Friends in Need Team Leader West London

Job Description and Person Specification

Job title: Team Leader

Reports to:Operations Manager

Location: London, within West London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Hours:37.5 hours per week

This role involves workingoutside standard hours as and when required. This includes being on call over some bank holidays and weekends

Salary: £30,000 plus benefits

Pension: 6.3% contribution after completing a 6 month probationary period

Depression Alliance is the leading national charity for people affected by depression and we bring people together to make them happier.

Our Friends in Need community is a new and innovative way for people affected by depression to share support and maintain recovery through the Five Ways to Wellbeing. We make it fun and easy for people to meet online and in person, and we’re looking for a Team Leader who’ll champion this way of working in a challenging and exciting new role.

Funded by the West London Clinical Commissioning Group, we need an enthusiastic and inspiring individual to lead our small team in West London. You’ll have a strong understanding of depression, recovery and the value of peer support, and will be committed to ensuring that everyone affected by depression in West London has the knowledge and support to access our Friends in Need community.

Main roles and responsibilities

  • Delivering our vision of improved social inclusion, employment and wellbeing for members affected by depression
  • Inspiring staff about Friends in Need and the Five Ways to Wellbeing
  • Working with staff and members in our wellbeing network to encourage people affected by depression to use Friends in Need to meet online and in person
  • Supportingthe promotionof the wellbeing network across West Londonto increase engagement with theFriends in Need community
  • Taking an active role in the management team of the Primary Care Mental Health service for West London CCG
  • Encouragingmembers to use time banking as a way of building up peer support networksand self confidence
  • Ensuring that all stakeholders – people in the borough with depression, their partners, friends and families, employers, GPs, and health practitioners get the most out of the Friends in Need network
  • Building and maintaining relationships with funders, donors, and DA members
  • Engaging with Black and Minority Ethnic and Religious communities and older people
  • Supporting the recruitment, management and training of new and existing volunteers
  • Managing day-to-dayenquiries and chasing leads
  • Monitoring the progress of the service and writing reports
  • Managing datacomplying with relevant Data Protection legislation and DA’s confidentiality policies
  • Attending all relevant staff meetings and preparing regular updates
  • Attending courses, conferences and meetings as appropriate
  • You will undertake any other relevant duties as requested by the Operational Manager.

Person Specification

The following requirements will be assessed from a combination of information provided. You will need to:

  1. Have a minimum of three years’ experience of working in a similar role
  2. Have a degree or equivalent
  3. Be excited about the impact of peer support and the potential of Friends in Need
  4. Have an understanding of recovery in depression, and the importance of the Five Ways to Wellbeing
  5. Have some team leadership experience
  6. Have excellent communication and presentation skills, with experience of presenting to a range of audiences
  7. Have a good working knowledge of how mental health services run
  8. Have experience of communicating the success of events to engage and inspire people

Friends in Need exists to help people like Sunita, who is 76 and lives in Kensington Chelsea:

“In my culture we don’t use the word depression, but I became so totally isolated after my husband died 3 years ago, I became too fearful to come out of my flat and no one came to visit me, until I met Rosie from Depression Alliance, when she knocked at my door, when she took my hand I knew that I was so happy, I knew that I wouldn’t die alone in my flat”