Employment Specialist (Individual Placement and Support)

Join Our Team and Make a Genuine Impact on Others' Lives.

Are you passionate about guiding individuals toward meaningful employment in their recovery journey?

At Change Grow Live (CGL), we're committed to empowering people through Individual Placement and Support (IPS), ensuring sustainable paid work aligned with their preferences.

This is your chance to be part of something remarkable—an opportunity to contribute to an established IPS service operating across three local authority areas in East London. CGL is delivering this expanded provision in collaboration with partners across Barking, Dagenham and Redbridge and we are looking for an Employment Specialist to join our team.

As an IPS Access to Employment Specialist, you'll lead this groundbreaking effort, developing project management, stakeholder engagement, and implementation skills. Extensive training and ongoing support will be provided to ensure your success.

Where: Havering

Salary: £29,529.80 - £32,002.35 pro rata dependent on experience (based on full time hours, pro rata for part time) 

Allowances: £2195.72 Outer London Weighting, pro rata

Hours: Full Time, 37.5 per week

Contract Type:  Fixed Term until 31st March 2026 with the possiblity of an extention.  

Full-time hours at Change Grow Live are 37.5 hours per week. For part-time roles, the salary and payments will be pro rata based on contracted hours.

Service Overview:

In this role, you'll manage a caseload of 25 individuals receiving structured treatment for drug and/or alcohol use, helping them secure sustainable paid employment in line with their preferences.

You'll deliver the IPS employment support approach, offering person-centered advice and guidance while fostering positive relationships with local employers to create employment opportunities.

Your focus will be on helping clients sustain their employment while working collaboratively with treatment service staff to identify potential referrals and provide integrated support leading to job acquisition and retention.

IPS is a fundamental commitment in the Government’s Drug Strategy, revolutionising employment support in all treatment services in England. This evidence-based model ensures service users secure preference-led paid work, significantly more effective than any other support.

Join us and play a pivotal role in setting up this integrated service.

You'll collaborate closely with key stakeholders to promote the service mainly across the Havering borough, primarily based in  our Havering base.

About You:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent work experience
• Strong communication skills for effective relationship building
• Proficient in team management and support strategies
• Aptitude in data collection and reporting for IPS services
• Dedication to assisting individuals secure paid employment
• Proven ability to connect with individuals, especially those affected by substance misuse

What We Offer:

• 25 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays. Additionally, you'll receive one extra day of annual leave for each year of service during your first five years, therefore you will enjoy 30 days of leave after five years with us.
• Paid ‘Wellness’ hour each week, ‘Wellness’ hub, and Employee Assist Programme
• Contributory pension scheme
• Great benefits incl. discounts for shopping, cinema, holidays, etc.
• A supportive team passionate about their work
• Training, career development & progression opportunities
• Refer a friend scheme with generous vouchers for successful candidates

If you're excited about this opportunity, apply now and be part of our transformative journey at Change Grow Live.

Join us in making a profound difference in people's lives.

Please review the attached Job Description and Role Specifics for a detailed outline of responsibilities and Person Specification.

Direct applications only — we will not be engaging agencies for this vacancy.

Please note: This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK at the time of application. For applicants with time-limited visas, unfortunately, we are unable to support new visa applications or extensions. More information about eligible roles and occupations can be found here: Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK

Close early

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high number of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.