Approved Mental Health Professional - Homeless Mental Health Service

Our Values

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

We have a simple vision and strategy that defines what we are trying to achieve, our purpose and our approach which underpin the principles of Adult Social Care, and we continue to work in support of this.

In a simple sense all our work, at whatever level should continue to support the strategy of: ‘Providing support, in the least intrusive manner possible, based on the assets, resources and abilities that are available to people’.

What is the job role?

Over the last 3 years Coventry AMHP service has co-produced an AMHP role with the NHS Homeless Mental Health Service that in-reaches into this service for 11 hours per week. The purpose of this role has been to reduce the discrimination that individuals who experience mental disorder, homelessness and who use substances and/or alcohol at a harmful level. However, grant funded monies via the West Midlands Combined Authority have now been secured to fund a full-time AMHP post for 3 years.

The AMHP will be required to work alongside colleagues from the Homeless Mental Health Service, as well as statutory and third sector services providing mental health, homelessness and substance/ alcohol services. The role will require a flexible and creative approach, but also one that fits within an assertive model to enable successful engagement with people, their families or carers from within this client group. You will also promote the bio-psycho-social model of mental disorder.

You will be required to fully discharge the local authority’s duties under s.13 Mental Health Act (1983), thereby triaging MHA(1983) requests and undertaking MHA(1983) assessments. As well as considering other legal frameworks, including those found under Care Act (2014). Given the level of powerlessness and discrimination that the group experiences, you will be required to advocate on behalf of individuals you are working with and ensure that all agencies are fulfilling their duty to that person and/ or actions required in accordance with policy, procedure and funding. Safeguarding will also form a significant element of your work.

As the AMHP within this team, you will provide a high level of knowledge regarding legislative frameworks as well as formulating plans to manage and mitigate risk. You will also be required to liaise with mental health services, including ‘Urgent Care’. The post will be embedded within the Crisis Team AMHP cohort and given this is a completely new post, you will be able to develop the role with colleagues from within the Homeless Mental Health service and the Crisis Team AMHP Team Leader and Team Manager.

Although Case Management is not a primary function within the role, you will be required to undertake some case management whereby engaging with the person and/ or statutory duty necessitates this. There may also be a requirement to engage with individuals over a longer time period to fully discharge the LA’s duties under s.13 MHA(1983) and potentially under the Care Act (2014).

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

Who are we looking for?

You will be a qualified AMHP, who ideally has experience of working with individuals who experience mental disorder, homelessness and harmful substance/ alcohol use. You will be confident in terms of your AMHP practice and have a good level of legal literacy both in terms of the MHA(1983) but also other pertinent legislation. You will also be committed to person centred and strengths-based interventions and will have a good understanding of power, discrimination and intersectionality. You will practice in manner that seeks to empower the person you are working with counter discrimination in all its’ forms.

You’ll have strong communication and assessment skills, with the ability to manage a busy workload and make informed decisions in line with policy and legislation. You should be confident working both independently and as part of a multi-agency team, with good risk assessment skills and the ability to be able to formulate a plan with outcomes that mitigates risk and achieves person centred outcomes or outcomes that are in the persons’ best interests. You will also be passionate about enabling the person maintain their independence, dignity, and quality of life.

You will be able to demonstrate:

• A current AMHP qualification, valid AMHP warrant and registration with the relevant professional body.
• A values-based approach, demonstrating authenticity, respect and professionalism.
• Strong partnership working skills and the ability to work effectively within multi-agency settings.
• Knowledge of the social factors that impact mental health and the range of interventions available to support recovery.
• The ability to assess, manage and reduce risk while maintaining a person-centred approach.
• Creativity in identifying solutions that promote independence and help prevent unnecessary hospital admissions.
• The ability to coordinate services and mobilise resources to support individuals and their recovery goals.
• Excellent relationship-building skills with individuals, families, carers and partner agencies.

If you are interested in this exciting opportunity and would like an informal discussion please contact:- andy.seys@coventry.go.uk 02476 932 800

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview date(s): TBC

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies