Job Description

Join Our Team as a Care Navigator

Location:

Durham - Agile role



The Specialist Health Care Navigation (SHCN) service supports individuals returning to the community from secure settings, helping them reconnect with essential health services and reduce health inequalities. Working within integrated mental health teams, SHCN professionals provide personalised 1:1 and group support to improve wellbeing, promote engagement with care, and reduce the risk of reoffending. The service offers a highly autonomous and rewarding role focused on enabling successful and sustained community reintegration.

The applicant must have a full UK Driving Licence and access to a vehicle.

What I will do and achieve:

Join our team as a Care Navigator, working with colleagues to support people with health vulnerabilities as they move from prison back into the community. Using a coaching approach, you'll help maintain wellbeing before and after release, strengthen links with community health services, and reduce the risk of ill health and reoffending. Your work will ensure a smooth transition and help reduce health inequalities for those leaving the criminal justice system.

Provide High Quality Care Navigation

Support individuals pre and post release from North East prisons, and where needed, those released directly from court. Complete screening and care mapping assessments to plan effective release and health support. Deliver tailored, person centred support using a range of approaches and intensities. Use a coaching framework to empower individuals to manage their health and release plans independently.

Improve Health Outcomes & Reduce Reoffending

Strengthen links with statutory and non statutory services to ensure continuity of care in the community. Promote positive health behaviours and contribute to health promotion events. Help reduce health inequalities by preventing a decline in wellbeing after release.

Work Collaboratively & Professionally

Build effective relationships with partners and agencies, attending multi disciplinary meetings as needed. Uphold strong professional boundaries and model proactive, solution focused practice aligned with organisational values. Communicate clearly in both written and verbal form, maintaining confidentiality at all times.

Deliver Accurate and Accountable Practice

Keep detailed, timely and professional records on relevant clinical systems. Follow all pathways, processes and activity expectations, contributing to a high volume, fast paced service. Use self reflection, supervision, and training to maintain high standards and continually develop your practice.

Manage Your Workload Effectively

Work autonomously, planning your time and caseload efficiently. Meet deadlines, adapt to changing demands, and multitask confidently in a dynamic environment. Take a flexible and pragmatic approach to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients and the service.

Champion Organisational Values

Demonstrate enthusiasm, integrity, transparency, and commitment to high quality care. Represent Rethink Mental Illness positively in all aspects of your work.

Essential Skills and Experience:

NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent) with training relevant to Care Navigation, e.g., Health and Social Care. Experience supporting vulnerable individuals through 1:1 and/or group interventions, helping them identify, set and achieve goals. Working knowledge of health, social care, debt, housing, court systems, mental health, criminal justice and substance misuse services. Skilled in delivering structured, time limited support and confident working within defined frameworks. Passionate about supporting individuals leaving the criminal justice system, providing professional, high quality, person centred care that recognises diversity and individual life experiences. Patient, calm and respectful, with the ability to maintain professional boundaries in challenging situations. Capable of assessing needs, developing risk management plans and creating, implementing and reviewing individual support plans. Strong time management skills with the ability to prioritise effectively and respond positively to unforeseen challenges. Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to build professional, non discriminatory relationships. Experience using clinical outcome measures to inform practice. Confident IT user, including Microsoft Word, Excel and database/information systems. Willing to engage in ongoing training, coaching and personal development, using supervision positively and being self reflective. Able to remain calm under pressure, seeking guidance from managers when required.

If you're passionate about empowering individuals, reducing stigma, and improving mental health outcomes, we'd love to hear from you!



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Why Work With Rethink Mental Illness?

At Rethink Mental Illness, we believe that when you feel supported, you can make the biggest difference. That's why we offer a range of benefits to help you thrive:

Inclusive Culture: Join staff networks that champion diversity and inclusion. Wellbeing Support: Access our Wellbeing Hub, Employee Assistance Programme, and the Unmind mental health app. Recognition & Rewards: Enjoy discounts, cashback offers, and celebrate achievements through our PULSE platform. Flexible Working & Generous Leave: Starting at 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays and your birthday off), with options to buy or sell extra days. Learning & Development: Grow your career with structured onboarding and training opportunities. Financial & Family Support: Contributory pension scheme, enhanced family leave, and travel benefits like season ticket loans and cycle-to-work schemes. Referral Bonus: Earn up to 300 for introducing someone to our team.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

Diversity is important to us, and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we're working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer. We recognise and support staff networks and support groups for our ethnically diverse and LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status?and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter.

We aim for our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve; for those who work for us to feel heard, valued and feel they belong; and for our work to help tackle wider mental health inequalities. We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience of mental illness, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and any other gender identity not expressed here (LGBTQIA+); people who are neurodiverse, have a health condition, or a disability or hidden disability and people from an ethnically diverse background - regardless of your age, religious or spiritual belief, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, political view or socio-economic status.



Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation

We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider -?and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our?anti-racist statement?.?We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our?Race Equality Action Plan?which demonstrates our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.