Peer Employment Specialist

You will work with individuals who have mental health needs, guiding them towards meaningful paid employment and demonstrating that recovery and sustainable employment are possible. This role is vital in creating hope and offering real-world support through your own lived experience!, + Lived Experience Focus: Share your personal experience of accessing rehab services, supported accommodation, and inpatient care to inspire service users in their recovery journey.
+ Client Support: Manage a caseload of individuals seeking to return to work, using your lived experience to provide tailored guidance, mentoring, and job support.
+ Employer Engagement: Proactively build relationships with employers to secure job opportunities, ensuring reasonable adjustments and supporting job retention.
+ Peer Support: Lead group or 1:1 peer support sessions, assisting clients in crisis, recovery planning, and wellbeing., + Motivating and supporting a caseload of 10-15 clients to gain and sustain paid employment.
+ To utilise your lived experience in all communication aspects of your role to inspire hope and role- model sustainable employment in recovery
+ To model/mentor a recovery process alongside (and as an aspect of) an employment journey and demonstrate self-management skills and techniques, using own experience of recovery.
+ To promote the benefits of employment for those with lived experience of overcoming mental health challenges.
+ To provide individualised support to service users once they have returned to work to assist them in sustaining employment, acting as a role model to clients to inspire hope, share life experiences and lessons learned as a person in recovery.
+ To promote the service to clinical staff and service users to ensure the service is well utilised.
+ To have an understanding of evidenced based IPS employment practice.
+ To meet and exceed sustained job outcome targets for people accessing the service.
+ To build relationships with clinical teams to generate referrals and create collaborative working partnerships with clinical staff, ensuring a multi-disciplinary team approach to supporting individuals to get back to work.
+ To support the team in promoting a recovery orientated environment by identifying recovery- focused activities and imparting information and education as required. This would involve promoting courses being delivered by Recovery and Wellbeing College as well as supporting the development of information sessions.
+ To maintain a professional relationship with the clients of the programme and with other staff, with particular attention to confidentiality, trust policies and maintenance of professional
+ To contribute to the on-going improvement and development of Trust-wide employment
+ To provide effective in work support to individuals once they secure paid employment to ensure they retain
+ To deliver employment workshops, employment surgeries and job clubs with other members of staff as required.
+ To work independently, reliably and deliver consistently to deliver effective IPS delivery.
+ To work flexibly as required by the individual and employer which may require some working out of normal office hours.
+ To adhere to administrative and data capture protocols which record the progress of individuals, and to keep accurate and complete records of casework.
+ To ensure that effective monitoring and evaluation systems are adhered to and keep abreast of changing practice within vocational rehabilitation.
+ To adhere to CNWL Employment Services policies and service standards.
CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.
Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

Applicants must demonstrate own personal lived experience of accessing secondary mental health services. Secondary mental health services do not include being treated by the GP/IAPT/Talking Therapies or accessing private therapy. The role requires synonymous lived experience to the communities we serve.
If the application does not state having lived experience of accessing secondary mental health services then the application will be rejected.
You will utilise your lived experience and use this directly in your role to inspire hope and belief that people with mental health difficulties can thrive in employment and or vocational occupation.
You don't need to have specific experience in IPS or employment support, but you do need to be willing to learn.

+ Training & Development: Benefit from comprehensive training, including Peer Worker Foundation Training and the accredited 'Developing Expertise in Peer Support' Level 4.
+ Supportive Environment: Work within a dynamic, recovery-focused team with regular supervision and opportunities for personal development.
+ Work-Life Balance: Enjoy 27 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays, increasing with service, and access to the NHS Pension Scheme., We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. See attached Staff Reward and Wellbeing Handbook detailing our benefits, discounts and wellbeing initiatives for staff.
Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.
CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.
Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.
Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.
If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.