Reconnect Worker at Your Voice Counts

Contract Type: Fixed term

Role Type: Employment

Hours: Part time

Application deadline: Thursday, May 29, 2025 - 17:00

Based: South Tyneside

Salary: £25,796 Pro Rata

Salary Type: Fixed Salary

Role description: Project Support

About the Mental Health Reconnect Service

Reconnect is a person centred service designed to support individuals from inclusion health groups who face challenges accessing essential services such as GP practices, mental health support, and drug and alcohol services. This service aims to reduce health inequalities by working alongside people to identify barriers and create pathways into sustainable support.

As a Reconnect Link Worker, you will work one-to-one with individuals to understand their experiences, help them navigate the health and care system, and ensure they receive the support they need. You will work alongside people to identify their goals, develop a tailored plan, and help them access the right support at the right time.

About this role

As Mental Health Reconnect Worker you will support the mobilisation and successful delivery of YVC’s role within the Partnership of Your Voice Counts and Waythrough. You will be responsible for ensuring that identified project objectives are achieved within deadline, and that all internal and external monitoring requirements are met.

You will:

• Work with individuals to help them to understand what support they need and the barriers stopping them from getting it.
• Provide clear information and guidance on mental health and other support services.
• Help people build confidence and skills so they can speak up for what they want and need.
• Connect people with others who have shared experiences to create peer support networks.
• Gather and share people’s views on health and care services to make sure they feel heard and involved.
• Work closely with other services to help people get the support they need.
• Keep in touch with people, offering ongoing guidance and signposting to helpful services.
• Challenge stigma and promote inclusion, helping people feel valued and respected.
• Help people share their experiences with services to improve how support is provided

Main Responsibilities

• Ensure Your Voice Counts delivers effectively on its targets within the partnership between Your Voice Counts and Waythrough, with support from the Head of Service and Senior staff.
• Engage individuals across South Tyneside, offering health advice, guidance, and interventions to support access to healthcare, mental health, substance misuse, and community services.
• Manage a caseload of service users, helping individuals build confidence, make informed choices, and reconnect with services that meet their needs.
• Identify barriers to mainstream healthcare and mental health services, working with individuals to overcome these and supporting access to treatment, community resources, and peer support networks.
• Promote and encourage the involvement of people from inclusion health groups in shaping, delivering, and reviewing mental health support to improve service accessibility.
• Work collaboratively with a range of partners, including GP practices, hospitals, housing services, and voluntary sector organisations, to support effective joined-up care.
• Provide clear information to individuals about their rights, options, and available services.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns, following all relevant safeguarding policies and procedures.
• Maintain accurate, clear records in line with organisational policy to support effective case management, service evaluation, monitoring, and reporting.
• Participate in continuing professional development, including supervision, appraisal, and relevant training.
• Actively contribute ideas, learning, and feedback to develop and improve the service.
• Work flexibly across operational sites in South Tyneside, including occasional evenings and weekends if needed, to maintain effective service provision.
• Uphold and promote Your Voice Counts' workplace values at all times.
• In accordance with service processes and policies:
  • Assess risk and support individuals safely.
  • Monitor and evaluate service delivery and contribute to data collection and reporting.
  • Work to reduce health inequalities, minimise harm, and promote wellbeing in the wider community.
  • Follow all relevant legislation, organisational policies, procedures, and quality standards.

About You

We are looking for people who are:

• Great communicators, able to build trust and listen with compassion.
• Passionate about helping people overcome barriers and feel empowered.
• Patient, resourceful, and able to work in a flexible, person-led way.
• Comfortable working independently and as part of a wider team.
• Organised and reliable with good IT and record-keeping skills.
• Respectful of diversity and committed to promoting inclusion.

Experience of working with people with complex needs or facing multiple disadvantage would be beneficial but is not essential. We welcome applications from people with relevant life experience or transferable skills.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Strong commitment to working in a person-centred, inclusive, and non-judgmental way.
• Experience of working directly with people from marginalised or disadvantaged groups.
• Ability to build trusting relationships and communicate clearly and sensitively with individuals, including those with diverse needs.
• Good organisational skills, with the ability to manage a caseload, prioritise tasks, and keep clear and accurate records.
• Experience of working in partnership with other organisations or services.
• Ability to recognise safeguarding concerns and respond appropriately within policy and procedure.
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries and manage sensitive or emotionally challenging situations with resilience and empathy.
• Information Technology (IT) skills, including using email, Microsoft Office suit, virtual communication tools such as Teams, and recording case notes electronically.
• Willingness to travel within South Tyneside and work flexibly when required.

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge of health inequalities and barriers faced by inclusion health groups  (e.g. people who are homeless, refugees, mental health, or people with substance misuse issues.
• Experience of delivering outreach work or community engagement activities.
• Knowledge of mental health services and/or community-based support systems.
• Awareness of the principles of co-production and involving people in shaping services.
• Understanding of confidentiality, consent, and data protection principles in working with individuals.

How to apply

Please return your application form by email to jobs@yvc.org.uk by 5pm on Thursday 29^th May 2025.

If you want to discuss this post, please contact Sharon de Jesús, Advocacy Manager on 0191 478 6472 or jobs@yvc.org.uk

We are an inclusive employer and encourage applications from all community groups. We are committed to making our workplace more diverse and would also especially welcome applications from people from ethnically minoritised communities. We are a Mindful Employer, Disability Confident Employer and proud to provide reasonable adjustments and support with Access to Work.