Mental Health Coordinator

£32,260 to £36,251 per annum (for exceptional performers, there is scope for further progression up to £41,689 per annum)

Onsite
This role will be based on site, primarily in the named location.

We have one simple promise – to make a positive impact. Through our ground-breaking research, teaching excellence and commitment to sustainable living, we are changing lives for the better.

The University of Derby is a modern university with a modern outlook. Everything we do is driven by delivering excellence and opportunities for our students, our staff and our region.

We have some of the best university facilities in the UK and achieve outstanding results for our teaching and research and have been awarded Gold in the prestigious Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 – making it one of the top universities in the country recognised for its outstanding student experience and student outcomes.

Financially strong and seriously ambitious we offer our employees an inclusive culture that centres itself around staff wellbeing, where you can be confident you will receive all the help and encouragement you need to build a rewarding career with lots of opportunities to enhance your skills.

The Registry support all aspects of the student journey, right from initial enquiry and application, all the way through to final award and student completion. We strive to provide an outstanding service to all our users and to be thought leaders in our fields of expertise, developing research informed practise. Registry teams work collaboratively with stakeholders to deliver a high-performance culture that promotes wellbeing, diversity and opportunity for all, supporting excellent student experience.

Student Services

Student Services provides a range of student support, information, guidance and development services across the University including, counselling, disability, mental health, financial support and other key services delivered centrally These teams work closely together (and with other sections of the university) to provide the best possible services to our students, to enhance the student experience, to help students achieve their full potential and to meet the strategic aims of the University. These services are central to the student experience, they are visible, seamless, effective and tailored to the needs of our student community.

The Mental Health Coordinator plays a key role in the delivery of a specialist, student-centred mental health support service, acting as a central point of expertise for students experiencing mental health difficulties. Working with students who have complex and varied needs, you will provide assessment, risk management, tailored support plans, and advice on reasonable adjustments to help them succeed in their studies and university life.

You will work collaboratively with academic teams, professional services, and external agencies to ensure coordinated and effective support, while also providing expert guidance and training to staff across the University. In addition, you will lead and supervise trainee and associate counsellors, contribute to service development, and play an important role in shaping policies, strategies, and inclusive practices that promote student wellbeing.

This is an exciting opportunity to make a meaningful impact on student experience while helping to drive a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing.

This role will work across both our Kedleston Road campus in Derby and our Buxton campus.

We are looking for someone with substantial post-qualification experience supporting individuals with complex mental health needs. You will have a strong background in assessing and managing risk, responding to crisis situations, and working with people experiencing severe and enduring mental health difficulties.

The successful candidate will be experienced in delivering effective one-to-one support both in person and remotely, building positive relationships with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. You will be comfortable working within a complex environment, collaborating with multiple stakeholders and balancing competing priorities to achieve positive outcomes.

You will also possess excellent communication and presentation skills, with the confidence to deliver training and engage with large groups of students and staff. Strong organisational skills and a commitment to professional practice are essential, including experience of maintaining accurate case records and supporting clients over sustained periods to achieve their personal and academic goals.

• Act as a specialist point of contact for students with mental health conditions, providing confidential advice, guidance, and support.
• Lead and manage the trainee and associate counsellors scheme, providing oversight of casework, and support for professional development to ensure safe, effective, and consistent service delivery.
• Manage a caseload of students with complex and/or fluctuating mental health needs, undertaking assessment, risk identification, and support planning.
• Monitor students with identified mental health needs, responding to changes in presentation or engagement, and coordinating appropriate adjustments or escalation in line with risk and support plans.
• Work collaboratively with internal services and external agencies (e.g. NHS, community teams) to ensure timely and joined-up support.
• Support students to develop self-management, resilience, and independent living skills to enhance wellbeing and academic success.
• Provide specialist input into complex cases, including contributing to case reviews, risk management processes, and decisions relating to fitness to study, continuation, or alternative pathways.
• Provide expert advice and consultation to academic and professional services staff on supporting students with mental health difficulties.
• Design and deliver training to enhance staff capability in responding to mental health concerns, including managing disclosures, boundaries, and crisis situations.
• Work in partnership with Professional Services and academic colleagues to develop and embed effective, consistent approaches to student mental health support.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of policies, procedures, and frameworks relating to mental health and wellbeing.
• Support the development of inclusive practice by advising on reasonable adjustments and their implementation within academic settings.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including health services and community organisations.
• Contribute to monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, using data and case insight to inform service improvement and strategy.
• Promote awareness of mental health and contribute to a whole-institution approach to wellbeing through campaigns, initiatives, and engagement activities.
• Maintaining all case files, statistical records, relevant databases, files, records and KPIs in accordance with legislation and best practice.
• Contribute to preparing, analysing and presenting reports; ensure that records and other management information is gathered; anticipate trends; provide related feedback to the Student Services management team and senior leadership.
• Have specific expertise in the area of mental health practice, keeping abreast of any changes in legislation/policy or procedure that could impact on the delivery of services to students with a mental health disability or on the legal duty of the University and advising University services/staff accordingly.
• Make use of and keep up to date with the use of ICT and Assistive Technology (AT) to develop and enhance the work and the support of students.
• Attend training and other events to maintain the specialist skills and knowledge required for the post; attend regular internal supervision and case discussion meetings.
• Represent and/or promote Student Services at both internal and external meetings/events, contribute to committees and working groups within the University focusing on areas relating to complex student support, safeguarding and mental health and wellbeing.
• Together with the Student Services Leadership Team, support the development of a University Mental Health Strategy and approach.
• Contribute to the work of Student Services, working collaboratively and towards the shared goals of the Department.
• Ensure that the Student Services profile is maintained across the University by representing the service on internal committees and working groups, overseeing staff contributions to publicity materials, co-ordinating involvement in induction sessions and Open Events.
• Relevant Safeguarding training and/or extensive experience of safeguarding matters (for children and/or adults at risk)

Experience

• Experience of working in a complex environment with multiple stakeholders
• Post qualification experience of working within a mental health setting, assessing, and managing risk, crisis situations and clients with severe and enduring mental health issues
• Experience of working with people from a diverse range of backgrounds including people with mental health difficulties
• Experience of delivering 1:1 mental health related support in person and remotely
• Experience of, and to be able to demonstrate the confidence to, deliver training and to talk to large groups of students and staff
• Experience of working with clients over a sustained period and of maintaining accurate case notes and files

Skills, knowledge & abilities

• Recognised as having specialist expertise and knowledge in safeguarding children and adults at risk and/or mental health and has a breadth of experience in working with vulnerable individuals and/or those at risk
• Knowledge of local NHS mental health services e.g., Crisis Team, Early Intervention Team etc.
• Capacity to work patiently, emphatically, and non-judgmentally
• Highly customer focused
• Ability to liaise with others as appropriate with due regard to boundaries of confidentiality
• Ability to support others/students to develop self-management, resilience, and independent living skills to enhance wellbeing and academic success
• Able to positively utilise support from team colleagues and to utilise formal and informal networks with and external to the area
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbally and in writing), with the ability to interact with staff at all levels of the University and to complete complex reports
• Ability to design and deliver training to enhance capability in responding to mental health concerns, including self help, coping strategies, and/or for staff managing disclosures, boundaries, and crisis situations
• Excellent IT skills with experience of MS Office including Word, PowerPoint, MS teams, Excel and Outlook to a very high standard
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Analytical skills and the ability to accurately interpret complex information
• Ability to maintain reliable / accurate systems, case notes and files
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and to handle stressful and competing demands, remaining calm and confident during difficult situations

Business requirements

• A commitment to the University's values and behaviours
• Ability to work outside of normal working hours (including some evenings and weekends), to support the business during key University events, such as Graduation, Clearing and Open Days

Qualifications

• A professional qualification related to mental health
• Level 4 Safeguarding Training

Skills, knowledge and abilities

• A depth and breadth of knowledge in relation to assistive technology and the ability to embed this when supporting students
• Generous annual leave entitlement of 38 days inclusive of bank holidays and concessionary days (pro rata)
• Suite of holistic wellbeing benefits and support including family-friendly policies, generous sick pay provision and comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to a variety of staff discounts at high street retailers
• Discounted onsite gym
• Cycle to Work scheme
• A flexible working environment
• A commitment to personal and professional development

For further information and informal enquiries regarding the role, please contact Lucy Doherty, Student Welfare Manager via L.Doherty2@derby.ac.uk

For enquiries regarding your application and for sponsorship eligibility, please contact the recruitment team via recruitment@derby.ac.uk .

The University is unable to sponsor the employment of international workers under the Skilled Worker route for this role; however, applications are welcome from candidates who are able to demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 and is therefore subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Any information you provide will be treated in confidence and only used when considering your suitability for the post.

To enable us to process your DBS check please ensure you are able to supply the documentation listed on the DBS website at interview stage.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

The University of Derby is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, regardless of age, disability, trans status, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief (or none), sex and sexual orientation.

We are Disability Confident Employers, demonstrating our commitment to disability inclusion, and invite applicants to highlight adjustments they may require to ensure equitable participation in our recruitment processes.

Further, we are committed to ensuring an environment which is trans and non-binary-inclusive for all our staff, students, partners, and visitors, and continuously review our policies, guidance and training.

When applying to join the University, you can choose your preferred title, including the gender-neutral title 'Mx'. We also ask our candidates if they would like to share their preferred pronouns.This is voluntary but demonstrates our commitment to inclusivity for trans and non-binary candidates.Once employed, you can add pronouns and preferred names onto our system.

The University of Derby undertakes anonymised shortlisting during the staff recruitment process. This means that, when shortlisting, panel members will not be able to see an applicant’s name and will see an applicant number instead. This demonstrates the practical steps we are taking to remove barriers to recruitment by minimising the possible impact of our unconscious bias.

However you identify, we actively celebrate the knowledge, experience and talents each person brings. Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds; therefore we are particularly interested to hear from applicants who will help our leaders and teams be more reflective of our student population.

At the University of Derby, we are passionate about embedding sustainability into everything that we do. We aim to bring environmental sustainability into all aspects of the University, including teaching, research and operational activities. In line with the University's strategic framework, we expect all our staff to embed sustainability into their working practices and support the University's objective to reach net zero carbon by 2050.

Don’t miss your chance – join the team and make a difference today!