Community Engagement Practitioner

At Hestia, we are guided by our core values and are dedicated to fostering an equitable, diverse, and inclusive organisation. Our mission is to empower individuals to rebuild their lives and achieve independence. Right now, we are looking for a Community Engagement Practitioner to play a pivotal role in our Enfield VCS service in Enfield. Sounds great, what will I be doing? In this role, the individual will work as part of a multidisciplinary team—alongside clinicians, social workers, and community partners—to support adults with moderate to severe mental illness. They will hold a caseload of service users, acting as the key contact and contributing to care planning, progress monitoring, and discharge support using the clinical records system. A key focus will be the collaborative development of person-centred recovery plans that emphasise social goals and community integration. Using trauma-informed and strength-based approaches, they will build strong therapeutic relationships to support individuals in achieving their personal recovery goals. The role involves helping service users access local resources, attend appointments, and engage in wellbeing activities, peer support, or psychoeducational groups. They will promote recovery-focused, jargon-free communication, advocate for co-production and integrated care, and liaise with statutory and voluntary sector organisations to ensure smooth service navigation and warm handovers. Attendance at relevant clinical meetings and community events is expected, representing both Hestia and the Community Mental Health Team. Accurate and timely documentation of support activities, risk assessments, and user progress is essential, along with maintaining safe and ethical practice in line with safeguarding protocols, health and safety procedures, and quality standards. The role also includes active participation in ongoing supervision, training, professional development, annual appraisals, and clinical oversight. What do I need to bring with me? You\’ll need to be able to demonstrate the core skills this role requires as well as match our values and mission. You don\’t have to tick all the boxes right away; the important thing is that you\’re willing to learn. We also value lived experience of the areas we support, so if you feel comfortable, please do mention this on your application. Here\’s what the team will be looking for The ideal candidate will have an NVQ Level 4 in Care (or equivalent) or at least two years\’ experience in a mental health setting, with a strong understanding of mental health, recovery, and co-production principles. They will be skilled in care planning, risk assessment, and group facilitation, with knowledge of the Mental Health Act and experience working collaboratively across services and communities. Excellent communication, IT proficiency (including electronic case management tools), and the ability to work both independently and in a team are essential. The candidate should be resilient, adaptable, and committed to trauma-informed, person-centred practice, with clear professional boundaries. Desirable qualities include lived experience, peer support training, familiarity with local resources, and additional skills such as mentoring, report writing, or multilingual ability. Interview Steps We keep our interview process simple, so you know exactly what to expect. Shortlisting call: We have a team of dedicated recruitment specialists who will speak to you about your experience, motivations and values. They will also tell you about all the great work we do! Face to face interview: Now you will have face to face interview with the hiring manager. Our interviews are value and competency based. Don\’t be alarmed if there are other stages in the process, it\’s all part of the plan for some of our roles. Our commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Our services users come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds because it makes us stronger. We are committed to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce and value the skills, abilities, talent and experiences, different people and communities bring to our organisation. We are a disability confident employer Hestia is proud to be a disability confident employer, dedicated to the employment and career development of individuals with disabilities. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for all applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the role they have applied for. We also provide reasonable adjustments during the selection and interview process, and throughout your employment with us. Safeguarding Statement Hestia is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of adults, children and young people who are potentially at risk, and we therefore expect all staff and volunteers to do the same. We require all staff to undertake internal and external safeguarding training throughout their employment with Hestia. Important Information for Candidates If your application is successful, please be aware that you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks before a formal offer of employment can be confirmed. We reserve the right to close this job advert early should we receive a high volume of applications or if the position is filled before the closing date. We encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible to ensure their application is considered41bf1e1f-b16b-4260-a40a-17c77a06fd15