The Opportunity

IPS Grow, a national leader in driving evidence-based employment support, is seeking a Research Lead (health, employment and individual placement and support), to help support the quality expansion of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services across England's health systems. This pivotal role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of employment support for individuals with mental health conditions or substance use disorders. As a well-established program funded by NHS England & Improvement, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, IPS Grow is at the forefront of implementing high-quality, evidence-based practices. Our mission is to significantly improve employment outcomes for clients accessing health services through the nationwide scale-up of IPS.

The Team

IPS Grow is a national programme designed to support the expansion of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services in mental health, primary care, and drug and alcohol teams across England. The programme is led by Social Finance in partnership with the Centre for Mental Health. It is funded by NHS England and Improvement (NHSE/I), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).

Responsibilities

The key requirements of the role are:

Research and Evidence

• Conduct national research to better position high-quality Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services across England using research methodology such as surveys, experimental research, desk-based literature reviews, interviews, focus groups, case studies, data mining etc.

• Apply research findings to improve IPS practice and approaches by creating toolkits guides for IPS services

• Stay up to date with the latest global evidence and best practices in IPS implementation

• Translate research into practical, on-the-ground applications for IPS services

Data and Performance Management

• Analyse data to identify trends and inform strategic research decision around research and innovation

• Create reports and case studies to demonstrate the impact of IPS Grow's work

Knowledge Translation and Dissemination

• Provide guidance and mentorship to team members on research methodologies and applications

• Translate research findings into practical guidelines/toolkits for stakeholders

• Support the development of training materials and resources based on the latest evidence

• Present research findings at conferences and publish in peer-reviewed journals

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build relationships with key stakeholders, including NHS England, DWP, and local health systems

• Collaborate with IPS Grow team members

• Work closely with the IPS Grow Quality Manager and Marketing Manager to craft useful evidenced based toolkits and guides

• Contribute to strategic planning and decision-making within IPS Grow

• Represent IPS Grow in relevant forums and conferences

• Bridge research and learnings into wider Social Finance

Innovation and Continuous Improvement

• Identify areas for improvement in IPS delivery and implementation

• Develop innovative approaches to enhance IPS services based on research findings

• Contribute to the expansion of IPS across mental health, drug and alcohol, and primary care settings

• Be an ambassador for Social Finance and for the IPS model

• Reflect on own practice, including identifying own learning and development needs both as a leader and a researcher

Examples of some research projects

• We have undertaken a review of the impact of our service and developed enhanced features such as regional workforce leads to support recruitment and induction of staff and a national accreditation training scheme.

• We have undertaken research on practical implementation science to better support the adoption of IPS in health systems with guides and toolkits as outputs.

• We commissioned research that confirmed the ideal level of employment support and insights into equity of access and outcome in routine clinical practice.

• We are currently researching how to best integrate into primary care clinical systems and will develop a guide for services.

About You

Qualifications and Experience

• MSc level qualified or equivalent professional experience

• Minimum first author or equivalent on 3 high impact peer review publications

• Strong commitment to evidence-based practices and leveraging research to enhance service delivery

You will need to show competency, potential or interest in the following areas.

• Shared values. We are looking for people with a passionate belief that anyone can work with the right support, and a commitment to our values

• Refining and implementing strategy – commitment to working collaboratively and constructively as part of a team to shape our strategy and roadmap for project delivery with research and evidence.

• Strong analysis skills and problem-solving skills.  You will have proven analytical and research skills with a track record of publishing in peer review journals. You will need to be comfortable with changing approaches as you develop a better understanding of the problem and what might solve it.

• Understanding of the IPS agenda and commitment to driving evidence-based practice and quality improvements. You will be committed and have a tenacious drive to deliver effective evidenced-based practice both internally within the IPS Leads team and across external IPS services.

• Building a learning culture – you will have a strong commitment to learning and developing your own practice and that of our team.

• Project management – you will have experience of leading and delivering complex research projects against project plans, timelines and deliverables that are results focused. 

• Data and IT skills – you will have strong IT skills and use data to inform your work.

• Teamwork. You will be committed to working as part of a national team with a strong focus on cross team collaboration.

• Relationship building and senior stakeholder influencing. IPS Grow does not directly manage services so your success will depend on the strength of your ability to build relationships with a range of external stakeholders at all levels.   You will have a track record building outstanding relationships with different individuals and organisations.

• Negotiation skills you will also have highly advanced negotiation and influencing skills and a willingness to tackle difficult conversations where needed to achieve the right results for research and recommendations.

• Independent working. You will be able to demonstrate an ability to deliver results working with limited supervision, ideally in a remote working / virtual team environment.  You will have strong communication skills both written and verbal.

• Workload management, both for yourself and others, allocating and delegating tasks as necessary, able to deal with multiple and competing priorities using analytical skills to prioritise and meet deadlines

• Ability to respond to emerging complexities within a rapidly changing landscape in a timely and informed manner

Working at Social Finance

The salary range for this position is £44,000 - £54,000 per annum. Depending on skills and experience - new starters generally join at the beginning of the band. Working for a mission driven organisation is more than just what we pay though, it’s about our culture, our approach and what else we offer. Read more about working at Social Finance. 

About Social Finance

We are an ambitious not for profit organisation that helps to design, fund and scale better solutions to complex social problems. Our vision is a fairer world where together we unleash the potential of people and communities. We do this by working in partnership with local and national governments, funders, communities and the social sector to tackle complex and enduring social problems in the UK and across the world.

Our skills include financial analysis, data and digital insight, outcomes-focused partnerships, strategy, research and design. We combine these specialisms in different ways to address specific social challenges. We create effective solutions that blend the expertise of communities and professionals to deliver better outcomes in issues such as homelessness, domestic abuse, children’s services, health, employment and skills.

Ready to make your own impact on these issues? Then come and join us. Our multi-skilled team of over 120 people come from diverse backgrounds in the public, private and charity sectors, all sharing a passion for making change happen. We provide a high-quality training and development programme in-house with great opportunities for career progression. We’re a friendly and intellectually curious bunch, always up for a debate.

What we do

Our unique method combines financial analysis, data science, service design, and social issues research.

We focus this expertise on understanding the needs of service users and working with communities to create new responses to challenging social problems.

We develop models, products and services that are pragmatic and have the scope to drive systemic change to improve people’s lives. In the UK, we focus on issues such as homelessness, domestic abuse, mental health, learning difficulties, loneliness and vulnerable children on the edge of the care system. We also look to improve equity for marginalised communities in social services. Internationally, we design outcomes-based models for issues such as maternal and neonatal health, education and employment. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We actively encourage applications from under-represented and minoritised groups, including those with lived experience of the social issues we are working to address. We are an equal opportunities employer and support a range of flexible working options.

How to Apply

Social Finance are using Applied, a platform developed by the Behavioural Insights Team, to record your application. Applied is focused on using behavioural and data science to improve hiring decisions and minimise unconscious bias in the recruitment process. You will be asked to respond to four situational based questions which will allow you to express your ability.

Your answer to each question will be viewed in isolation. Please therefore ensure there is enough detail in that single response, without any references to your other responses. NB: Whilst we are asking for your CV, please note that we will not be viewing your CV during the initial sift process. The selection panel will not have access to your CV, so it is therefore essential that you respond to each question fully.

Closing date for applications: 9 December 2024 at 12:00pm

• 30-minute Zoom interviews will take place Friday 13 December.

• Face to face interviews will take place on the Wednesday 18 December, at our Social Finance office in London. (Should you require any reasonable adjustments to allow you to attend, please highlight this when you are invited).

If you would like more information about the role, please email support@ipsgrow.co.uk