Community Connector for Westminster Talking Therapies

Job summary

Westminster Talking Therapies Service is located in the diverse London borough of Westminster. This is an exciting opportunity to join our team as aCommunity Connector. We are looking for individuals who have experience of working with their local communities, to help our team build relationships and raise awareness of Westminster Talking Therapies. You will be working to promote wellbeing and support for our local community groups, particularly those who experience barriers to accessing talking therapies services in partnership with community and voluntary sector organisations.

You will play a key role in raising awareness and the profile of the service, through promoting the service in a proactive manner, and building good partnerships with community and third sector partners. You will work alongside our clinical staff in delivering workshops within the community, and also engaging with our local GPs to explore barriers to making referrals and accessing our service.

You will be offered supervision and supported with further development within the area of mental health and psychological therapies, and provided with relevant training.

We are looking for candidates who enjoy working with diverse communities, who have strong connections to the Borough of Westminster and who are experienced at community liaison and promoting mental health to different groups.

Candidates who speak local languages and/or live in Westminster will also be at an advantage.

Main duties of the job

You will enable increased access to a range of psychological interventions for the local community of Westminster. Westminster has a highly diverse community and there are significant barriers to accessing talking therapies services either via self-referral or through other professionals.

This role will provide an alternative route into psychological support, engaging with local community groups and the voluntary sector to promote mental health and facilitate access to the Westminster Talking Therapies Service in a way that is responsive and sensitive to the needs of local groups.

The post holder will make a vital contribution to the overall delivery of psychological therapy by the service and work to ensure that the people who use our services have a good experience by listening, respecting, empowering and working in partnership to achieve desired outcomes.

We support flexible working and candidates are required to be out in the community engaging with different groups face to face for a large part of their working week.

While typical working hours are Monday - Friday, there is an expectation to work some evenings to offer flexibility to community organisations and faith groups as required. Additionally, it is anticipated that the work will include occasional weekend work which will be agreed in advance.

About us

The catchment area of the post is the London borough of Westminster. The main hub for the service is based at our south hub on 190 Vauxhall Bridge Road and at our north hub at 11 Praed Street. You will be required to work across both hubs and in other parts of the borough, e.g. community settings, including libraries and community centres.

We operate an agile working policy where staff combine remote working and being on-site to deliver face-to-face appointments and other service commitments that require a hub-based presence. The post-holder will work full-time hours and may be required to work at any times between 8am and 8pm on weekdays including an evening clinic as required by the service. Occasional weekend work may also be required and this will be agreed in advance with the Community Development and Engagement Lead.

Benefits of working for Westminster include:

• Westminster Talking Therapies Service has close links with the CNWL Talking Therapies teams and there are opportunities for further development.
• 27 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays, with an increase to 33 days with continuous service
• NHS discount
• Opportunities for career progression
• If you would like to see what it's like to work for CNWL please have a look at https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work