Wellbeing Outreach Advisor

The wellbeing outreach advisor will work as part of a wider team in Lewisham adult mental health services, including other community services and mental health services. The role involves:

• Working alongside participants to provide support, information, resources to improve their quality of life.
• Providing person-centred goal and outcome-oriented support.

The role is based across Lewisham Borough and will aim to build bridges with those harder to reach people in the community.

The Lewisham Outreach Service will provide:

• Timely, targeted 1-2-1 support of up to 12 weeks.
• A variety of group workshops to help people across the diverse communities in Lewisham to manage their mental health.
• Tools, resources and links to local services to improve their wellbeing and resilience in the long term.

The service aims to:

• Manage the wider determinants of health by engaging with people who are reluctant to engage, or who are disengaged from mental health services.
• Support access to prevention and early intervention initiatives.
• Prepare people for engagement with therapeutic interventions.
• Access meaningful interventions including culturally appropriate and faith relevant support.
• Reduce levels of isolation.

The service will focus on outreach delivery:

• Monday to Friday from 12–8pm.
• Saturdays from 12–4pm.
• Some mornings for Sunday delivery.

Our approach is based on the core values of collaboration, choice, integrity, resilience and continuous improvement. We support people to:

• Navigate local options of support.
• Be linked with specialist services which can meet their needs.
• Make informed decisions.
• Improve the wellbeing of everyone in Lewisham.
• Support those with mental health needs to manage their wellbeing.

This role involves:

• Autonomous and mobile working.
• Meeting service users in community premises and libraries across the Lewisham borough.

Workers will be required to:

• Coordinate and maintain their own caseload.
• Report on their activity as required.

The majority of time will be spent:

• Delivering bespoke one-to-one and group support to individuals experiencing or recovering from mental health problems.
• Supporting people both face to face and online.

Key Responsibilities include:

• To support individuals in a focused and time-limited basis over 12 weeks, through a one-to-one and group-workshop basis as part of a variety of interventions relating to the steps of self-directed support and achieving their goals.
• Meeting service users mostly in community premises across the Lewisham borough.
• Undertaking risk management assessments for all service users within their caseload in a way that empowers them to take control of how they self-manage and informs of appropriate interventions.
• Ensuring the safeguarding of individuals from the risk of abuse and self-harm.
• Contributing to the ongoing development and empowerment of the individual through excellent knowledge of local opportunities in the borough.
• To help design and facilitate group workshops in the community.

Communication and relationships:

• To communicate effectively with individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds.
• To work closely with other local community services and mental health services to ensure a cohesive and joint delivery of outreach support across different spaces/community venues.
• 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 Together’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 service user leadership and involvement:

• To promote and foster opportunities for the people the Wellbeing Outreach Advisor 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 Wellbeing Plans & Safety Plans.
• 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, Knowledge & Expertise

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.

Job Benefits

Equal Opportunities Statement: We acknowledge the unique contribution that all Together employees and service users can bring to the work of the projects and the organisation in terms of their culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status, nationality, age, religion or belief and any physical disability or history of mental health or additional problems. All appointments and promotions are based on merit and no job applicant or employee will be treated unfairly or discriminated against. All staff has equal access to staff development. Full details may be found in the Human Resources Policy and Procedure Manual. Any member of staff who breaches this policy may be subject of grievance and/or disciplinary procedures.