Job Description

Mental Health Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Employment Specialist

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Deadline:

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Are you ready to bring your passion, creativity, and happy vibes to a place that truly makes a difference? Look no further! At PossAbilities, we're a social enterprise on a mission to help vulnerable people 'Live the life they choose.' If that sounds like something you'd love to be a part of, keep reading!



At PossAbilities, our Employment Team is dedicated to supporting individuals with mental health conditions in their journey to gainful employment or return to work after a period of absence. As an Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Specialist, you will play a pivotal role in this mission in a very special and rewarding role.



Your responsibilities will include working closely with clients to create tailored CVs, conducting interview practice sessions, and providing ongoing in-work support to ensure a smooth transition and sustained employment. You will also negotiate with employers to foster understanding and accommodations for mental health needs, ensuring a supportive and inclusive workplace environment. Your expertise and compassionate approach will empower clients to overcome barriers, build confidence, and achieve their employment goals.

Why Choose

Poss

Abilities?

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PossAbilities isn't just a fantastic place to work; it's a place where your heart can sing. Here's why you'll love working with us:

Awesome Pay:

Earn

29,410.87

a year for a 37-hour workweek (pro-rata for part-timers).

Pension Perks:

We contribute up to 4% of your salary into a pension plan.

Holiday Fun:

Enjoy 20 days of annual leave, 8 bank holidays, and access to our reduced rate holiday home at Ribby Hall Village. Receive 3 extra holidays to celebrate your length of service when you hit 5 years!

Duvet Days:

Perfect attendance? Have a paid day off to chill!

Health & Wellbeing :

Access for you and your dependents to a free 24/7 confidential EAP support via BHSF and internally trained mental health first aiders to support you.

Social Events:

Join fun events with the people we support, staff, and their families.

Discounts & Benefits:

We're a Flexible Pay Employer that offers Wagestream. The money management app lets you choose when to get paid, put money aside each month with an excellent savings interest rate, get discounts on your shopping, check your benefits entitlement and much more. Not just that but as an employee of PossAbilities you are eligible for a Blue Light Card, ESSO discounted fuel card & similarly a Love2Shop - Every Day Benefits Card all easy-to-use discount schemes which saves you money on your day-to-day spending. We will even refund you the joining fee!

The Hours

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You will work 37 hours per week with core working hours of Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm. However, flexibility is essential as there may be occasions when meetings or other responsibilities require availability outside of these standard hours. This could include early mornings, evenings, or weekends, depending on the needs of the clients. The ideal candidate will be adaptable and willing to adjust their schedule to ensure all commitments and deadlines are met effectively, notice will be provided for any hours required outside of the core hours.

Where?

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You will be based between the Mental Health teams in Bolton/Bury and our Heywood Office and working out in the community.

What?

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You will deliver a high quality, safe and person-centred service, supporting individuals with mental health needs using the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of support.

You will:

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Manage a caseload of up to 20 clients, providing tailored support to achieve employment goals. Conduct needs assessments, develop action plans, and perform risk assessments. Assist with CV writing, job applications, interview preparation, and job search. Provide advice on benefits, welfare, and mental health disclosure. Maintain accurate records and documentation. Attend clinical and team meetings to integrate IPS services. Present IPS principles to clinical teams and collaborate with other IPS Specialists. Liaise with multidisciplinary teams to plan and deliver employment support. Source and secure suitable job opportunities for clients. Negotiate with employers for reasonable adjustments and job carving. Provide ongoing support to both clients and employers to ensure job sustainability. Monitor and review client progress in the workplace. Regularly update and accurately maintain the client information system, ensuring it holds all necessary data regarding client progress, employment status, and support needs.

Our Values

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We believe in values based recruitment and are looking for individuals who are the right fit for our culture. You don't need to have prior experience of working in social care - you just need to have the right motivations, passions and interests. Our values lie at the heart of our organisation and underpin everything we do.

Integrity

We communicate openly and honestly and build relationships based on trust, respect and caring.

Creativity

We thrive on innovation and encourage positive risk taking.

Happy

We believe fun is the key to success

Person centred

We believe that everyone has the right to exercise choice and control in directing their lives and support. We inspire people to achieve greater things.

Passionate

We are dedicated to, and enthusiastic about, providing exceptional services.



Don't just take our word for it:

We were named as one of

The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025

!

On our latest staff survey 98% of respondents said they were proud to work for PossAbilities and 95% said they were happy working here!





We were awarded Highly Commended for Employer of the Year at the 2024 National Learning Disability & Autism Awards.



We asked our current employees what kind of person/skills & behaviours they thought we should recruit for future roles and these are the outcomes:



You will also need to be self motivating and able to plan and prioritise your workload, be passionate about creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities, enjoy working to and achieving targets, and have the ability to work collaboratively with the colleagues in our Employment Team and the NHS Mental Health Teams.

Please note you must hold a current driver license and have use of a car!

So if this sounds like something you'd love to do please submit your application now!



What's it like to work at PossAbilities? Watch and find out... https://vimeo.com/907456586/b2d034812c?share=copy



We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees feel valued, respected, and supported. We believe that diversity drives innovation and we actively seek to foster an environment where everyone can thrive. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are dedicated to providing equal opportunities for all employees, ensuring that our team reflects the diverse communities we serve.



If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, please let us know, and we will work with you to meet your needs.