Senior Children and Young 's Link Worker

Sunderland Counselling Service (SCS) is seeking toappoint a senior link worker to work in our Children and Young Peoplesservice. The service is set within a unique independent mental healthcharity, which is acknowledged for its contribution to the community by mental health professionals, health practitioners and local and regional voluntary and statutory agencies.

This opportunity is for a 37.5 hour p/w position. The post holder will be employed on a fixed term contract of one year which will be subject to a probationary period of 6 months. Continuing employment is subject to obtaining ongoing project related funding.

Thepost holder will be supported by regular operational line management andcaseload support provided by the SCS Chief Executive.

The post holder will be responsible for managing the CYP link workers and adult Listening Ear workers, providing regular line management and caseload management support. They will be responsible for co-ordinating and promoting the service, in collaboration with other members of the SCS senior team. They will carry their own small client caseload and will carry out assessments of need, providing support and guidance to clients who are referred to the service.

This may include direct emotional, social or practical support, signposting, providing self-help materials, a check in system, identifying a suitable package of support and making any necessary onward referrals.

The service responds to the unmet needs of children, young people and families in Sunderland and South Tyneside via the implementation of a social prescribing model for children, young people and their families. The service will connect children, young people and family members into a broad range of services and interventions in their local area in a timely and effective way, led by the wants and needs of the client themselves.

This activityprovides additional emotional, social and practical support to wrap aroundexisting Primary Care and mental health services, to support young people whilethey are waiting for formal treatment, prevent deterioration, maximisingtreatment outcomes and support independence. It is NOT intended to operate as acrisis service or an alternative to crisis services, nor as a clinicalintervention and would not take on care planning or case management functionswhich clearly must be provided by clinical staff.

Additional Listening Earsupport will be provided for parents and carers.

To allow flexibility and to respond to client need, services may be delivered confidentially from home as well as GP surgeries and other community venues in Sunderland and South Tyneside.

The post holder will be called upon to use a personal means of transport while engaged in the work of the service for which travel expenses will be available.

Salary for this post is comparable to Band 6 Agenda for Change.

The post holder will become part of a broader link working team within SCS, with each service handling similar work within their specific area of focus. The diverse team can offer support with a wealth of knowledge and awareness of local resources and need.

The successful post holder will be employed by SCS and entitled to our employee benefits such as access to our free 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, Bike2

Work Scheme, access to training and be part of a supportive team which emphasises the importance of continuing personal and professional development.

For details regarding the job description and person specification, please download these from the document section.

Should you be interested in applying for this post and have any questions regarding it or your suitability, please contact Toby Sweet, Chief Executive (Toby@) in the first instance.

Please use your application to tell us how your skills and experience align to the role. Sunderland Counselling Service may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) detection tools to identify whether an application has been completed using AI. We expect that AI may be used to enhance your application such as refining and clarifying your ideas and thoughts and checking for grammar and spelling.

However, applications where AI has been used to invent or inflate your skills and experiences or create generic responses will be rejected. To verify you have written your application please add the following to the bottom of your application 'I confirm that the content of this application is my own work and has not been generated by artificial intelligence tools beyond basic editing or proofreading.

• Ability to manage, lead and motivate a team of people working within a challenging environment.
• Ability to impart / convey information to staff which may be viewed as challenging, particularly in relation to poor performance.
• Ability to actively listen, empathise with people and provide non-judgemental support.
• Ability to create, sustain and disengage from…