Employment Specialist

We are seeking motivated and passionate Employment Specialists who are looking for a career in the health and work sector to be part of our brilliant teams here at South Yorkshire Housing Association (SYHA). We are currently recruiting for roles across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.

• Do you want to understand more about the crucial role employment can play in enhancing the lives of those with health conditions?
• Do you enjoy meeting people and making new connections?
• Do you want to make a genuine difference and transform someone’s life?

If you answer yes to all the above, then we encourage you to apply!

Our wider benefits:
• Salary – £27,092 per annum
• Working hours – 37 hours per week (including some weekend and evening working)
• Eligible for essential car user allowance of £94.36 per month plus mileage expenses
o Driving licence essential
• Generous holiday entitlement – 27 days annual leave, statutory bank holidays plus an additional 4 SYHA days, pro rata.
• 5% pension contribution
• Excellent flexible working options including Flexi Time, Condensed Hours, Part Time, and Job Share.
• Excellent benefits including:
o SYHA Rewards - employee discount scheme, which offers cash back and shopping discounts. Plus, advice and resources on health eating, financial wellbeing, exercise and mastering your mental health
o Westfield Health (employer paid)
o Counselling
o Discounted Gym membership
o Cycle to work scheme
Access to a wide range of programmes to train and develop you.

For more information about our range of benefits, please visit the Your Wellbeing and Feeling at Home.

More about the role:

As an Employment Specialist you will play a vital role in working alongside people with mental health conditions and disabilities to gain sustainable paid work. You’ll receive all the training and support you need to take on the role and have access to a wide range of opportunities to develop your skills whilst working at SYHA.

We welcome applications from all experience levels and backgrounds. What you will need is a good understanding of the barriers faced by people with disabilities and mental health conditions, with experience of networking and building relationships with a variety of people.

This is a rewarding and diverse role where no day is ever the same. Using the person-centred Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model which has zero exclusion criteria you will be supporting people from all walks of life by:

• Using a strengths-based coaching style to encourage sustainable outcomes for the individuals in your caseload.
• Build relationships with employers to understand their recruitment needs and source individualised employment opportunities based on people’s preferences.
• Work with employers to support their employees who are struggling due to their health to thrive in the workplace.
• Motivate people, to ensure frequent engagement and to focus on developing their skills and confidence to ensure they are equipped with the necessary knowhow to find and sustain meaningful and fulfilling employment.
• Work with health partners to provide an integrated, and well-rounded employment service.
• Advocating for your caseload by educating and engaging with employers regarding the employment service.

We are seeking a positive, proactive and compassionate person to join our organisation and welcome applications from all experience levels and backgrounds. You do not need to have worked in this role before! Ideally, our successful candidates will have:

• Commitment, drive and integrity to challenge inequality and break down barriers, with a strong belief in a strength-based approach and tailored goals.
• Ability to build relationships and communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders using a variety of methods such as in-person or via email.
• Excellent organisational skills, including diary management, with the ability to manage various tasks and priorities.
• Have excellent IT skills and the confidence to learn new CRM’s and MS 365 and be proficient in using word, excel and PowerPoint.
• Confidence to work out in the community, meeting new employers, advocating for the people who want to work, and showcasing all our service has to offer.
• Strong ability to record information accurately and timely.
• Ability to travel within the South Yorkshire and holding a full valid driving license with access to a vehicle for work is essential.

We are also actively interested in individuals with transferrable skills for this role such as experience in using a persuasive communication style, motivational interviewing or promoting service to a variety of audiences, this can include but not limited to, coaching, recruitment, sales, education, training/mentoring or sales roles.

At SYHA, we value the incredible contribution and talent that people with disabilities can and do bring to our workplace and we are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. As part of our commitments, we will ensure that disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role will be guaranteed the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at interview.

To be considered under the scheme, disabled applicants must disclose their disability (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) on the Equal Opportunities section of the job application.

SYHA does not hold a sponsorship license and are unable to provide visa sponsorship.


For the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 this is an excluded job.

Please click here to apply –

For more information about our application and interview process, plus answers to our frequently asked questions, please click here to go to our Candidate Toolkit.

For an Informal Discussion Contact: Helen Lee View phone number on findajob.dwp.gov.uk or Nic Ignatovich View phone number on findajob.dwp.gov.uk

Closing Date: Sunday 31st May at midnight

Interview Date: 10th, 11th or 12th June

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Disability Confident

About Disability Confident

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .