Staffordshire Treatment and Recovery (STARS) provides a safe environment in which people can develop their life skills, and confidence to achieve and maintain recovery and abstinence from their substance misuse, successfully re-integrate into society, and become active, contributing citizens.
Public Health England has conducted a national randomised controlled trial of Individual Placement and Support for people with barriers to employment relating to drug and/or alcohol dependency – the Individual Placement and Support for Alcohol and Drug Dependence (IPS-AD) trial. This is now in the second phase, IPS without the need for randomisation.
The post holder will lead the on-going development of Individual Placement and Support Model within the service(s), supported by the Team Manager.
This is a fixed term contract until April 2022.

Main duties and responsibilities:
Individual Placement & Support

• Managing a limited caseload of people in drug and alcohol treatment services who wish to return to, or start, paid employment. Clients will be worked with for up to 9 months, plus up to 4 months of in-work support, as specified in the IPS-AD trial protocol.
• Building effective working relationships with local employers, training providers and colleges to secure employment and education opportunities for people in community treatment for substance misuse, including ensuring the service is focused on accessing the ‘hidden’ labour market.
• Providing job development and job search activities directed toward positions that are individualised to the interests and uniqueness of the client, following the evidence-based principles and procedures of IPS supported employment.
• Providing ongoing support according to both the employee’s and employer’s needs to enable people who have experienced dependency on drugs and/or alcohol to retain employment once secured.
• Ensuring that people on work experience placements and those job seeking are provided with help and advice to apply for posts in open employment, and advised about accessing in-work welfare benefits as appropriate.
• Promoting the profile of employment within the clinical team, and raising expectations around the ability of clients to attain paid work.
• Developing the day to day operational practices of the Employment Specialist Team.
• Ensuring that services achieve and maintain good fidelity to the evidence-based IPS model.

Managing the IPS-AD trial adherence requirements as Principal Investigator supported by the Team Manager

• Ensuring that research governance requirements are adhered to.
• Providing operational responsibility for the day-to-day, efficient running and implementation of the study protocol.
• Overseeing appropriate participant screening and recruitment at the site.
• Overseeing appropriate and accurate recording, storage, integrity and confidentiality of research forms and records.
• Ensuring adverse events recording arrangements are in place and promptly reported to the study coordinating centre.
• Providing reports to and liaising with the PHE Trial Manager and study coordinating centre as requested.
• Ensuring access for IPS fidelity checks and the external evaluation.
• Ensuring follow up questionnaires are allocated and completed in line with the IPS service requirements.
• Complete mandatory accredited NIHR training in and follow MRC guidelines on Good Clinical Practice.
• To work with client keyworkers and clinical staff, including through case conferencing, to ensure that clients receive appropriate support from everyone involved in their care during the return to work process.
• To take part in local employer engagement, involving employers (including the local authority and partner services), and open-up and secure work experience and paid employment opportunities for people in treatment for drug and/or alcohol dependency.
• To provide advice and support to employers, as agreed with the individual, which may include negotiating adjustments and on-going contact with supervisors to ensure job retention.
• To assess individual support needs related to work which might typically include help with benefits, travel to work, managing health and work etc.
• To work flexibly on occasion as required by clients and employers, which may require some working out of normal office hours.

Research and development

• To keep abreast of changing practice within vocational rehabilitation, and to disseminate within the team and, where relevant, service(s).

Management of resources

• To work with internal and external stakeholders and partners to maximise the effective and efficient use of resources in the delivery of vocational support services.

This job description is intended to provide a guide to the general duties and responsibilities of the post. It should not be regarded as a contractual document. It will be reviewed regularly and may be varied at the discretion of Humankind.

Person Specification – Essential criteria:

• Educated to degree level, or with equivalent relevant work experience.
• At least 2 years’ experience of helping people facing severe labour market disadvantage to obtain or keep work.
• Experience of collaborative working and working in multi-agency partnerships.
• An understanding of the principles and practices the Integrated Support and Placement (IPS) model of supported employment.
• An understanding of the employment needs and difficulties of people who experience substance dependency and related barriers to employment.
• Able to assess clients' vocational functioning on ongoing basis utilising background information and work experiences. Discusses client's preference for disclosure of health status to employers.
• Able to work in a complex environment and demonstrate a high level of perseverance, being committed to seeing plans through to completion with agreed time-scales.
• Ability to develop relationships with multiple stakeholders, including employers, partner agencies, clients and their family/carers. With the client's permission, provides education and support to family members.
• Ability to support clients and employers when a client’s job is at risk.
• An ability to provide advice and support to keyworkers and clinicians in relation to the employment needs of their clients.
• Working knowledge of a broad range of occupations and jobs.
• An ability to communicate highly complex and specialist information effectively both verbally and in writing, including the production of formal reports.
• Capacity to appreciate the strategic service context.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Good marketing, presentation and negotiation skills, allied to a persuasive style.
• Familiarity with common office software
• Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently.
• A preparedness to work flexible hours through prior agreement as the needs of the job dictate.
• Ability to see solutions rather than problems.

Person Specification – Desirable criteria:

• Experience of working with people recovering from substance misuse and/or mental health problems or a similar client group.
• Knowledge of the welfare benefits system.
• An understanding of the Equalities Act 2010.
• An understanding of education, training and employment services.
• Basic counselling skills.
• An ability to assess the learning and development needs of others and give individual feedback to manage and improve performance.

Candidates will be recruited within the advertised range, please did not automatically expect initial recruitment to be at the top end, as this will depend on experience and enables progression in role through the Humankind development process.