Mental Health Employment Advisor (EA in iCope)

HILLSIDE CLUBHOUSE

Background

Hillside Clubhouse has been commissioned to deliver a new employment advisor (EA) in iCope programme of support. This is an exciting opportunity to join, shape and develop a new service to support people with mental health conditions to gain and retain employment.

The EAs in iCope initiative was designed as an integrated employment and mental health service to improve both mental health and employment outcomes. EAs are part of the iCope team and work alongside therapists to provide employment support to help iCope clients remain in work, return to work, or find employment. This takes the form of personalised support for the client backed up by an action plan detailing the client’s employment goals and the actions that the client, the therapist, and the EA agree to take to meet those goals.

Overall aim

iCope (Talking Therapies) is an NHS Programme that provides evidence based psychological therapies to treat people with mild to moderate and moderate to severe depression and anxiety disorders.

The EAs role can include:

• Reviewing CVs, providing advice on job applications, career choices and improving interview techniques to help people find work.
• Working with clients to support them to disclose their mental health status in the workplace
• Work with clients who are in work to improve their working relationships with their colleagues and managers.
• Build links with employers to ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to help individuals remain in work
• Provide Money Guidance to our clients and help them access other social supports (for example: food banks, housing, Citizens Advice).
• Ensure Jobcentre Plus (JCP) Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) and Work Coaches are aware of the support that iCope can offer and support them to signpost their clients to iCope.
• Run workshops and events to engage with JCP clients.
• Develop relationships with trade unions, law centres, ACAS, Citizens Advice etc. to enable you to signpost iCope clients with workplace issues to cost free advice on employment rights.
• Signpost clients to further provision, such as the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service or Individual Placement and Support (IPS).

For EAs based in iCope there is also a need for job retention support for those who are already in work at the point of referral to ensure that they retain Employment.

The Advisor will also work with, employers, trade unions and employment agencies to keep people in employment. The EA will provide advice about the use of reasonable adjustment, graduated return to work, access to work and other mechanisms to support individuals and employers to support people in work.

Employment Advisors are trained to provide people with support, coaching, CV development, interview training, and on-the-job support. EA in iCope puts the service user’s preferences at the centre of attention, as the service user decides whether or not employers and potential employers know about their mental illness and whether or not their employment advisor contacts the employer on his or her behalf. The service user also decides which jobs to apply for and how many hours he or she wants to work. The decision about how much to work is often influenced by a desire to transition to a working life while minimising the risk of being both out of work and without benefits.

Method of Working

Although employed by Hillside Clubhouse, EA in iCope staff will be collocated and embedded within the iCope team. You will also spend time working in community-based settings as required.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• To manage a caseload of people who have experienced mental health problems and who wish to retain, return to or regain employment; using evidence based interventions.
• To offer individual guidance and advice (including screening, assessment, vocational profiling, action planning (and reviews), CV development, job search support, interview skills, coping techniques etc) to individuals to achieve their employment and development goals led by and focused on the aspirations of the service user.
• To provide practical supports that might be necessary to enable someone to secure and/or sustain or retain employment (e.g. supporting to interview, in work support, reasonable adjustments, fulfilling Equality Act obligations and raising employer awareness).
• To build up close collaborative working relationships with partner agencies including clinical teams, JCP, London Borough of Islington, voluntary and community sector agencies, the Trust, employers and any other organisations that might benefit wellbeing or be expedient in someone’s journey to employment.
• To ensure/enable ‘better off benefits’ calculations and advice are undertaken for all people using the service wishing to return to work
• To develop and maintain the integration of mental health treatment and employment support by establishing effective liaison with mental health treatment teams.
• To provide jobsearch support directly and through direct approaches to employers to match individuals’ job aspirations and to maintain an in depth knowledge of the local labour market.
• To maintain and/or develop awareness of other support mechanisms available externally (e.g. JobCentre Plus initiatives, Access to Work, Work Choice, Work and Health Programme JCP employment health condition and disability guide notes, Hillside Clubhouse) and to enable access to services as people might need.
• To enable people accessing the service to access additional practical supports where needed (including housing, legal, services etc,).
• To keep up to date with accurate information on local resources, facilities, training and employment and to keep up to date with changes to employment legislation and changes to the benefit system.
• To provide ongoing job sustainment support to service users who enter employment in order to ensure employment sustainability and to support people to move from part time to full time employment where desired.
• Promotion, training and championing to mental health care teams to raise awareness and achieve culture change around employment and to regularly attend clinical team meetings.
• Effectively manage own caseloads and monitoring, reviewing and reporting activity and outcomes in line with service targets.
• To work diligently at all times in line with the Equal Opportunities Policy
• To maintain all documentation and statistics as required by the service.
• Meet with the Operations Manager for formal supervision and to agree and review caseloads and targets.
• To work in line with Hillside Clubhouse risk management procedures.
• Undertake any training as may be required by the role
• To attend and participate in meetings as required (internal and external).
• To undertake any other tasks as delegated by the line manager or the Executive Director and to work from any other locations as may be necessary for service delivery.

The post operates in a new and emerging rapidly changing environment and duties may change for time to time as the needs of the service dictate. The post-holder may be required to work out of hours from time to time by prior agreement.

We are a disability aware employer and actively encourage applications from people with lived experience of mental health conditions.

Hillside Clubhouse is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and strongly encourage applications from those who experience discrimination and / or prejudice based on their race, ethnicity or immigration status, women, new parents, people with disabilities and LGBTQI+ people.

If you are interested in applying for a role, please submit your CV and a two page covering letter outlining how you meet the criteria of the role by an email via the button below.

If you might find the application process difficult or you would like more information about Hillside or the role please call Monday-Thursday.