Early Implementer

**Job Description - Early implementer - Community Connector (Mental Health)**

**Introduction to the Role**

The Community Connector will support people to achieve better mental health and wellbeing, increasing independence and supporting recovery. The new role is a key part of plans to transform community mental health support and learning from this role will feed into that change. You will help to shape the role, working closely with people in communities to reflect their strengths, interests, and ideas for what matters to them about good mental well-being. You will work with partners to strengthen links between Community Connectors, the communities they serve and the services that can best support them.

The Community Connector posts will be employed in the voluntary sector and will be well connected in communities. They will bring expertise in wider social support and well-being, and will link with a variety of key stakeholders including:

- GP’s and wider primary care staff
- Voluntary sector providers (including social prescribing)
- Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Mental Health teams
- Community Pharmacies
- Service users, family members and carers
- Peer support and Lived Experience Involvement workers
- Forum Central MH Development worker and Third Sector Mental Health Community Capacity Builder
- Staff working to provide physical health checks to individuals with serious mental illness
- The Community Mental Health Transformation Programme Manager (Liz Hindmarsh) and Involvement Lead (Annette Morris)

You will provide support to individuals who have ongoing and complex mental health needs, sometimes referred to as Severe Mental Illness (SMI). In this context, this covers a range of needs and diagnoses, including but not limited to, people with; bipolar disorder, ‘personality disorder’ diagnosis, eating disorders, severe depression and mental health rehabilitation needs - some of which may be co-existing with other conditions such as frailty, cognitive impairment, neurodevelopmental conditions, or substance use. Your role will be to ensure people can access the additional support they need at the earliest point of need, so that they can live as well as possible in their communities.

**Background**

The Community Mental Health Transformation Programme is a partnership of NHS organisations, community and voluntary sector, Adult Social Care and service users and people with lived experience coming together to transform how primary and community mental health services for people experiencing severe mental health issues are organised and delivered. It is important that this process is open and transparent, involving a diverse range of people.

See link _here_ for background

**Job Role and Key Responsibilities**

The role includes the following duties. These may change as the post evolves, however will be within the level of responsibility for this role:
**Person-centred Support**

**You will**:

- Offer focused support to individuals and groups with the aim of building knowledge, skills, confidence, and resilience in people, as well as encouraging people to access local activities and services.
- Use health coaching and motivational interviewing techniques, identifying barriers to people accessing services, and work with them to overcome these.
- Take a holistic approach to support people to identify the wider issues that impact on their health and wellbeing, such as debt, poor housing, employment circumstances and unemployment, loneliness, isolation and caring responsibilities, signposting to services where appropriate.
- Work alongside people experiencing emotional or mental health issues and inspire them to develop the skills to help restore and maintain emotional wellbeing.
- Support the involvement of people with lived experience of mental health in the design, delivery and monitoring of services.
- Challenge stigma attached to mental health, particularly within certain communities, and raise awareness of the importance for everyone to look after their mental wellbeing.
- Receive requests for support from a range of primary and secondary care partners including third sector colleagues.
- Build relationships and work proactively with health care professionals in primary and secondary care to facilitate a ‘joined up’ approach, stimulate requests for support and provide timely feedback on the support provided to individuals, including mental health provision.
- Give people time to tell their stories and focus on ‘what matters to me’, build trust, providing non-judgemental support, respecting diversity and lifestyle choices.
- Work with individuals to co-produce a personalised support plan to address their health and wellbeing needs as required - based on the person’s priorities, interests, values, and motivations - helping them to navigate access to local resources and services.
- Ensure ongoing assessment and management of risks within an attitude of ‘positive risk