Team Leader / Senior Employment Specialist

Team Leader / Senior Employment Specialist Location: Dover Salary: £30,000 - £34,000 DOE Are you passionate about supporting people to overcome barriers to employment and achieve their career aspirations? Do you have the leadership skills and experience to inspire and develop a team while making a positive difference to people's lives? We are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced Senior Employment Specialist / Team Leader to lead and support a team of IPS Employment Specialists delivering high-quality, person-centred employment support through our Connect to Work service. In this rewarding role, you will lead, supervise and develop your team, ensuring they have the skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver effective, individualised employment support. You will also manage a small caseload of participants, leading by example and demonstrating best practice in supporting people to enter, return to or sustain employment. Please note: A full, valid driving licence and access to your own vehicle are essential for this role, as regular travel is required across Thanet, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe to meet with participants, employers and partner organisations.

About You

You will be an experienced employment support professional with a strong understanding of IPS or supported employment approaches and a genuine passion for helping people achieve their potential. You will have experience supporting people with mental health conditions, physical disabilities or long-term health conditions, understanding the barriers they may face and the importance of providing personalised, strengths-based support. With previous supervisory or team leadership experience, you will be confident in motivating, coaching and developing others, creating a supportive environment where your team can thrive and deliver excellent outcomes. You will also be a natural relationship builder, able to engage effectively with employers, health professionals, clinical teams and community partners to develop opportunities and promote inclusive employment. Essential Requirements

• Experience delivering IPS or supported employment services to people with mental health conditions, physical disabilities or long-term health conditions.
• Previous supervisory or team leadership experience.
• A strong understanding of IPS principles and fidelity standards (training can be provided where required).
• Experience in employer engagement and developing effective partnerships.
• Excellent coaching, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong organisational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritise workloads, monitor performance and meet deadlines.
• The ability to work collaboratively with clinical teams, NHS partners, local authorities and community services.
• A full, valid driving licence and access to your own vehicle, with the ability to travel regularly across Thanet, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe. Desirable Experience
• Experience in quality assurance, service audits or working within compliance-led environments.
• Experience of co-production and involving service users in shaping service delivery.
• Experience working within health, social care, substance misuse or mental health settings. If you are an inspiring leader who believes everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve their employment aspirations, we would love to hear from you! About Us We are The Forward Trust, the social enterprise with charitable status that empowers people to break the often interlinked cycles of crime and addiction to move forward with their lives. For more than 25 years we have been working with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past. We believe that anyone is capable of lasting change. Our services have supported thousands of people to make positive changes and build productive lives with a job, family, friends and a sense of community. We are committed to our cause and the work we carry out as a charity. Equally the wellbeing and the employees who work for us are also important. Joining us an employee, we will offer you the following benefits -
• Flexible working
• Support for Families – We support our employees through every stage of family life by offering enhanced maternity and paternity pay for eligible employees who have completed 26 weeks' continuous service, alongside family-friendly policies and a supportive, inclusive workplace.
• Training and development opportunities
• Simply Health Cashback Scheme (optional)
• Season Ticket Loan Scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Crisis Loan Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme
• 3 x Wellbeing Days (pro rata'd for part time employees)
• Access to Blue Light Card
• 25 days (rising to 30 with length of service) Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays
• Contributory Pension Scheme – Employer matched contributions of up to 6% in the first two years’ service and up to 9% thereafter
• Death in Service Payment (2x annual salary)
• Critical Illness Insurance (subject to qualifying criteria) Please note that we may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. To Apply If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for Forward Trust, please click apply to be redirected to our website to complete your application