Job Overview
As a Family and Carer Ambassador, you will need to have lived experience of caring for a relative/friend/partner who has a mental illness. This will ensure insight and experience of looking after the person and liaising/working with professionals and agencies.
As part of the role you will provide practical and emotional support to families and carers of those with complex mental health needs. You will also offer advocacy to ensure that the families / carers and patients’ needs and views are heard and acted on, whatever their communication needs are. You will identify and address cross‑organisational challenges. You will work closely with key agencies across the health, education, social care and voluntary sector; this will also include links with adult services where either there are requirements for transition planning to adult services or where the families / carers are receiving adult service support.
To be successful in this role, you must be proactive and compassionate, have a great eye for detail, excellent organisational skills and strong communication skills. You must be passionate and sensitive about effecting change, and empowering patients, families and carers. This is a new post; therefore, although having clear parameters and expectations, there will be opportunities to shape and influence the role and build and develop important relationships with stakeholders and partners.
Main Duties of the Job
This is a patient‑facing role based within a CAMHS unit. The Family and Carer Ambassador will work directly with patients, their families, and carers, providing a visible and approachable presence on the ward. The role focuses on supporting meaningful engagement, promoting collaborative relationships, and ensuring that the voices of families and carers are heard and included in care discussions and recovery planning.
The post holder will be a core member of the multi‑disciplinary team (MDT), working closely alongside nurses, doctors, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers, peer support workers, and other ward staff. They will contribute to daily discussions, care planning, and discharge processes, ensuring that the experiences, views, and needs of families and carers are represented and integrated into care delivery.
Working for Our Organisation
* Receive supervision and support to help you fulfil your potential.
* Join an inclusive EPUT community and connect with others through engagement events and equality or champion networks.
* If you need help, we provide mental health and wellbeing services, occupational health advice and counselling.
* We run recognition awards to recognise staff's hard work and dedication.
Benefits
* 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years’ service.
* Excellent pension of up to 14.5% of your pensionable pay.
* Staff discounts include Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and staff benefits.
* Season ticket loans are interest‑free to cover the cost of travelling to and from work via tram, rail, or bus.
Flexible Working
* Work bank: You can use the opportunity to supplement your income and develop your skills by working bank shifts.
* Flexible working: available from day one for most roles.
* Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed.
Important note: please ensure that as part of your application, you include professional references with business contact information covering your last three years of employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.
As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post; the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.
Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two‑tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities; we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email epunft.recruitment.adverts@nhs.net and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.
The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly; we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.
Important Notice: Recently the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) which amended on 22 July 2021 and come into force on 11 November 2021 that anyone directly employed to work in a Care Home or who are required as part of their role to be deployed to a CQC registered care home are required to have had both their COVID vaccinations, unless they are exempt. This is therefore a requirement of this role and will form part of our pre‑employment checks.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.
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