Community Connector

**Description**:
**Community Connector**

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**Salary: £23,625.00 pa* (full time)**_ _**_*inclusive of outer London weighting_

**Hours : 37 hours pw**

**Contract: Permanent**

**Location: Slough **(_Flexible working arrangements considered, including Hybrid working between home base and community locations in Slough)_

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**Mind in Berkshire is expanding our Community Connectors Team within East Berkshire. A key role within a multi-agency team, our Community Connectors will build relationships and support patients to access a wide range of community services and resources including social care, housing, family, debt and employment counselling that support maintaining good health and wellbeing.**

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**Who we are**

Mind in Berkshire works to support and represent people with mental health illnesses living across East Berkshire. We tackle stigma and discrimination head-on. We support our service-users to live safe, purposeful and fulfilled lives in our communities. We believe in their recovery and are hopeful about their future. Working together with National Mind we will not give up until everyone in our community gets the respect and help that they need.

**Do you have the following key skills for this role?**
- **empathic and active listening skills**:

- **experience in supporting people with their mental health and wellbeing**:

- **strong networking and team skills**:

- **good organisational and planning ability**:

- **a positive approach towards finding solutions**

This role provides a real opportunity to develop your skills in working with people, in the mental health charity sector. You’ll be part of a supportive and dedicated multi-partnership team and have the opportunity to see your work bring about positive change.

As this role is based in the community with travel between several locations, you’ll need access to a vehicle for use during work hours. Alternative transport arrangements will be considered.

See job description for more details and a description of our benefits.

**How to apply**

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**Key Responsibilities**:
**Background information - Community Connector**

NHS England recently announced a new transformation fund to be allocated to pilot sites within 12 Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships/ Integrated Care Systems across the country to test new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care. Frimley Health Integrated Care System (ICT) is one of these successful pilot sites.

The role of the Community Connector will involve meeting clients in the PCN area, but administration tasks can be completed from home.

**Purpose of role**

To support patients to access a wide range of community services and resources including social care, housing, family, debt and employment counselling that support maintaining good health and wellbeing.

**Responsibilities**

**A Working with patients**
- Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team located in primary care:

- work jointly with the Mental Health Practitioner in conducting assessments, including risk assessment.
- work with patients to support them in identifying their socially determined needs and goals, provide self
- management tools and facilitate the development of personal support plans.
- provide a range of motivational and structured psycho-social interventions.
- promote independence through an enabling asset-based approach that draws on individuals’ strengths, preferences and ‘natural’ support networks.
- establish effective working relationships with a range of agencies to facilitate a ‘joined up’ approach to support plans.
- liaise with, develop and maintain good relations with GPs, practice managers and other health practitioners across mental health and physical health pathways and wider support networks.
- provide continuity throughout recovery; engaging the patient with key services such as Safe Havens, accessing CMHT, and providing support for those engaged with and leaving CMHT, and linking into local wellbeing services and activities.
- co-ordinate and support patients to access a range of community services such as wellbeing services, housing providers, family and carer support services, debt and employer advisors where appropriate.
- support patients to engage with local peer support workers and volunteering services.

**B Administration and projects**
- assist with community resource mapping exercises and maintain a database of community resources; map where there are gaps in provision across the PCN and wider geography and work with other VCS organisations to develop resources where most needed.
- promote and support (where necessary) advised follow up actions from physical health checks for people with SMI.
- work with the service to identify opportunities to expand provision particularly in local communities where there is a lack of service provision identified.
- complete locally agreed quality outcome measures, with patients and to undertake regular rev