Employment Specialist (Individual Placement and Support)

Full job description
Overview:
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 six local authority areas in Southwest London. CGL is delivering this expanded provision in collaboration with partners across Merton, Croydon, Kingston, Sutton, Wandsworth, and Richmond and we are looking for an Employment Specialist to assist us with maternity cover.

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: Merton, South London
Salary: £29,529.80 - £32,002.35 pro rata dependent on experience (based on full time hours, pro rata for part time)
Allowances: £4,133.14 Inner London Weighting, pro rata
Hours: Full Time, 37.5 per week
Contract Type: Fixed Term until the 8th of May 2026

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.
Responsibilities:
Service Overview:
In this role, you'll manage a caseload of 25 individuals receiving structured treatment for drug and/or ******* 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 across the Merton borough, primarily based in one of our London services.

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.
Salary Range (pro rata if part time): CGL points 25 to 28 (£29,529.80 - £32,002.35) ILW / OLW /Fringe: Inner London Weighting (£4,133.14) Closing Date: 11/8/2025 If you have any questions on this opportunity that you would like to talk through please contact us using the below details:: Suzanne Morgan | suzanne.morgan@cgl.org.uk : This post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an enhanced level.

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