Main area mental health Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract 12 months (This is a 12 month fixed term contract in the first instance, with a view to this being made permanent.)
Hours
* Full time
* Job share
* Flexible working
Monday - Friday Job ref 457-25-6922079
Employer Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Limbrick Centre Town Sheffield Salary £26,530 - £29,114 pa Salary period Yearly Closing 10/03/2025 23:59
Family and Carer Support Worker
NHS AfC: Band 4
About us
At Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust we provide a range of mental health, learning disability, substance misuse, primary care and other specialist services designed around the needs of people in our city.
We have a dedicated and skilful team of people caring in Sheffield, which you could become a part of.
Our values are at the heart of everything we do. These are: working together for our service users, respect and kindness, everyone counts, commitment to quality, improving lives.
Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity to develop a new role for the families and carers of people under the care of the Sheffield Early Intervention Service. The post holder will provide general information, personalised advice, support, advocacy and link work for those families and carers. They will be part of a multi-disciplinary team from whom they will receive support and supervision. They will support families and carers in understanding psychosis and how this may impact their relationship with their loved one. The postholder will work out in the community, holding a caseload, and will work with family members, service users and carers.
Main duties of the job
* To provide structured emotional and practical support for families and carers of people supported by the Early Intervention Service (EIS).
* To develop and co-facilitate groups and other opportunities for families and carers to connect with each other (e.g. EIS Relatives Group, educational groups, workshops for family members, etc.).
* To increase the engagement of families and carers with available support services.
* To refer families and carers on to specialist carer support services and make referrals to Adult Social Care Services, Department of Work and Pensions and other services as appropriate.
* To work with the team to engage families and carers from marginalised communities, particularly from under-represented communities, such as ethnically diverse groups, Gypsy, Roma Travellers, LGBTQI+ community etc. ensuring information and communication is appropriately adapted and culturally sensitive.
* To develop effective working relationships with key voluntary and statutory services.
Working for our organisation
At SHSC, we prioritise the well-being and safety of both our service users and employees. It is our policy and a condition of employment that all employees must join the DBS Update Service. This service carries an annual fee, which employees are responsible for paying up front. However, employees may claim this cost back through the Trust's Employee Expenses Reimbursement Policy. For those requiring a Basic DBS check, it is necessary to register for a DBS Online Account.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
* To provide structured emotional and practical support for families and carers of people supported by the Early Intervention Service (EIS).
* To develop and co-facilitate groups and other opportunities for families and carers to connect with each other (e.g. EIS Relatives Group, educational groups, workshops for family members, etc.). You will collaborate with team colleagues from across the service in order to best support the needs and preferences of families, friends, and carers.
* To increase the engagement of families and carers with available support services.
* To refer families and carers on to specialist carer support services and make referrals to Adult Social Care Services, Department of Work and Pensions and other services as appropriate.
* To work with the EIS colleagues (e.g. systemic family therapists, clinical psychologists, CBT therapists, recovery workers) to consider the additional needs of wider support networks that may extend beyond families of origin. To include the needs of less formal social networks, e.g., non-residing partners, neighbours, work colleagues, friends etc.
* To support families and carers, and the EIS team more widely, in their understanding of the unique challenges and dilemmas that families and carers can face in supporting a loved one with severe and complex psychological difficulties including hearing voices, suspiciousness, and paranoia.
* To work with the team to engage families and carers from marginalised communities, particularly from under-represented communities, such as ethnically diverse groups, Gypsy, Roma Travellers, LGBTQI+ community etc. ensuring information and communication is appropriately adapted and culturally sensitive.
* To develop effective working relationships with key voluntary and statutory services.
* To understand and observe all safeguarding policies and procedures, specifically in relation to families and carers and the challenges they face.
* To be aware of and attend relevant seminars and teaching sessions around the wellbeing of families and carers.
* To ensure that electronic client records and other information systems are completed accurately and in-line with SHSC clinical and information governance policy.
* To lead on the achievement of targets for the recording and reporting of the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of carer education and support in line with the National Clinical Audit of Psychosis (NCAP).
* To adhere to SHSC organisational policies and procedures relating to risk and personal safety.
* To participate in regular supervision, team meetings, and other meetings as required.
* To maintain appropriate professional boundaries at all times.
* To identify own training and development needs in conjunction with your line manager and participate in training opportunities as directed.
* To work autonomously, under pressure and within agreed deadlines.
* To be able to act calmly in emergencies and to respond in a professional manner to behaviour or situations which may be stressful and challenging.
Person specification
Knowledge
* Understanding of mental health and associated systems
* An understanding of the issues and concerns of carers
* Ability to manage to manage challenging situations, and behave in a professional manner.
Qualifications
* NVQ level 3 qualification or equivalent in Care or mental health
Experience
* Direct work with families and carers
* Experience of building supportive relationships with people with mental health needs
* Experience of being a carer, or supporting friends and family of people with mental and/or physical health difficulties
* Experience of co-facilitating group work
* Experience of working with people from marginalised communities
Other
* Demonstrate an ability to engage with and empower families and carers
* Demonstrate an understanding of systemic oppression
We aim to be an organisation that is diverse and inclusive and to meet this aim we welcome applications from people with a wide range of life experience and whose diversity echoes the diversity of Sheffield, that of the people who use our services, and that of the people who may need to use our services but face barriers to access. Please think about your personal values and how these align with our values when you are applying.
We are a Disability Confident employer level 2 and hope to achieve level 3 this year. We offer a guaranteed interview to disabled applicants who meet all of the essential criteria for a role. When you apply you will have the opportunity to let us know if you require adjustments to be made, please contact us if you are not sure or if you require adjustments to the application process itself.
Our six staff network groups welcome new members, these are:
* The Ethnically Diverse Staff Network Group
* The Disability Staff Network Group
* The Lived Experience Staff Network Group
* The Rainbow Staff Network Group
* The Staff Carers Staff Network Group
* The Women’s Staff Network Group
We know how important flexible working can be to applicants and therefore we encourage you to discuss any working arrangements as part of this process. We will always aim to accommodate requests, wherever possible.
The Trust is committed to safeguarding adults and children and as part of our safe recruitment practice the successful applicant(s) will be subject to a check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) if it is deemed appropriate for the role. The cost of the DBS check (currently up to £48.23) must be met by the successful applicant(s).
Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.
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