Job Description

We are looking for a capable person with an understanding of the vocational landscape in Dorset to join our innovative charity.  This is an exciting post, working in partnership with our local NHS provider, driving forward and supporting employment opportunities for people in Dorset who experience difficulties with their mental health.

As a local peer led charity that has been in existence for almost 30 years, the Forum has a proud and long history of employing a diverse workforce with a broad range of experiences of trauma, emotional distress and mental health issues.  We understand the importance and acknowledge the right to work as an integral part of building an independent and fulfilling life.  Our work is underpinned by the principles of Recovery and Coproduction, alongside the fundamental belief that people hold many of their own solutions.  This drives us to create opportunities for people to reframe their experiences and to unlock the capacity and potential that exists within themselves.

Dorset Work Matters (DWM) is a partnership employment project, delivered with Dorset HeathCare (NHS), as part of the broader work of the Dorset Wellbeing and Recovery Partnership.  This longstanding partnership places Lived Experience expertise alongside Clinical and Learned expertise, enabling the Forum to share its understanding as an employer of people who have experiences of trauma, emotional distress and mental health issues.  The DWM project delivers an IPS (Individual Placement and Support) approach to Employment support alongside Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) in Dorset.

About the Role

The Peer Lead for Employment will work as part of the Forum Operational Management Team to support the development of a strategy that promotes and supports the employment of people who experience mental health difficulties.  This will include those accessing Individual Placement and Support (IPS) through secondary Mental Health Services, but also consider the broader needs of people outside statutory service thresholds.

Within the Dorset Work Matters service the Peer Lead for Employment will work alongside the NHS DWM Project Lead and Senior Employment Specialists to develop a Job Retention plan.  This will include carrying a caseload of Job Retention clients and building a base of Employers.

As the Peer Lead for Employment, you will engage with a broad range of employers across Dorset.  The primary focus of this work will be to model lived experience in the context of work, challenge misconceptions, offer education opportunities and build sustainable partnerships.  The three key areas of responsibility are:

1. Carry a small caseload of Job Retention clients and support the DWM Project Lead with developing a systematic approach to providing Job Retention support within the service.
2. Work alongside the DWM Project Lead to promote, support and facilitate positive attitudes to the employment of people with lived experience of mental health difficulties.
3. Amplify and promote people’s voices and experiences through employment stories, bringing about culture change with employers across Dorset, creating positive workplace attitudes to mental health.

This post will be based at the Partnership’s premises in central Bournemouth and / or in Dorchester and will include travel around Dorset, with some flexibility for alternative working arrangements.

About You

We are a unique, values-based, collaborative and innovative organisation that strives towards continuous learning and improvement. 

• You will have experience and understanding of living with and managing mental health issues or supporting someone in emotional distress, including understanding the barriers to employment and believing in a person’s right to meaningful work.
• You will be able to demonstrate experience of working with people from a range of social and economic backgrounds and understand social justice and inequality issues.
• Your knowledge will include a basic understanding of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) methodology and you will be prepared to undertake further training and ongoing development.
• You will be professional and engaging in your manner, with excellent communication skills and you will have experience of building strong partnerships and external relationships.

We will be reviewing applications and shortlisting on an ongoing basis, closing the process when we have appointed the right candidate.  

We are also recruiting for an Employment Specialist to work in the DWM Project in the Weymouth and Portland area.  Please contact us for further information.

Application Instructions