Wellbeing Outreach Advisor

Part Time 30 hours per week

£ 25983.27 per annum pro rata (basic salary) plus £ 3630 per annum pro rata (geographical allowance)

The Lewisham Outreach Service will provide timely, targeted support to help people across the diverse communities in Lewisham to manage their mental health, and have the tools, resources and links to local services to improve their wellbeing and resilience in the long term.

We support people to navigate local options of support and to be linked with specialist services which can meet their needs. Our aims are to support people to make informed decisions; to improve the wellbeing of everyone in Lewisham & to support those with mental health needs to manage their wellbeing.

This key role within a new and innovate mental wellbeing service in Lewisham involves autonomous, mobile working in the community and inside the hub alongside engagement with a fast-paced team. Workers will be required to coordinate and maintain their own workload, reporting on their activity as required. The majority of a Wellbeing Worker’s time will be spent delivering bespoke one-to-one and group support to individuals experiencing or recovering from mental health problems both inside the hub and in the community. Support will be provided both face to face and online.

Responsibilities

Key working practices

•To support individuals on a one-to-one or group basis as part of a variety of interventions relating to the steps of self directed support and achieving their goals

•Contributing to the protection of individuals from the risk of abuse and self-harm

•Contributing to the ongoing development of the individual and the service

Communication and relationships

•To communicate effectively with individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds

•To have open, honest and transparent professional relationships with people who we work with

•To forge and maintain relationships with other agencies in the community

•To share knowledge, skills and experience within the team while observing confidentiality

Increasing social capital

•To promote engagement within the community as a key factor in recovery and self management

Promoting choice and control

•To empower individuals to exercise choice and control, offering a person-centred service led by the wishes of the individuals you are working with

Technology

•To maintain and build upon good working knowledge of IT, and to take full advantage of opportunities to use IT to progress Your Way’s working practices

Capturing and sharing what we do

•To record and report on activity and outcomes, sharing examples of good practice

•To maintain up to date records and share these with individuals at any time

Promoting user leadership and involvement

•To promote and foster opportunities for the people the Wellbeing Worker supports to take the lead in the development of the service

•To support volunteers where necessary including peer supporters

Service outcomes

•To raise aspirations and support in the growth and improvement of this new service

•To increase community engagement and awareness of this new service

•To enable individuals to lead full and happy lives without relying on conventional mental health services

•For individuals to complete meaningful self-assessments and get the most out of their personal budget

•For individuals to lead their own journey and have control over their lives

Confidentiality

•Information relating to people we work with must be treated in the strictest confidence and discussed with colleagues only with prior consent of the individual, unless in the case of risk

•Information relating to staff must be treated in the strictest confidence and discussed only with other senior staff or line manager.

This list is not exhaustive, and amendments and additions may be required in line with future policy changes.

Skills

Essential

• Understanding of issues surrounding mental health and issues likely to affect those experiencing or recovering from periods of mental illness

• Proven skills in managing a busy workload Experience of working autonomously Ability to plan ahead whilst also retaining capacity for flexible working

• Able to efficiently maintain appropriate records including use of information technology Willing and able to engage with databases and activity capture systems on a day-to-day basis

• Proven ability to build rapport with others and present a positive image of the service and oneself Proven ability to build and maintain appropriate and person-centred professional client/worker relationships

• Good, clear and adaptable communications skills. Willing and able to maintain a free flowing and transparent communication between worker and the person being supported.

• Experience of working with people from diverse backgrounds

• Understanding of factors around equal opportunities, marginalisation and social exclusion including understanding of issues surrounding BME, LGBT and other minority groups

• Knowledge and experience of working with confidentiality Experience of working in a fast-paced environment Experience of working with individuals on a one to one basis Able to work in the field including daily local travel within the borough

• Understanding of importance of user involvement and leadership

• Good IT skills including email, internet, word processing, basic Excel and mobile phone use. Excellent telephone manner. Willing and able to learn new systems as needed including databases. Good written English and ability to write and produce written documents to a high standard.

Desirable

• Lived experience of mental health problems

• Experience of working with contact and outcome management databases

• Experience of external-facing communications with other agencies Experience of forging community relationships

• Experience of person-centred or personalised support

• Experience or clear understanding of accommodation-based SP if required.

• Experience of developing, supporting or fostering user leadership or involvement opportunities

• Experience of using contact management and activity capture systems. Advanced skills in word processing, email and internet. Knowledge of the personalisation agenda and self-directed support Knowledge of local systems related to self-directed support

Benefits