Senior Children’s Rights and Participation Assistant – Guildford including Young People’s Haven positions

Job Details £22,233 per annum working 36 hours per week , based at various sites including, Woking, Guildford, Staines, Redhill and Epsom. The main team office is in Guildford. Please note this is a fixed term contract for 12 months. We are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 24 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 2 years’ service and a generous local government salary related pension. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit MyBenefits for Surrey County Council staff. Surrey County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer of first choice reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all under represented groups. An enhanced DBS ‘Disclosure and Barring Service’ check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children’s and Adults’ Barred List checks will be required for this role. About the Role The aims of the CAMHS Rights and Participation Team are to: – Ensure young people who access mental health services have a voice in the management and development of mental health services for children and young people (and their families) in Surrey, through accessible and meaningful consultation. – To act as an advocate for children and young people’s right to have a say in decision making, practice and policy development, through active involvement in recruitment and training of staff, peer mentoring and individual and group representation. – Give young people opportunity to initiate and facilitate service user led initiatives with the wider aim of contributing positively to the outcomes of children and young people who access mental health services, including furthering own personal and professional development in the process. Projects include Annual Awards ceremony, seasonal magazine, and increasing mental health awareness in Education and the Youth Service. – To give young people who access mental health apprentice and learning opportunities, and to use experiences of services to further their own personal and professional development. This role also includes a very close integrated partnership working with the Safe Haven team, providing crisis support to children and young people with mental health difficulties. As a Senior Assistant within the team your work will involve supporting apprentices, volunteers and other service users to undertake day-to-day tasks as part of planning and facilitating events, consultation groups, training days and a whole variety of associated presentations. You will work more directly with children and young people in crisis, and the focus of your role will be supporting children and young people accessing the safe haven service, a crisis drop in centre for children and young people with mental health difficulties. A key element of the role involves empowering young people to make a difference, helping them to develop their skills and abilities to enable them to make positive developments in their own recovery and personal journeys, and in doing so, making a difference to their environment and services that has a positive impact on young people across Surrey. We’re looking for someone with who’s resilient and passionate about ensuring young people have a voice, with an awareness of how mental health affects young people in today’s society. The role is ideal for someone wishing to work with children and young people who have accessed mental health services in a creative and energetic way. You will need good communication and presentation skills, and the ability to communicate at all levels. You will need to have a good understanding of your own journey, self-awareness and be able to utilise support and self-care skills well, to ensure you are able to manage and sustain a consistent and robust approach to supporting others. Please ensure that you refer to the full job description attached at the bottom of the advert. Additional Information Please note that this advert closes at 23:59 on 17th February 2019. Interview dates are to be confirmed. Equal Opportunities Our values are what support our vision, shape the culture and are crucial in delivering our corporate strategy. For more information about our values and behaviours please follow this link.