IPS Employment Specialist - Drug and Alcohol Team
At a glance
- Band
- Band 5
- Contract
- Fixed-term
- Pattern
- Full-time, Flexible working, Compressed hours
- Posted
- 28/08/2026
- Closes
- 13/09/2026
Sponsorship verdict
Candidates needing sponsorship are encouraged to apply.
HiveMind found a sponsorship-friendly statement in the source advert welcoming applicants who require a visa. Always confirm on the source before applying.
“Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.”Quoted verbatim from the source advert
Role summary
This role involves supporting individuals in drug and alcohol treatment to find meaningful, sustainable paid employment using the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach. You will build rapport with clients, understand their skills and aspirations, and help them with job searching and applications. The specialist will also engage with employers to secure job opportunities and provide ongoing support to both employees and employers. This is a client-facing role focused on transforming lives through employment.
Essential criteria
- Educated to degree level Or equivalent experience in the field of supported employment - to degree level
- Or NVQ Level 3/equivalent relevant training to diploma level and/or experience relevant to the duties of the post to degree level
Desirable criteria
- Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Psychology or Employment qualifications
- IPS training
- Motivational interviewing training
- Experience of initiating, liaising and collaborating with a wide range of individuals and organisations promoting and developing employment, education and training opportunities on behalf of service users.
- Experience of working with a range of mental health service users (in health, social care and/or voluntary sectors) implementing individual programmes and interventions.
- Experience of actively and regularly engaging with employers and employment providers to seek out employment opportunities on behalf of service users
- Knowledge of vocational assessment & profiling of service users' vocational needs
- Recent experience of working with service users to help them meet their employment-related goals
- Experience & knowledge of the benefits agency and all disability employment related benefits
- Personal experience of recovery from addiction
- Knowledge and Skills
- Enthusiasm and commitment towards supporting people with mental health problems find paid employment.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to work autonomously and use own initiative
- Knowledge of relevant welfare benefits and benefits rules
- Good time management skills to balance the co-ordination of own diary making best use of time, efficiently and effectively.
- Other
- Ability to travel independently and in a timely manner across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to meet strict deadlines.
- Education / Qualificaltions
- Educated to degree level Or equivalent experience in the field of supported employment - to degree level
- Or NVQ Level 3/equivalent relevant training to diploma level and/or experience relevant to the duties of the post to degree level
- Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Psychology or Employment qualifications
- IPS training
- Motivational interviewing training
- Experience of initiating, liaising and collaborating with a wide range of individuals and organisations promoting and developing employment, education and training opportunities on behalf of service users.
- Experience of working with a range of mental health service users (in health, social care and/or voluntary sectors) implementing individual programmes and interventions.
- Experience of actively and regularly engaging with employers and employment providers to seek out employment opportunities on behalf of service users
- Knowledge of vocational assessment & profiling of service users' vocational needs
- Recent experience of working with service users to help them meet their employment-related goals
- Experience & knowledge of the benefits agency and all disability employment related benefits
- Personal experience of recovery from addiction
- Knowledge and Skills
- Enthusiasm and commitment towards supporting people with mental health problems find paid employment.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to work autonomously and use own initiative
- Knowledge of relevant welfare benefits and benefits rules
- Good time management skills to balance the co-ordination of own diary making best use of time, efficiently and effectively.
- Other
- Ability to travel independently and in a timely manner across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to meet strict deadlines.
Useful to know
Agenda for Change 2024/25 pays Band 5 at £29,970 – £36,483 a year, across England.
This advert: £32,073 – £39,043 — outside the standard scale; check for HCAS/London weighting.
Posted 10d ago · Closes in 7d
Plenty of time to prepare a strong application.
Full advert · preview
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
IPS Employment Specialist - Drug and Alcohol Team
The closing date is 13 September 2026
Job summary
Could you help people in recovery build brighter futures through employment? Join CPFT as an Employment Specialist and use the IPS approach to support individuals receiving drug and alcohol treatment into meaningful, sustainable paid work. We are currently seeking an Employment Specialist to join our well established Individual Placement and Support Team. The post will be based at CGL in Cambridge.
This is an incredibly rewarding role - you'll have the opportunity to transform the lives of service users, to give them hope, direction and support their recovery journey. This is also a challenging role, so you'll need to be resilient, empathetic and dedicated to supporting service users find a role that's right for them.
You'll build a good rapport with your clients, gaining a real understanding of their key skills, their aspirations and their career goals and finding them opportunities to match. You'll also spend time building productive relationships with employers in order to identify and negotiate job opportunities in the hidden labour market.
Main duties of the job
- Building the profile of employment within CGL, and raising expectations around the ability of service users under those teams to find employ
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