Employment Specialist | South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust
| Posting date: | 02 July 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £34,521 - £41,956 per annum inclusive of outer London HCAS |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 01 August 2025 |
| Location: | Sutton/Kingston, SM6 0HY |
| Company: | South West London and St Georges Mental Health Trust |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | 7321183/294-COMM-7321183-JB-B |
Summary
This is an exciting opportunity within the NHS Talking Therapies Employment Services working both remotely and attending our offices at Jubilee Health Centre, Wallington and Hollyfield House, Surbiton.
NHS Talking Therapies is a primary care mental health and wellbeing service aiming to provide support to people living within the relevant boroughs or with a GP in that borough.
As an Employment Specialist you will have the opportunity to proactively manage a caseload of clients who have experienced common mental health problems who are unemployed, currently off sick from work or unwell but still at work.
The Employment Service is part of the Employment Advisers in Talking Therapies Programme, an initiative through the DWP and NHS England. Funding is currently fixed until the end of March 2026 but there may be an opportunity to extend the contract.
Working directly with all relevant stakeholders: the service users, Talking Therapies Team, GPs, employers, Human Resources and Occupational Health services, as well as Trade Unions to enable service users to gain, retain and/ or sustain employment.
To manage a caseload of 30 plus service users at any one time.
To be proactive and well integrated within the NHS Talking Therapies Service to ensure that your colleagues are constantly aware of your services and making appropriate referrals.
Supporting clients to find and retain employment or return to work after long-term sickness.
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.
This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.
We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.
1. To manage a caseload of a minimum of 30 service users at any one time who are currently off work / unemployed and who wish to return to work.
2. To be integrated within the NHS Kingston Talking Therapies Service, being responsible for those service users who want to return to and remain in employment.
3. To meet regularly with the clinical staff to co-ordinate and integrate employment support into health treatment.
4. The EA work will be led by and focused on the aspirations of the service user. Considering their strengths, difficulties and employment assets in order to offer the most effective support
5. To prepare individuals for a return to work through assessing each person’s individual employment needs through vocational profiling/assessment.
6. Refer the person to other support if they have particularly complex barriers.
7. Offer the person support agreeing a written action plan with the person detailing the steps to be taken to either get back into or retain employment and the appropriate support route. Need to include abilities, work solutions, preparation for work, disclosure. The action plan should also be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time bound).
8. The EA will develop in-depth knowledge of the local labour market, local support and new initiatives, taking into account the needs of the client to broker effective interventions. Including specialist schemes to help with retaining or finding employment.
9. To provide individualised, support to individuals once they have returned to work to assist them in sustaining employment.
10. To proactively engage and work with employers to retain employment opportunities for people who have experienced mental health problems.
11. To provide education and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments, return to work strategy and on-going contact with the employer to ensure job retention.
12. To provide outreach services as necessary to individuals when they appear to disengage from the service. Maintain some contact with individuals even without a vocational focus if necessary to sustain engagement.
13. To assess individuals support needs related to work which might typically include help with benefits, travel to work, graded return to work etc.
14. To develop good working relationships with other organisations that are better able to help individuals to achieve their employment goals for example, Pathways to Work providers, local colleges and training provider To work flexibly as required by the individual and the employer which may require some working out of ‘normal office’ hours.
15. To maintain a professional relationship with the clients of the programme and with other staff, with particular attention to confidentiality and the maintenance of boundaries.
This advert closes on Sunday 13 Jul 2025