Senior Project Officer
Location: Agile/London
Salary: £25,690.03 - £28,079.95 per annum or £28,336.13 to £30,734.05 London Weighing
Closing date: Monday 26 July 2021 at 11:59pm
 
Do you want a rewarding career where you can really make a difference? Have you got a good understanding of mental illness and its impact?
 
If so, you may be the person we are looking for.
 
We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Project Officer to join our Policy and Practice team. You will join us on a fixed term contact for one year, working full time, 35 hours per week.
 
We believe in the importance and value of the voice of lived experience in shaping not only our project work, but as the ‘golden thread’ through all our work. We have a proven track record of consistently overcoming perceived barriers within secure services and other places where people are living or detained under the MHA/in a secure environment.
 
This role will be supporting the Head of Programmes to deliver strategic programmes of work across the Policy and Practice department ensuring that Programme team has the tools needed to meet project milestones, liaising with internal and external stakeholders to support the smooth running and delivery of project activity. This position will also support on the co-production and involvement in our ongoing work with the Recovery and Outcomes Network, where we support people in secure services to directly influence local and national policy and practice.
 
We have a strong, established strategic co-production and involvement practice, with additional expertise in community engagement, organising and listening. We facilitate the co-production of specific strategies for each area, programme or service context we work in. Our overall approach is to support and train experts by experience to facilitate the gathering of lived experience insights from a diverse range of people, and then the representation of these in strategic influence of service development and evaluation, and quality improvement.
 
In everything we do, we seek to demonstrate our values: Passion, Commitment, Openness, Hope, Expertise and Understanding. If these values resonate with you, we would love to hear from you.
 
What will you be doing?
 
- I work with the Head of Programmes and the Programme team to support existing experts by experience, their families and carers in a secure setting to understand and feed into the current mental health framework
- I have experience of project co-ordination, documentation collation and can work to tight timelines
- I support the Programme Team ensuring they have the tools needed to meet project milestones
- I can co-ordinate, collate and create project documentation and complex schedules
- I support the facilitation of meetings and focus groups including the technology, invitations, agenda setting and note taking
- I liaise with HR to ensure we follow the right process and policies
- I work with the Programme Manager to monitor and evaluate programme activity and report on progress and learning and resolve issues
- I support in submission of bids, tenders and funding proposals
- I work with experts by experience to understand from their communities what the local needs are and ambitions for community mental health
- I facilitate focus and working groups to get the voice of lived experience and collate expert by experience insight, analyse it and share key themes with RMI area
- I identify opportunities for focus groups across all co-production projects
- I facilitate focus groups with people with lived experience, identifying discussion topics and analysing the findings – often digitally
 
Do you have what we are looking for?
 
- I have experience of working with mental health service users
- I have an interest in the value of lived experience as a complementary perspective to the professional perspective
- I have experience of delivering focus groups, engaging attendees
- I am passionate about equality and diversity and increasing representation
- I am organised and can meet deadlines
- I have the ability to work independently and lead on specific workstreams
- I have interpersonal skills – external stakeholder, team members and people with lived experience
- I can problem-solve and take a flexible approach to tasks
- I am able to prioritise tasks and respond positively to unforeseen challenges
- I have excellent communication and relational skills
- I can work on my own initiative as part of a remote team
- I have a flexible, proactive approach to building relationships
- I have an aptitude for helping people feel safe and supported in group discussions
 
The safety and wellbeing of our service users and colleagues is our first priority, which is why it is now a condition of employment for anyone joining us that they have either had the recommended Covid-19 vaccine or agree to have it when offered by the NHS. You can find more information on our approach and why we have made this important decision in our attached Covid-19 vaccination information document.
 
What will you receive?
 
You will have plenty of opportunities to enhance your abilities with the chance to make a real difference every day. In addition, you will have excellent development opportunities including funded training, career development and a range e-learning courses. You will also receive:
 
- Salary of £25,690.03 - £28,079.95 per annum or £28,336.13 to £30,734.05 London Weighing
- Contributory pension scheme
- Life assurance and employee assistance programme
- 25 days’ annual leave rising to 30 days plus Bank Holidays
- Your "Rethink Day" - 1 day’s additional leave (pro rata) on your Birthday
- Eyecare vouchers
- Flexible working 
 
Don’t just change jobs, change lives!
 
The Talent and Diversity Specialist looking after this role is Daniele Brennan. If you have any questions about the position, please feel free to contact her.
 
We welcome applications from everyone, applicants with lived experience, LGBTQ+, people with a disability, or who are BAME are actively encouraged to apply. We are proud to have also been awarded Disability Confident employer status and therefore we ensure our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to everyone.
 
We reserve the right to change the closing date without notice depending on the number of responses received.
 
So, if you’re seeking your next challenge as a Senior Project Officer, please apply via the button shown. This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.