Mental Health Support and Advice Officer

The team supports the delivery of several government resettlement schemes, working with people from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, as well as in the asylum dispersal system to promote their welfare, wellbeing, inclusion and integration into life in the UK.

As a Mental Health Support and Advice Officer, you will be at the forefront of ensuring that people from refugee and migrant communities are able to access the help and support they need to promote good mental health and wellbeing. This is essential for helping people to rebuild their lives with dignity and hope.

This new role offers you a great opportunity to work collaboratively with partners and stakeholders from across Solihull that will make a difference to the lives of some of our most vulnerable residents.

In this key role you will:

• Raise awareness of mental health issues, help and support, within refugee and migrant communities.


• Provide professional advice and support to people from refugee and migrant communities, as well as officers supporting with resettlement, inclusion and integration.


• Be responsible for providing professional advice and support to public, voluntary and community sector organisations and services, to enable them to more inclusive of and accessible to people from refugee and migrant communities.


• Provide information, advice and practical support with onward referrals and holistic support to people in need of help with their mental health., In return we offer you a unique opportunity to help drive the development of Solihull's support for our new communities, helping to ensure that we as a Council build on their strengths as well as addressing challenges ranging from health, education, ESOL. employment, integration and community cohesion.
  
  We are looking to recruit an experienced and compassionate mental health practitioner with great communication skills and enthusiasm to join our New Communities and Resettlement Team., A degree level qualification in Community mental health or similar, or able to demonstrate significant knowledge and experience of delivery within the field of mental health.


• Previous experience in providing mental health advice and support in a statutory, community or voluntary setting.


• An awareness of issues and matters relating to newly arrived communities


• Practical knowledge of mental health legislation and related support framework


• Ability to form positive working relationships with agencies, partners and colleagues as part of a multi-disciplinary team., The Fluency Duty is outlined in the Code of Practice on the English language requirements for public sector workers. The Fluency Duty for this role is required.


This post requires a Disclosure and Barring check.

We've implemented a new system from Monday 4th March which will improve your candidate experience! To access your candidate portal for our new system, head to https://solihull.wm-jobs.co.uk/members/

About Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Solihull is regarded as a popular and vibrant place to live in the UK. As one of the most prosperous towns in the Midlands, almost two thirds of our borough is designated as green belt. We have over 1,500 acres of parks across the borough, with 16 Green Flag Awards. Solihull is very well connected, with great transport links such as the M40, M42 and M6 all close by, and an excellent rail network, plus, of course, an international airport. We are home to the award-winning Touchwood Shopping Centre, National Exhibition Centre, Resorts World Birmingham, and the Resorts World Arena.

It is an exciting time for Solihull, although we are a relatively small local authority (c. 6000 employees), we still have ambitious plans including the development of UK Central and HS2.

Here at Solihull Council, we want to ensure that all our citizens have an equal chance to share in Solihull's success. We do this by putting our customers at the heart of everything we do.

We recognise that our employees are the key factor in achieving our vision and as such, we are always on the lookout for talented individuals, who want to make a real positive difference to people's lives and can help us to continue building on our success.

Both Smarter Ways of Working and Employee Wellbeing are key Council Priorities.

The transition to Smarter Ways of Working has presented us with the opportunity to re-think how and where we work. With the option to access portable technology, dependent upon the requirements of the role, a lot of our people are not bound to a single workplace or traditional ways of working, with many choosing to spend a good proportion of their week working from home.

Our people told us that they value flexibility, and that choice enables them to have a better work-life balance, manage family responsibilities, enhance their personal wellbeing, and continue to deliver excellent outcomes for the residents of Solihull.

Our people are our number one asset, and our aim is to have a healthy, happy engaged and thriving workforce.

Wellbeing is at the heart of our employee offer and we are a bronze accredited West Midlands Combined Authority Thrive at Work employer. This recognises our commitment and action in support of employee wellbeing; we are currently working towards silver accreditation.

Unpaid carers carry out a key role within our community and know that this can be challenging when combined with employment. Our Carer's Policy and the ongoing support we give to our employees has resulted in us winning Employer of the Year 2022 at the Carer Friendly Awards.


• A range of flexible working options,


• Generous annual leave entitlements with the opportunity to purchase up to 10-days additional leave per year.


• A flexitime scheme with up to 24 days per year


• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme - a 24 hour independent, free and confidential advice and support service


• Family and carer friendly policies.


• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme.


• Employee benefits including staff discounts, subsidised travel passes and a Cycle 2 Work Scheme.


Whilst this is offered on a fixed term basis, applications from internal applicants seeking a secondment opportunity would also be welcomed. If you wish to proceed as a secondment, please gain your line manager's approval before applying.,
• Competitive salaries including, for those at the top of their scale, the opportunity to receive a non-consolidated lump sum;


• A range of flexible working options;


• Annual leave starting at 25 days and rising to 30 days after 5 years' service in addition to public holidays with an opportunity to purchase up to 10 additional days' holiday per year;


• A generous flexitime scheme (available for most roles);


• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme;


• A wide range of learning and development opportunities;


• A range of family friendly policies;


• Employee benefits including subsidised travel passes, Cycle 2 Work Scheme, confidential Employee Assistance Programme and staff discounts.


Solihull Council is proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit.

As users of the Disability Confident Scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who demonstrate they meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

Solihull Council has a responsibility for, and is committed to, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk, and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

For roles eligible for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check this will be indicated in the advert and supporting recruitment documents. Where the post involves working with children, other vulnerable groups or in a position of trust it is exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Further guidance is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945449/rehabilitation-of-offenders-guidance.pdf

Please note, where sufficient numbers of applications are received, we reserve the right to close a vacancy before the advertised closing date. We therefore advise that you submit your application as soon as possible.