Job summary
This opportunity is for a 30 hour p/w position (0.8 FTE).The
post holder will be employed on a fixed term contract of one year which will be
subject to a probationary period of 6 months.
Continuing employment is subject to obtaining ongoing project related
funding.
The
post holder will be required to work flexibly from a variety of locations
throughout Sunderland and South Tyneside and will be able to work confidentially
from home at times to suit service need.
The
post holder will deliver holistic support to parents and carers of children and
young people who are engaged with or awaiting support from mental health
services, who in their own right, have support needs with their own mental
health and emotional wellbeing. This may include parental anxiety about their
child's presentation and access to treatment services or unrelated issues such
as housing and finance.
The post holder will provide direct emotional support
to adults living with additional challenges in their family circumstances, such
as housing, financial hardship, or their own mental health needs, and where
necessary will help people to access relevant specialist services. This role will focus on the
needs of the parent / carer and is not intended as an advocate or support role
for children and young people.
Main duties of the job
Our Listening Ear Link Work service is aimed at parents
and carers of children and young people who are receiving/awaiting support from
mental health service in Sunderland and South Tyneside, and who are themselves in need of short-term
social, emotional, and practical support. By taking a whole family approach,
the service aims to improve parental mental health and improve outcomes for
children and young people
Listening Ear link workers offer:
- Signposting and guidance to a range of community based services as well as specialist services beyond what our service can provide, including Talking Therapies.
- Provide psychoeducation on common mental health complaints such as anxiety and depression as well as provide self help materials or direct individuals to resources online.
- Encourage and support clients using the service,
to enable them to identify, address and manage the issues and associated
problems that are affecting their mental and emotional well-being
- Liaise
and work in partnership with other agencies to ensure clients are referred on
to appropriate services to receive the most effective intervention for their
needs.
- Provide hand-holding support to appointments, assessments and other meetings in line with the work being undertaken.
The service uses holistic, person centred approaches to collaboratively supportive people to manage emotional, social and environmental stressors within a recovery-based approach.
About us
The post holder will work as a link worker in our Listening Ear service, set within a unique independent mental health charity, which is acknowledged for its contribution to the community by mental health professionals, health practitioners and local and regional voluntary and statutory agencies.
Staff will be called upon to use a personal means of transport while engaged in the work of the service for which travel expenses will be available.
Salary for this post is comparable to Band 5 Agenda for Change.
The post holder will become part of a broader link working team within SCS, with each service handling similar work within their specific area of focus. The diverse team can offer support with a wealth of knowledge and awareness of local resources and need.
The successful post holder will be employed by SCS and entitled to our employee benefits such as access to our free 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, Bike2Work Scheme, access to training and be part of a supportive team which emphasises the importance of continuing personal and professional development.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For details regarding the job description and person specification, please download these from the document section.
Should you be interested in applying for this post and have any questions regarding it or your suitability, please contact Alicia Harris, Senior Mental Health Link Worker (alicia.harris@sunderlandcounselling.org.uk) in the first instance.
Please use your application to tell us how your
skills and experience align to the role. Sunderland Counselling Service may use
Artificial Intelligence (AI) detection tools to identify whether an application
has been completed using AI. We expect that AI may be used to enhance your
application such as refining and clarifying your ideas and thoughts and
checking for grammar and spelling. However, applications where AI has been used
to invent or inflate your skills and experiences or create generic responses will
be rejected. To verify you have written your application please add the
following to the bottom of your application 'I confirm that the content of this
application is my own work and has not been generated by artificial
intelligence tools beyond basic editing or proofreading.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For details regarding the job description and person specification, please download these from the document section.
Should you be interested in applying for this post and have any questions regarding it or your suitability, please contact Alicia Harris, Senior Mental Health Link Worker (alicia.harris@sunderlandcounselling.org.uk) in the first instance.
Please use your application to tell us how your
skills and experience align to the role. Sunderland Counselling Service may use
Artificial Intelligence (AI) detection tools to identify whether an application
has been completed using AI. We expect that AI may be used to enhance your
application such as refining and clarifying your ideas and thoughts and
checking for grammar and spelling. However, applications where AI has been used
to invent or inflate your skills and experiences or create generic responses will
be rejected. To verify you have written your application please add the
following to the bottom of your application 'I confirm that the content of this
application is my own work and has not been generated by artificial
intelligence tools beyond basic editing or proofreading.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience of supporting people with emotional or mental health difficulties either in a paid or voluntary capacity.
- Experience of carrying out assessments of client support needs, including risk assessments.
- Experience of working in a community setting.
- Experience of accurately collecting and recording information and data whilst maintaining confidentiality.
- Experience of working independently as well as in a team.
- Experience of working collaboratively with different organisations, building trust, confidence and partnerships.
Desirable
- Experience of using outcomes measures.
- Experience of using electronic case management systems such as IAPTus or EMIS.
- Experience of supporting carers.
- Experience of supporting children and young people with mental health difficulties either in a paid or voluntary capacity.
- Experience of working within a social prescribing or equivalent context and/or knowledge of social prescribing and how it can address the causes of health and social inequalities.
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to A level standard or equivalent.
- Relevant qualification e.g. Level 3 Counselling skills, NVQ level 3 in Social Care, Advice & Guidance qualification, social prescribing qualification.
- Demonstrable commitment to personal and professional development.
Desirable
- Relevant degree e.g. psychology.
- Training in risk assessment and assessments of client support needs.
- Mental health training / qualification.
- Safeguarding training
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge and understanding of emotional distress, mental health, and mental ill health.
- Knowledge and understanding of relevant support services available in Sunderland and South Tyneside.
- Sound knowledge of the associated issues facing the client group, including relevant legislative frameworks in relation to mental health and child protection.
- Awareness and understanding of Child Protection & Vulnerable Adult Safeguarding procedures.
Desirable
- Knowledge and understanding of talking therapies and specialist mental health services for adults.
- Knowledge and understanding of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
- Knowledge of medication used in treating common mental health problems.
- Knowledge and understanding of child development.
- Experience and/or knowledge of working with local statutory and voluntary agencies.
Other Requirements
Essential
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office applications.
- High level of enthusiasm and motivation.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including telephone skills.
- Able to write clear reports and letters.
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships.
- Ability to work within the boundaries of the role and within own competencies.
- Ability to work under pressure.
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
Desirable
- Full clean driving license and use of car.
- Fluent in languages other than English.
Skills and Competencies
Essential
- Ability to actively listen, empathise with people and provide non-judgemental support.
- Ability to create, sustain and disengage from productive interpersonal relationships.
- Ability to appropriately advocate for a clients needs.
- Ability to handle others emotions without becoming personally involved in them.
- Ability to identify risk to self and others, identifying and reporting safeguarding incidents.
- Understanding of and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Ability to make good use of line management, supervisory and support processes.
- Ability to evaluate effectiveness of interventions at an individual and project level.
- Ability to work in an unsupervised area and share information where appropriate, with the relevant personnel.
- Ability to challenge poor practice and identify and work to best practice standards.
- Ability to take responsibility for identifying and meeting own learning and development needs.
- Ability to evaluate and put in place the effect of training.
Desirable
- Willingness to contribute to and assist in the development of strategies that will make the service provision accessible to all clients.
- Ability to effectively manage administrative tasks to include monitoring & evaluation.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience of supporting people with emotional or mental health difficulties either in a paid or voluntary capacity.
- Experience of carrying out assessments of client support needs, including risk assessments.
- Experience of working in a community setting.
- Experience of accurately collecting and recording information and data whilst maintaining confidentiality.
- Experience of working independently as well as in a team.
- Experience of working collaboratively with different organisations, building trust, confidence and partnerships.
Desirable
- Experience of using outcomes measures.
- Experience of using electronic case management systems such as IAPTus or EMIS.
- Experience of supporting carers.
- Experience of supporting children and young people with mental health difficulties either in a paid or voluntary capacity.
- Experience of working within a social prescribing or equivalent context and/or knowledge of social prescribing and how it can address the causes of health and social inequalities.
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to A level standard or equivalent.
- Relevant qualification e.g. Level 3 Counselling skills, NVQ level 3 in Social Care, Advice & Guidance qualification, social prescribing qualification.
- Demonstrable commitment to personal and professional development.
Desirable
- Relevant degree e.g. psychology.
- Training in risk assessment and assessments of client support needs.
- Mental health training / qualification.
- Safeguarding training
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge and understanding of emotional distress, mental health, and mental ill health.
- Knowledge and understanding of relevant support services available in Sunderland and South Tyneside.
- Sound knowledge of the associated issues facing the client group, including relevant legislative frameworks in relation to mental health and child protection.
- Awareness and understanding of Child Protection & Vulnerable Adult Safeguarding procedures.
Desirable
- Knowledge and understanding of talking therapies and specialist mental health services for adults.
- Knowledge and understanding of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
- Knowledge of medication used in treating common mental health problems.
- Knowledge and understanding of child development.
- Experience and/or knowledge of working with local statutory and voluntary agencies.
Other Requirements
Essential
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office applications.
- High level of enthusiasm and motivation.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including telephone skills.
- Able to write clear reports and letters.
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships.
- Ability to work within the boundaries of the role and within own competencies.
- Ability to work under pressure.
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
Desirable
- Full clean driving license and use of car.
- Fluent in languages other than English.
Skills and Competencies
Essential
- Ability to actively listen, empathise with people and provide non-judgemental support.
- Ability to create, sustain and disengage from productive interpersonal relationships.
- Ability to appropriately advocate for a clients needs.
- Ability to handle others emotions without becoming personally involved in them.
- Ability to identify risk to self and others, identifying and reporting safeguarding incidents.
- Understanding of and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Ability to make good use of line management, supervisory and support processes.
- Ability to evaluate effectiveness of interventions at an individual and project level.
- Ability to work in an unsupervised area and share information where appropriate, with the relevant personnel.
- Ability to challenge poor practice and identify and work to best practice standards.
- Ability to take responsibility for identifying and meeting own learning and development needs.
- Ability to evaluate and put in place the effect of training.
Desirable
- Willingness to contribute to and assist in the development of strategies that will make the service provision accessible to all clients.
- Ability to effectively manage administrative tasks to include monitoring & evaluation.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
