Mental Health Triage Advisor in Birmingham

This is an exciting opportunity to join a new community mental health team, working across South Birmingham. As the first point of contact for incoming referrals, from both mental health and other professionals, as well as self-referrals, you will complete an initial assessment to support referral to the most appropriate support from the Community Counselling - South Locality Partnership.

Main duties of the job

• Deliver timely, compassionate and effective triage service for people presenting with low to moderate level mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression and low mood.
• Gather key information to support effective triaging of patients, assessing presenting needs and accurately recording data.
• The role will be mainly telephone based but will include some community-based outreach work.

About us

Gateway Family Services is a Community Interest Company delivering health and wellbeing services across Birmingham and Solihull. We have a great team who work collaboratively across services to support patients and service users to achieve the best outcomes. As an employer, we believe our staff are our biggest asset and are proud to offer a range of benefits including flexible and hybrid working options (where roles allow), workplace wellbeing support including an Employee Assistance Programme and access to GP support 24/7, enhanced annual leave and access to employee discounts. We offer a comprehensive induction and training packages and opportunities to influence and shape service delivery.

Job responsibilities

• Main Duties and Responsibilities
• Initial Contact and Triage
• Act as the first response for enquiries relating to mental health or emotional wellbeing support.
• Use structured triage tools to gather relevant information on risk, safeguarding factors, and presenting needs.
• Identify when concerns require escalation to senior staff, safeguarding teams, or partner agencies.
• Ensure all contacts receive a calm, empathetic, and person-centred response.
• Coordination and Signposting
• Provide high-quality information on local support offers including Early Help, Family Hubs, VCFSE mental health services, NHS Mental Health Services, and digital self-help resources.
• Liaise with partner organisations to check eligibility, availability, and referral pathways.
• Facilitate warm handovers to appropriate support where needed.
• Record Keeping and Data Quality
• Accurately record all triage activity on organisational systems.
• Ensure data is captured in line with GDPR, safeguarding expectations, and internal quality standards.
• Support monitoring and reporting processes, identifying trends or recurring themes.
• Partnership Working
• Maintain positive working relationships with social care, community groups, health services, and the VCFSE sector.
• Participate in multi-agency discussions where appropriate.
• Promote consistent information sharing practices and help maintain updated knowledge of local provision.
• Service Improvement
• Contribute to the development and review of triage tools, scripts, and processes.
• Provide feedback on gaps in provision or emerging needs.
• Support colleagues in delivering a high-quality, responsive service.

Person Specification

• Experience
• Experience of working within a mental health environment in either clinical or community settings.
• Experience of working in wellbeing support either face to face or telephone based.
• Risk assessment and de-escalation skills and experience.
• Understanding of safeguarding and escalation processes.
• Experience of communicating with a range of people, in particular those experiencing distress or poor mental health.
• Experience of working with partners or in a multi-disciplinary environment.
• Qualifications
• Level 3 qualification in health/social care or significant experience in a mental health-based field.
• Skills and Abilities
• Knowledge and understanding of mental health services.
• Able to gather key information sensitively and professionally.
• Strong administrative skills including accurate and timely recording of information.
• Able to support with basic data interpretation and provide information for reporting.
• Strong organisation and time management skills.
• IT competent using a range of Microsoft packages, social media and digital platforms.
• Understanding of mental health and primary care services in Birmingham and Solihull.
• Understanding of mental health interventions.
• Personal Attributes
• Empathetic and non-judgmental approach.
• Able to put others at ease and build rapport quickly.
• Values and promotes diversity and inclusion.
• Committed to confidentiality, safety and high-quality care.
• Self-motivated with a positive attitude - displays energy and enthusiasm.

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.