Job summary
- Main area
- IAPT- Allied Health Professionals
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 4
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Including evenings and/or weekends)
- Job ref
- 333-J-BR-0754
- Employer
- Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Fairfields House, Fairfields Crescent, Roe Green, Kingsbury NW9 0PS
- Town
- Kingsbury
- Salary
- £32,199 - £34,876 pa (pro rata P/T) inc HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 12/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Community Connector for Brent Talking Therapies
NHS AfC: Band 4
CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.
Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.
We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page
Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.
CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.
Job overview
Brent Talking Therapies Service is located in the diverse London borough of Brent. This is an exciting opportunity to join our team as a Community Connector. We are looking for individuals who have experience of working with their local communities, to help our team build relationships with local communities and raise awareness of Brent Talking Therapies Service. You will be working to promote wellbeing and support for our local community groups, particularly those who experience significant barriers to accessing talking therapies services in partnership with community and voluntary sector organisations.
You will play a key role in raising awareness and the profile of the service, through promoting the service in a proactive manner, and building good partnerships with community and third sector partners. You will work alongside our clinical staff in delivering workshops within the community, and also engaging with our local GPs to explore barriers to making referrals and accessing our service.
You will be offered supervision and supported with further development within the area of mental health and psychological therapies, and provided with relevant training.
We are looking for candidates who enjoy working with diverse communities, who have strong connections to the Borough of Brent and who are experienced at community liaison and promoting mental health to different groups.
Candidates who speak local languages and/or live in Brent will also be at an advantage.
Main duties of the job
The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
You will enable increased access to a range of psychological interventions for the local community of Brent. Brent has a highly diverse community and there are significant barriers to accessing talking therapies services either via self-referral or through other professionals.
This role will provide an alternative route into psychological support, engaging with local community groups and the voluntary sector to promote mental health and facilitate access to the Brent Talking Therapies Service in a way that is responsive and sensitive to the needs of local groups.
The post holder will make a vital contribution to the overall delivery of psychological therapy by the service and work to ensure that the people who use our services have a good experience by listening, respecting, empowering and working in partnership to achieve desired outcomes.
We support flexible working and candidates are required to be out in the community engaging with different groups face to face for a large part of their working week. The working hours are Monday- Friday and there is an expectation to work some evenings to offer flexibility to community organisations and faith groups as required.
Working for our organisation
The catchment area of the post is the London borough of Brent. The main hub for the service is based at Fairfields House in Kingsbury and there is a satellite hub at Bell House in Willesden Green. You will be required to work across both hubs and in other parts of the borough, e.g. GP surgeries and community settings.
We operate an agile working policy where staff combine remote working and being on-site to deliver face-to-face appointments and other service commitments that require a hub-based presence. The post-holder will work full-time hours and may be required to work at any times between 8am and 8pm on weekdays including an evening clinic as required by the service.
Benefits of working for Brent include:
- Brent Talking Therapies Service has close links with the CNWL Talking Therapies teams and there are opportunities for further development.
- We are able to offer training in other models of care such as BCT and MBCT.
- Our clinicians also have opportunities to develop in their area of interest, e.g. LTC, perinatal, young adults, older adults, outreach/community work, and LGBTQ+
- 27 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays, with an increase to 33 days with continuous service
- NHS discount
- Opportunities for career progression
- If you would like to see what it's like to work for CNWL please have a look at https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You will deliver psycho-educational groups within various community settings and focus on building community relationships through promotional and outreach work, and work in partnership with projects already ongoing within the borough around health inequalities and outreach into local communities.
An important piece of work is the engagement and with our local GPs in order to facilitate referrals and address barriers for individuals related to accessing Brent Talking Therapies Service.
We will be holding an information session on the role of the community connector on Tuesday 18th July at 10am. To attend please register using the link below:
Person specification
Qualification
Essential criteria
- Relevant Level 2 NVQ or Equivalent. National Certificate in Literacy / ESOL Level 2 or equivalent experience or the ability to work towards one.
Desirable criteria
- University degree level or a equivalent qualification in mental health.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience or knowledge of community liaison and working within diverse communities and groups within the Brent Borough including with people from Black and Ethnic minority backgrounds and with various stakeholders
- Practical experience or a good understanding of the population of the Brent Borough
- Experience of delivering presentations, using interactive ways to engage the audiences
- Experience or knowledge of working with vulnerable people and/or communities and those experiencing loss, bereavement and mental health difficulties
- Demonstrates high standards in written communication
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of working in and connections to the local community in Brent.
- Experience of working in Primary Care Services
- Experience of maintaining an active awareness of service level targets
Skills and Competencies
Essential criteria
- Able to provide & receive sensitive information.
- Able to work both independently and effectively within a team
- Excellent communication skills including telephone skills, writing skills and listening skill.
- Ability to present information to various audiences.
- Aware of and sensitive to the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health and barriers to accessing services.
- Ability to work in collaboration with other people and/or agencies
- Competent in IT and ability to use patient electronic systems and digital packages
- Able to be flexible and adapt approach according to need.
- Ability to adapt to a new role which is continually developing.
- Ability to feedback relevant information obtained from community with team effectively.
Desirable criteria
- Graduate level knowledge of research design and methodology,
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Able to communicate with a wide range of people from different backgrounds and disciplines
- Demonstrates an understanding and knowledge of certain barriers the community face in accessing NHS services and the health inequalities present in Brent.
- Demonstrates a knowledge of the issues surrounding work and the impact it can have on mental health
- Demonstrates an understanding of common mental health problems.
Desirable criteria
- Demonstrate knowledge of marketing principles
Other
Essential criteria
- Able to work independently and manage complex sets of relationships with various agencies and GP practices.
- Ability and willingness to travel to locations throughout the organisation.
- Connections to the local community in Brent and a knowledge of local networks and local communities
- Willing to negotiate and can handle confrontation effectively and professionally.
- Able to work to professional guidelines.
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
- Must be capable of accountability for own work, and of working towards defined results
- Able to manage effectively exposure to emotional circumstances
- Respectful approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals
Desirable criteria
- Fluent in languages other than English, in particular Gujarati, Arabic, Somali, Farsi or Polish.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Sepideh Mhojatoleslami
- Job title
- Deputy Clinical Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 02082063924
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