Activities Facilitator

Hello! We are so delighted you are considering coming to work with us at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW). We know the power of looking into an organisation, one you might want to work in, or one where you are going to get help, and being able to say, ‘I’ve seen somewhere I can fit in and be myself.’ We’re on a journey to make the Trust an inclusive employer, representative of the community we serve and we want more of our community to consider applying for jobs with us.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full-time activity facilitator to join Elm House, open rehabilitation unit in Gateshead. This post would be an excellent opportunity for someone who is interested in facilitating the delivery of therapeutic activity within an inpatient environment supporting patients on their recovery journey. The successful candidate would be supporting patients in identifying and carrying out individualised activity as well as helping provide ward based activity to enable routine and structure. You would also be expected to take an active role in the implementation of Talk 1st and the Safe Ward interventions. You will receive regular supervision and have the opportunity to attend our monthly activity facilitator peer development group to develop your skills further.

Applications are invited from candidates who possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the enthusiasm and passion to embed and develop therapeutic activity. You must have a strong commitment to the delivery of high quality, safe, patient care and be a good role model in reflecting the Trust's core values. You'll be provided with training opportunities to develop your knowledge and skills.

Main duties of the job

• The post holder’s focus will be to work towards creating an activity-based culture on the inpatient ward environment.
• They will both provide and co-ordinate a range of social, recreational and leisure activities within and off the ward.
• The post holder will also undertake designated tasks from both nursing and Occupational Therapy treatment plans for identified individuals.
• To plan, implement, evaluate and record a range of social, recreational and leisure activities within the ward.
• In conjunction with qualified nursing and Occupational Therapy staff, co-ordinate a timetable of activities on each area to be implemented by self and support worker staff.
• To work with individual service users on delegated areas of their treatment plans to help facilitate recovery.
• To contribute to the monitoring, evaluation and modification of service users’ interventions in order to measure progress and ensure effectiveness.
• To contribute to the overall ongoing risk assessment carried out by the MDT.
• To ensure an appropriate environment and equipment is available to carry out identified activities.

Person specification

• Education and Qualifications: Formal qualifications eg. NVQ Level III or willing to work towards, or equivalent level of knowledge.
• Skills: Planning and organisational skills, excellent communication skills, recent or current experience of working in a mental health setting, involvement in group based interventions, ability to engage in therapeutic relationships with people, experience that can demonstrate leadership skills and ability to self-motivate.
• Personal Characteristics: Work well in pressured environments, can self-motivate and remain positive, practical knowledge of a range of leisure, educational, vocational, and technical activities, and ability share these with others.
• Knowledge and Experience: Experience that can demonstrate skills acquired in a care setting, knowledge of a range of leisure/creative technical activities.

We welcome your application.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.