Lived Experience Lead - Relational Care

NELFT are creating an innovative new team at the heart of the organisation. Its purpose will be to drive culture change towards more relational models of care and ways of working, key to the success of this team will be a substantive lived experience lead. Putting relationships first is a fundamental ethos that we want to bring about across our clinical teams and this will require a concerted programme of action on a number of fronts. These are all key initiatives that aim to cultivate a compassionate, relational and person-centred ethos across the organisation.

This role will support the work and involve a range of skills, including strategic collaboration with multiple stakeholders, including lived experience networks and leads, both within and external to the organisation; engagement with research and development and quality improvement departments; development and delivery of front-line staff training and change programmes; and promotion of this agenda and ethos across the organisation.

The new Relational Care Team is currently led jointly by the Expert Advisor - Relational Care and the Clinical Director for Community Mental Health Transformation. As the team develops the post holder will also work closely with a Relational Care Project Manager, an admin team and a group of Open Dialogue trained coaches, who will work jointly across the Relational Care Team and the Trust's innovative Dialogue First service.

Main duties of the job

Lived Experience leadership is essential to ensuring meaningful co-production across service design and quality improvement, it is central to service transformation.

The Lived Experience Lead for Relational Care will be required to use their own lived experience, knowledge and expertise to support the organisation in developing and implementing a Trust wide approach to relational care, building and maintaining good working relationships with key stakeholders and colleagues across NELFT and system-wide partner agencies. This role involves work across the whole pathway of care from community through to acute/inpatient services, children and young people, adults, older adults and learning disabilities services.

The post holder will work as part of the new Relational Care Team, leading and taking operational responsibility for supporting, promoting and developing co-production as a central element of the Relational Care Team's work with each directorate (Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering, Barking & Dagenham, and the Acute & Rehabilitation Directorate) and teams across the Trust.

The post holder will understand, work in alignment with and actively promote the key principles underpinning NELFT's aspirations for a relational care approach.

About us

Starting with NELFT

NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focussing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

High Cost Area Supplement

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,551 to a maximum of £5,735).

COVID-19 Vaccination

We continue to encourage all staff to ensure that they have been double vaccinated and received their booster. We recognise that taking the vaccine provides the best defence against COVID 19 for our patients, our staff and their families.