Wellbeing Worker

**JOB DESCRIPTION**

**Job Title**: Wellbeing Worker
**Location**: Southwark Community Sanctuary, Southwark
**Hours**: Part-time (22.5 hours per week)
**Shift Pattern**: 3:00 pm - 11:00 pm on weekdays, 1:00 pm - 11:00 pm on weekends and Bank Holidays
**Salary**: £24,001.58 per annum (pro rata) plus a geographical allowance of £3,630

**Reporting to**: Deputy Manager/ Service Manager

**About Us**:
Southwark Community Sanctuary provides a welcoming and ‘Safe Space’ for anyone aged 18 and over experiencing mental distress or a mental health crisis. Our service, commissioned by South London & Maudsley and operated by Together for Mental Wellbeing, offers support during evening hours as an alternative to A&E or other urgent care services. We are based at the Thames Reach Employment Academy on Peckham Road, and are open every evening, 7 days a week, including Bank Holidays.

Our service is unique in that it offers immediate, no-wait access for those in crisis, with triage assessments and safety plans developed within 24 hours of referral. We also offer up to six sessions of in-person, telephone, or online support for service users, helping to connect them with further community support and resources.

**Role Overview**:
As a **Wellbeing Worker**, you will provide empathetic and professional support to individuals experiencing mental distress. Working during evenings and weekends, you will help create a safe and compassionate environment, supporting service users to develop safety plans, build coping strategies, set personal goals, and access local resources.

**Key Responsibilities**:

- Establish and maintain trusting relationships with service users.
- Assist in setting and achieving personal goals to enhance hope, motivation, and ambition.
- Develop and review robust assessments, safety management plans, and personalized recovery support plans.
- Work with individuals to protect them from abuse and self-harm.
- Communicate effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from marginalized or minority groups.
- Collaborate with professionals from other agencies to link service users to additional community opportunities.

**Person Specification**:
**Essential**
- Experience supporting individuals in distress, either through paid or voluntary work.
- Educational background in Psychology
- Minimum GCSE or Level II qualification in English.
- Ability to work empathetically with service users and create a trusting, safe environment.
- Commitment to equal opportunities and non-judgmental attitudes.
- Demonstrated ability to maintain professional boundaries and work collaboratively within a team

**Desirable**:

- Lived experience of mental distress.
- NVQ Level II in Health and Social Care, or equivalent.
- Experience in crisis intervention or de-escalation techniques
- Experience in delivering mental health recovery-focused interventions
- Experience working with vulnerable groups, such as those with learning disabilities, BAME communities, LGBTQ+, gender-based violence survivors, or those who do not speak English as a first language
- Understanding of safeguarding principles and practices

**Why Join Us?**

At Southwark Community Sanctuary, you will be part of a dedicated team working to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people experiencing mental health crises. We offer a non-clinical, service user led approach that focuses on empowerment, recovery, and creating a supportive community environment. This role provides opportunities for professional development and the chance to contribute to an innovative, collaborative service that is making a positive impact in Southwark.

**Equal Opportunities Statement**:
The person specification has been expanded to reflect the specific needs and nature of the Southwark Community Sanctuary service, emphasizing experience, skills, and qualities relevant to supporting individuals in a mental health crisis or distress.

**Job Types**: Part-time, Permanent

Pay: £24,001.58 per year

Expected hours: 22.5 per week

**Benefits**:

- Company pension
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Sick pay

Schedule:

- 8 hour shift
- Monday to Friday
- Weekend availability

**Education**:

- Bachelor's (preferred)

**Experience**:

- Training: 1 year (preferred)

Work Location: In person

Expected start date: 20/09/2024