Senior Employment Specialist

Go back South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Employment Specialist

The closing date is 30 June 2025

To support people with mental health problems into employment and provide supervision for a team of employment specialists.

Main duties of the job

Key Responsibilities:

• Giving individually tailored advice and support to a diverse range of clients, using a range of communication methods including video conferencing, telephone calls, emails, texts, and social media.
• Working as part of a team of other employment professionals, sharing knowledge and expertise, and contributing to team meetings and service development activities.
• Providing effective supervision for a team of employment specialists to help them develop in their roles and achieve a high level of performance.
• Typing clear and concise session notes, and entering data onto electronic databases in a timely manner, ensuring that files and systems are always up-to-date and accurate.
• Working independently to manage own time and workload, keeping track of own progress towards targets, and continually reflecting on own performance to improve and develop in the role.
• Keeping up to date with local and national labour market trends, education/training opportunities, welfare benefit changes, and employment law in relation to client group.

About us

About South London and Maudsley:

At South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, we provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK. We also provide substance misuse services for people addicted to drugs and alcohol. Our staff serve a local population of nearly two million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient, and community services. We provide inpatient care for over 5,000 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community across Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, and Croydon. Besides serving south London communities, we offer more than 50 specialist services for children and adults nationwide and beyond.

About Work Well:

Work Well is a department within South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust that supports people to find work.

Our mission is to support unemployed individuals in achieving their career goals. We believe everyone can work, and they should have a choice about the type of work and when to do it. Our vision is a society where everyone who wants to work can do so.

Our values are:

Person-centred: We provide information to help people make their own career decisions.

Empowering: We equip people with tools to do things themselves.

Inspiring: We help people set long-term career goals aligned with their desired lifestyle.

Job responsibilities

• Giving tailored advice and support to clients via various communication methods.
• Collaborating with a team of employment professionals and contributing to service development.
• Supervising employment specialists to enhance their performance.
• Maintaining accurate session notes and data entry.
• Managing own workload independently and reflecting on personal performance.
• Staying informed about labour market trends, training opportunities, welfare benefits, and employment law relevant to clients.

Person Specification Qualifications / Education

• Educated to degree level or equivalent (A)
• Qualification in Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) or similar (A)

Experience

• Experience providing employment advice to individuals with mental health issues or disabilities (A/I)
• Experience supervising or managing others (A/I)
• Experience establishing new services or projects (A/I)
• Lived experience of mental health issues or caring for someone with such issues (A/I)

Knowledge

• Knowledge of current job market trends and recruitment practices (A/I/T)
• Understanding of NHS mental health service systems (A/I/T)
• Knowledge of the London Borough of Southwark (A/I/T)

Skills and Competencies

• Continuous learning and staying updated on work-related topics (A/I/T)
• Effective communication skills across various platforms (A/I/T)
• Handling challenging conversations sensitively (A/I/T)
• Performance review and improvement skills (A/I/T)
• Understanding and applying policies, procedures, and legislation (A/I/T)

Values

• Commitment to caring, kindness, punctuality, honesty, and reliability (A/I/T)
• Support for equality, diversity, and anti-discrimination initiatives (A/I/T)

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This role requires a DBS check due to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975. A disclosure submission will be necessary to verify any criminal convictions.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust