHS colleagues and ensure employment is considered as an important part of recovery planning. 

You will also spend considerable time in the community. 

You might meet someone in a clinical setting, community venue or another agreed location. 

You will visit employers, identify suitable opportunities and support people before and after they enter work. 

This is not a home-based role and it does not have a single fixed office.

Your working week will involve travelling throughout Mid Essex and operating from different clinical, community and employer locations. 

A day in the role 

You may start your day attending an NHS clinical meeting, discussing referrals and identifying people who want support to return to work. 

You could then meet a participant to complete a vocational profile, exploring their skills, experience, interests and preferred type of employment. 

Later, you might approach local employers to understand their workforce needs and identify opportunities that will not necessarily appear on job boards. 

In the afternoon, you could help someone prepare for an interview, discuss whether and how they want to disclose a health condition, or visit a participant who has recently started work to provide in-work support. 

You will also maintain accurate case records, track progress and plan the next action for every person on your caseload.

No two days will be identical, but every day must move people closer to meaningful employment. 

What you will do

You will:

• Manage a manageable caseload of people experiencing serious mental illness
• Deliver individual advice and guidance to adults and young adults
• Complete detailed vocational profiles and employment action plans
• Understand each person’s skills, experience, aspirations and job preferences
• Begin rapid, personalised job searches
• Support CV development, applications and interview preparation
• Help people make informed decisions about disclosing a health condition
• Explore workplace adjustments and strategies for managing health at work
• Build relationships with local employers
• Approach employers directly to identify advertised and hidden opportunities
• Match people with jobs that reflect their individual goals and strengths
• Work as an integrated member of an NHS clinical team
• Attend clinical and multidisciplinary meetings
• Maintain effective communication with clinicians about wellbeing and risk
• Provide continued in-work support to participants and employers
• Help people sustain employment when difficulties arise
• Track job starts, sustainment and progression
• Maintain accurate, timely and fidelity-compliant case records
• Work towards clear individual and service outcome targets
• Follow safeguarding, confidentiality and data-protection requirements

Employer engagement is an important part of the role

Suitable opportunities will not always be found by searching online job boards. 

You will need to develop relationships with local employers, understand their workforce needs and introduce the support available through the IPS service. 

This will involve:

• Contacting employers who do not already know you
• Visiting businesses across Mid Essex
• Asking employers about current and future opportunities
• Promoting inclusive recruitment
• Exploring job carving and flexible working arrangements
• Discussing reasonable workplace adjustments
• Maintaining contact after someone starts work

You must be comfortable initiating employer conversations, handling rejection and continuing to build new relationships. 

This is not a traditional sales role, but it requires confidence, persistence and many of the same relationship-building skills. 

The parts people can underestimate

You will need to be comfortable with:

• Working with people experiencing serious and sometimes fluctuating mental ill health
• Hearing difficult personal information while maintaining professional boundaries
• Supporting people whose confidence or engagement may change
• Beginning job search quickly rather than placing people into lengthy pre-employment activity
• Approaching employers directly and creating opportunities
• Working towards job-start and sustainment targets
• Managing a caseload and maintaining momentum for each person
• Recording activity and evidence accurately
• Working closely with clinical professionals
• Travelling throughout Mid Essex on a daily basis
• Planning your own diary across different community locations
• Working independently while remaining connected to your team

This role requires empathy, but empathy alone is not enough. 

You will also need organisation, resilience, initiative and the determination to keep moving forward when the first approach does not succeed. 

What you need to bring

Essential experience and capabilities

You must be able to evidence:

• Experience providing one-to-one advice and guidance to adults or young adults
• The ability to build trust and motivate people towards a practical outcome
• Experience managing competing priorities, appointments or a caseload
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Confidence working independently in community settings
• The ability to establish effective professional boundaries
• Resilience when dealing with setbacks, changing circumstances or challenging conversations
• Accurate record keeping and reliable follow-through
• Confidence using Microsoft Office and digital case-management systems
• A willingness to approach and build relationships with employers
• The ability to work towards clear targets and outcomes

Advantageous experience

It would be an advantage if you have experience in:

• Employability or employment advice
• Careers information, advice and guidance
• Welfare-to-work or supported employment
• Mental health, recovery or wellbeing services
• Supporting people with disabilities or health conditions
• Recruitment, resourcing or employer engagement
• Social care, housing or community services
• Delivering the IPS model
• Working alongside NHS or clinical teams

Previous IPS experience is helpful but not essential. We are particularly interested in experienced employability and advice professionals who want to expand their skills and develop a career in specialist mental health employment support. 

Full IPS training, fidelity guidance and ongoing development will be provided. 

Driving and travel requirements 

This is a mobile, community-based role covering Mid Essex. It is not a home-based position and it is not based permanently at one office. 

You will meet participants, clinical teams and employers at different locations throughout the delivery area.

Due to the geography of the service and the frequency of travel required, you must:

• Hold a valid driving licence
• Have reliable access to a vehicle for work
• Hold appropriate business-use insurance
• Be willing and able to drive and travel across Mid Essex on a daily basis

Regular travel throughout the delivery area is an essential part of the role and cannot be removed. 

Get Set UK will consider reasonable adjustments relating to how the role is performed and throughout the recruitment process.

However, any adjustment must still enable the successful candidate to fulfil the essential travel and community-delivery requirements. 

What success looks like

Within your first 90 days, you should:

• Understand the principles of IPS and how they apply in practice
• Build effective relationships with your clinical colleagues
• Manage your caseload confidently and maintain purposeful contact
• Produce clear vocational profiles and action plans
• Begin developing relationships with local employers
• Support participants into active, preference-led job searches
• Maintain accurate and timely case records
• Demonstrate resilience, professional boundaries and reliable follow-through

Over time, your success will be measured through the quality of your work, participant experience, employer relationships, job starts and the number of people who sustain employment. 

Working hours and work-life balance

This is a full-time, Monday-to-Friday role, normally working from 9am to 5pm. 

There is no routine night-shift or weekend working. 

The role offers variety and autonomy during the working week, but you will need to organise your diary flexibly around participant appointments, clinical meetings and employer visits across Mid Essex. 

Why join Get Set UK?

You will have the opportunity to move from broader employability or advice work into a recognised specialist employment model. 

A manageable caseload will allow you to provide more personalised support, build meaningful relationships and remain involved after someone begins work. 

You will receive:

• Full IPS training and fidelity guidance
• Structured management support and regular supervision
• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays
• Pension contributions
• Employee ownership share scheme
• Wellbeing support including GP access, counselling and Headspace
• Discounts and salary-sacrifice options
• Enhanced benefits with service
• Learning, development and progression opportunities

About Get Set UK

Get Set UK delivers employment, skills, apprenticeships, health and justice programmes and is part of Palladium, a global group operating across more than 90 countries. 

We help people overcome barriers, recognise their potential and move towards meaningful, sustainable employment. 

At Get Set UK, we are Ambitious, Proud and Considerate; we Own It and we Inspire. We are looking for people who demonstrate those values through their everyday actions. 

Before you apply

Because this is an employment-support role, we will look carefully at the quality of your CV. Your CV should be clear, current and accurate. It should demonstrate:

• Your experience of providing advice and guidance
• The people or customer groups you have supported
• Your achievements and the outcomes you helped create
• Evidence of resilience and reliable follow-through
• Commitment and contribution within your previous roles
• Any experience of employability, mental health, disability or employer engagement

If you have made several career moves or have gaps in employment, explain them clearly rather than leaving us to make assumptions. 

Please focus on what you achieved, not just the duties you were expected to perform. 

Our recruitment process

Our process includes an application questionnaire, CV review, recruiter conversation, online role assessment and hiring-manager interview. 

The interview will include a realistic role exercise exploring how you would support a participant and engage an employer.

 We want you to understand the reality of the role before joining, and we want to understand how you build trust, take action and respond when progress becomes difficult. 

Eligibility and inclusion

You must have the full right to work in the UK. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role. 

A DBS check will be required. Any offer will be subject to satisfactory references, right-to-work checks and the safeguarding or vetting checks appropriate to the service. 

Get Set UK is a Disability Confident and Equal Opportunity Employer. Disabled applicants who evidence the minimum essential criteria will be offered an interview. Reasonable adjustments are available throughout the recruitment process. 

If you have experience advising and supporting people, can create opportunities rather than waiting for them and want to make employment part of mental health recovery, we would like to hear from you. 

Get Set to help someone build their future through work. Apply today.

Additional information

We reserve the right to close applications early, so we encourage early applications.

Get Set UK is a Disability Confident and Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals and are committed to supporting physical and mental wellbeing at work. Reasonable adjustments are available throughout the recruitment process if required.

This role is subject to satisfactory recruitment checks and a commitment to safeguarding learners and clients.

Get Set UK does not accept unsolicited CVs from agencies.