Team Leader – Nightlight Crisis Cafe and Helpline

Do you want to support people with mental health issues in a moment of crisis?

Are you calm, non-judgemental and able to work effectively with people experiencing distress?

Can you demonstrate our values of Hope, Courage, Together and Responsive and want to be part of our mission to create opportunities for individuals to make choices, find their own solutions, build resilience and manage their whole life and wellbeing?

If the answer to all of these is yes, we want to hear from you.

Job title: Nightlight Team Leader – Café and Helpline (Maternity Cover)
Reference Number: 171
Salary scale: £27,000 - £29,000 per annum
Reports to: Crisis Manager
Contract length: 12 Months Fixed Term
Hours: 37.5 hours per week (Full time)
Work pattern: 5 out of 7 days
Working base: Stevenage

Could you be a key member of the NightLight management team, providing effective operational leadership delivering the NightLight Mental Health Crisis Service?

About Us
Hertfordshire Mind Network has been providing innovative mental health services in the county since 1970.

We are an independent local charity, federated to national Mind.

• We fight for the mental health of every person in Hertfordshire.
• We provide mental health support, opportunity, advocacy and resources.
• We will elevate and promote the voice of those with lived experience of mental ill health.

About the Role
The Crisis Cafes and Helpline are two of our 5 crisis services under our Nightlight brand we provide to residents in Hertfordshire:

1. Crisis Centre – 24/7, 365 days a year
2. Crisis Helpline – 365 days a year, 7pm to 1am
3. Crisis Cafes providing drop in support – 365 days a year, 7pm to 1am
4. Daylight – short term, outreach support
5. A&E Crisis Support in Watford and Lister Hospitals (in partnership with Mid Herts Mind)

This role is leading a team of coordinators and support workers to support to people in mental health crisis via phone, instant messaging or face to face in cafes.

The Successful candidate will

• Be a key member of the Crisis Services management team, providing effective operational leadership delivering the Nightlight Café and Helpline services
• Ensure the delivery and development of quality crisis support services and instilling Hertfordshire Mind Network’s values throughout the provision.
• Provide management support to Café and Helpline Coordinators and support the Crisis Manager in ensuring practice within the service is safe, effective and person centred, as well as supporting the implementation of strategic service plans.

Key Accountabilities

• Provide emotional support, advice, signposting, assessing risk, support planning for clients in mental health crisis often where risks are significant.
• Overseeing and ensuring the delivery of appropriate needs and risk assessments and support planning for clients.
• Liaise with statutory agencies to ensure appropriate intervention is obtained.
• Organising a rota to ensure appropriate service cover is in place at all times across the Nightlight Crisis service provision.
• Ensuring staff and volunteers feel supported, safe, trusted and valued and excel in their roles through:

- Recruitment- Induction- Training- Practice Forums- Continual coaching -Practice Audits

• Representing Nightlight and wider HMN at external meetings, and network locally to develop contacts, services and raise Herts Mind Network’s profile. To provide presentations on the work of Nightlight and HMN and raise awareness around mental health and challenge stigma.
• Supporting the Crisis manager with developing and ensuring ongoing positive relationship with external NHS, local authority and emergency services including Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Teams, Single Point of Access, Safeguarding Out of Hours Service, Mental Health Liaison Teams, Adult Community Mental Health Services etc.
• Produce robust, accurate and timely monitoring reports of the team’s performance for Commissioners and internal use. Assessing the data to ensure we are continually improving and meeting expectations and agreed performance criteria.

We offer:

• Annual leave entitlement of 25 days per year pro rata, rising in increments to a max. of 29 days after 5 years employment (plus 8 days Bank Holidays)
• An additional day of leave each year for your birthday following completion of probation period.
• Ongoing training relevant to your role.
• An Employee Assistance Programme.
• Health cover (after 6 months employment) – compensation payment for Optical, Dental, Chiropody and Therapy Treatments.

Closing date: Sunday 24th November 2023.
Interviews will be on a rolling basis from Tuesday 5th December 2023

Equal Opportunities
We welcome applications from all suitably-qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief, or sexual orientation. In addition, during the various stages of recruitment, specific measures can be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities or special needs.

Hertfordshire Mind Network is committed to the Disability Confident and Mindful Employer charters. We actively recruit staff who have a lived experience of mental ill health. We recognise and value the unique combination of skills, knowledge and perspective that employing people with a lived experience, at all levels across the organisation, brings.

We are delighted to have been accredited as a Living Wage Employer.

To Apply and for more information

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