Mental Health Retention Employment Specialist
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
The Department of Health's strategy for mental health includes the drive to ensure that those with mental health conditions have access to recovery focused interventions, including support to gain meaningful, paid employment and to maintain this.
An opportunity has arisen to work within LPFT's Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Team as a Mental Health Retention Employment Specialist, working with service users in the Adult Community Division to help them with their employment goals. This is a full time post, covering the South of the County.
The post holders will provide Individual Placement and Support to a caseload of service users mainly in defined localities within Lincolnshire but cover for other geographical areas covered by the Trust may be required if the need arises.
Main duties of the job
This post requires both enthusiasm and a commitment towards supporting people with mental health conditions to retain and access paid employment. This includes working collaboratively with a wide range of employers and relevant agencies and partners from the statutory, voluntary and business sectors, internal and external to the Trust.
An understanding of the benefits of employment as part of the recovery process and a positive attitude to enabling service users to overcome barriers within employment are essential. The post will involve working in the community and requires the ability to work autonomously, working closely with teams across the Trust's Adult Community Division in Lincolnshire.
You will be educated to degree level or hold equivalent experience in the field of supported employment, have knowledge of the national employment and welfare benefits agenda; and have skills and recent experience of working with people with mental health conditions. LPFT holds a "Good Fidelity" status with IPS Grow; you must be willing to undertake training in the model of IPS, the evidence-based intervention used by the service.
Job responsibilities
1. To support and advocate on behalf of secondary care mental health service users who are at risk of losing their job, due to mental illness.
2. To provide advice and ongoing support on issues including employment rights, reasonable adjustments, and phased return to work plans.
3. Provide workplace support to the service user and employer to promote inclusion and reduce discrimination and stigma.
4. Support service users to identify and meet their vocational goals by providing individually tailored programs using a person-centered approach.
5. Complete initial assessments of service users' vocational needs, working collaboratively with service users to complete a Vocational Profile.
6. Support service users to complete job applications and compile CVs.
7. Actively and regularly engage with employers and employment providers and seek out employment opportunities for service users.
8. Proactively address barriers to education, training and employment through partnership working with services.
9. Ensure effective communication with CMHT colleagues and relevant organisations internal and external to the Trust.
10. Ensure that service users are supported to progress through the service in a timely manner and are discharged/signposted/referred on at appropriate stages of their treatment.
11. Make regular written and verbal reports concerning the progress of service users, and maintain written and electronic records as per Trust policy.
12. Attend and actively contribute to team meetings and peer supervision.
13. Attend and actively contribute to CMHT team allocation meetings/convene case review meetings (as required).
14. Ensure that you are fully aware of the IPS Fidelity Scale and the sections within this as these need to be achieved as part of service requirements.
15. Contribute positively to the achievement of service targets and outcomes to achieve commissioners' requirements and targets.
16. Complete required records for caseload and service activity and achievement of outcomes.
17. Ensure compliance to the policies, procedures and working practices of Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and local and national guidance and standards.
18. Review and actively contribute to the development of the service in line with best practice and evidence-based interventions.
19. Execute additional tasks in order to meet departmental project-related or development and change objectives.
20. Line manage and supervise support staff on a daily basis.
21. Participate in the provision of an extended hours service, if required to do so.
22. Work flexibly across the county to support service need.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Educated to degree level or equivalent experience in the field of supported employment.
* Or NVQ Level 3/equivalent relevant training to diploma level and/or experience relevant to the duties of the post.
* Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Psychology or Employment qualifications.
* IPS training.
* Motivational interviewing training.
Experience
* Experience of initiating, liaising and collaborating with a wide range of individuals and organisations promoting and developing employment, education and training opportunities on behalf of service users.
* Experience of working with a range of mental health service users (in health, social care and/or voluntary sectors) implementing individual programmes and interventions.
* Experience of actively and regularly engaging with employers and employment providers to seek out employment opportunities on behalf of service users.
* Knowledge of good practice in employment legislation protecting disability equality.
* Ability to identify and find solutions to improve the wider service over and above those improvements related to the role.
* Experience of constructing and reviewing individually tailored programmes using a person-centred approach.
* Knowledge of vocational assessment & profiling of service users' vocational needs.
* Recent experience of working with service users to help them meet their employment-related goals.
* Experience & knowledge of the benefits agency and all disability employment-related benefits.
* Personal experience of using mental health services.
* Experience of collecting caseload and outcome data.
* Experience of managing and supervising support staff.
Skills
* Enthusiasm and commitment towards supporting people with mental health problems find paid employment.
* Working knowledge of appropriate therapeutic models to engage and retain service users in treatment and to support them achieve their vocational goals.
* An understanding of the benefits of work as part of the recovery process and a positive attitude to enabling service users to overcome barriers to finding employment are essential.
* Excellent marketing and promotional skills with excellent negotiation skills & persuasive style.
* Able to analyse situations/information to identify and support service users to address their individual needs in relation to employment, education and training.
* Excellent organisational and time management skills.
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
* Ability to work independently and collectively as part of a team.
* Ability to work autonomously and use own initiative.
* Excellent interpersonal skills.
* Thorough understanding of mental health issues.
* Ability to embrace and adapt to new challenges.
* Ability to support an individual's recovery.
* Knowledge of local employment issues, relevant Government policy and Trust priorities.
* Knowledge of relevant welfare benefits and benefits rules.
* Experience of delivering training to a wide variety of colleagues and agencies internal and external to the Trust.
Special requirements
* Ability to travel independently to other bases and Service User homes.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer name
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
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