MIND IN CROYDON LTD
37,281.88 - 37,728.88 per year
London Borough of Croydon
Full-time
20th October 2025
Mind in Croydon Orchard House 15a Purley Road South Croydon CR2 6EZ t: 020 8668 2210 w: www.mindincroydon.org.uk e: admin@mindincroydon.org.uk Chief Executive Emma Turner September 2025 Dear Candidate Re Advocacy Service Manager Thank you for your interest in this post and towards our organisation, Mind in Croydon. I am pleased to enclose: Job description and person specification for the Advocacy Service Manager Guidelines for applicants Organisation Summary The closing date for receipt of applications is 5pm on Monday 20th October 2025 with interviews held soon after. To apply, please submit an up-to-date copy of your CV and a cover letter no longer than 2 A4 pages to recruitment@mindincroydon.org.uk , outlining your reasons for applying and demonstrating how you meet the criteria set out in the person specification. Applications without cover letter will not be accepted. Your faithfully Nicoletta Crivellaro People Manager at Mind in Croydon Mind in Croydon is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No. 3697578. Registered office: 26 Pampisford Road, Purley, Surrey CR8 2NE. Charity No. 1073880 ADVOCACY SERVICE MANAGER JOB ADVERT ___________________________________________________________________________ Mind in Croydon is seeking to recruit a full time Advocacy Service Manager to join our small, dedicated team of Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHA) working to provide advocacy services to adults subjected to detention under the Mental Health Act in the London Borough of Croydon to ensure they understand, express and exercise their rights, and to enable them to access essential services. The advocacy team also provides Community Mental Health Advocacy for people who are informal patients in psychiatric hospital or living in the community and provides weekly advocacy service at two InMind Healthcare Group hospitals in Croydon. The role is ideal for an experienced Advocate, who is passionate about promoting the rights of people who are experiencing poor mental health, in sometimes challenging conditions, but who is also committed to nurture the next generation of future advocates, as a key part of the role will involve supervising and supporting a current trainee in addition to a qualified IMHA, providing guidance, support, and skills development on casework and advocacy. In December 2024 the team was awarded the Quality Performance Mark in Advocacy, a testament to their quality of service providing safe and life-changing support. Advocacy Service Manager Salary: £37,281.88 per annum Reports to: Head of Social Inclusion & Support Services Term: Permanent – subject to funding Based at: Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham BR3 3BX. Advocates are also required to meet clients at different sites throughout Croydon and neighbouring boroughs. The closing date for the post is 5pm on Monday 20th October 2025 with interviews held soon after. If you would like to discuss the post further, please contact: recruitment@mindincroydon.org.uk to arrange an informal call with Helen Thompson, Head of Social Inclusion and Support Services. ADVOCACY SERVICE MANAGER ORGANISATION SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE POST ___________________________________________________________________________ Mind in Croydon (MiC) is a mental health charity founded in 1967 to promote good mental health. Our vision is a world where everyone with mental health issues receives support and respect, and where inequality and stigma are eliminated. We are a voluntary sector organisation, a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, with over 50 members of staff working across two offices and outreach locations in the London borough of Croydon. While we maintain strong links with National Mind and other local Minds within the Mind Federation, we are completely independent in how we govern ourselves, run our campaigns and how we raise and manage our funding. We provide a wide range of services to support, inform and empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. These include independent mental health advocacy; carers support; counselling; welfare benefits advice, form completion and representation; peer support; information and advice; physical activities; group activities and crisis support. Through these services, we promote greater understanding of mental health and foster positive attitudes within Croydon and beyond. Over the past year, Mind in Croydon supported over 15,000 individuals, an increase of over 50%, compared to the previous year. We are deeply grateful to all the volunteers, partners and stakeholders in Croydon who support our charity. Their commitment has made it possible to meet the growing demand for our services. CONTEXT OF THE POST ___________________________________________________________________________ We are seeking a new Advocacy Service Manager to lead a team of advocates delivering both statutory and non-statutory mental health advocacy services in London Borough of Croydon and at the Bethlem Royal Hospital. This includes: Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) for individuals who are subject to the 2007 Mental Health Act. Community mental health advocacy for people living in the community who need support to have their voice heard. Weekly advocacy service at two InMind Healthcare Group hospitals in Croydon. The vacancy has arisen as our current Service Manager, after seven years of dedicated leadership, is moving on to focus on community-based mental health work. Advocates in the team are trained to deliver both statutory and non-statutory advocacy. This means that clients can continue working with the same advocate even if their legal status changes, ensuring continuity of care and support. Last year: We have had contact with 1,663 individuals across the services. We provided 663 service introductions to newly admitted patients, both voluntary and detained under the Mental Health Act, within their first week in hospital. We held 759 brief contact sessions with clients who wanted to speak directly with an advocate and resolved their issues within that one-off first contact. We received 241 referrals. Of these, 198 were IMHA qualifying and 43 were community referrals. The Advocacy Service Manager will also be responsible for a small caseload of advocacy work themselves. The Advocacy Manager and the team will be regularly supported by the Head of Social Inclusion & Support Services. ADVOCACY SERVICE MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION ___________________________________________________________________________ POST: SALARY: Advocacy Service Manager £ 37,728.88 per annum plus pension contributions (above 4% by salary sacrifice) REPORTS TO: Head of Social Inclusion & Support Services RESPONSIBLE FOR: 2 Independent Mental Health Advocates(IMHA) TERM: BASED AT: Permanent, subject to funding, full time (36 hours pw) Bethlem Royal Hospital, Beckenham BR3 3BX. Advocates are also required to meet clients at different sites throughout Croydon and neighbouring boroughs. This role supports hybrid working. Other flexible arrangements can be discussed however please note that specific flexible working arrangements such as staggered hours may not be feasible due to operational constraints set by the Hospital. KEY TASKS ___________________________________________________________________________ Service Operations To provide specialist support and advice to advocacy staff, maintaining up to date knowledge of mental health policy, structures, and legislation. Work with your team to provide information on mental health and social care matters (e.g. treatment, legal rights and access to services) within a variety of forums (e.g. ward rounds, Care and Treatment Reviews, CPA’s and elsewhere in the community) to help service users express their views and wishes, secure their rights, represent their interests and obtain the services they need. Work as part of the team, to assist the integration of independent advocacy within the operating culture and clinical governance of local statutory mental health services. Meet with clients in appropriate locations within hospital and community settings. Develop and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders across varying levels of seniority. Where appropriate, support multi-agency policy or practice development and user- involvement initiatives. Take a key role in ensuring that the Advocacy Service meets our obligations to provide general community advocacy and independent advocacy under the Mental Health Act, as well as agreed case-working standards and monitoring systems. Work as part of the team to ensure that service provision works in accordance with and promotes the needs of all service users, considering equality, diversity, and inclusion. Work with the Head of Social Inclusion & Support Services to plan and strategically develop advocacy services. Work with the Head of Social Inclusion & Support Services to identify and prepare funding bids. Provide timely, effective, quantitative, and qualitative service reporting and input to management meetings, including commissioning and contract management meetings, using demonstrable performance measures and outcomes to enable the effective development of the service. Meet monthly, quarterly, and annual targets against KPIs, linking these with team and staff objectives. Develop service operating policies, procedures and working practices in line with service aims and objectives. Maintain quality marks e.g., National Development Team for inclusion (NDTi) Quality Performance Mark (QPM) and National Mind’s quality mark (MQM). Manage all safeguarding concerns and report these effectively through the necessary external and internal lines of reporting. Monitor, respond and report on complaints, compliments, and incidents in line with service delivery protocols. Management Line manages the Advocacy Service team providing one to one supervision – setting clear targets, offering support and guidance. Embed clear, effective communication so that staff feel empowered to grow and develop. Ensure all staff adhere to service standards. Ensure that all HR systems and processes are actively and positively supported within the team including recruitment, induction, probation period, one-to-one supervision, annual appraisal, managing performance management, disciplinary and grievance issues in collaboration with HR. Ensure mandatory training and staff developmental needs of the team are met and directly support the capacity development of the team, through ongoing feedback, supervision and facilitating team discussions. Identify strategic aims for the service, anticipating future demands, opportunities, and constraints. Provide cover within the team and undertake additional duties as may be required. These may include providing cover on the wards during periods of absence of other staff and direct client work e.g., at drop-ins and advocacy awareness sessions and other duties as necessary when other members of the team are absent. Oversee accurate data recording and enable the creation and maintenance of records of actions taken in relation to people worked with, including regularly updating the organisation’s database. To work within all policies and procedures of Mind in Croydon. Facilitate routine Reflective Practice to ensure safety and support of staff. General Work as a member of a team – leading the Advocacy Service team and working in partnership with managers across the organisation, including attending regular managers meetings. Maintain quality standards in accordance with Mind in Croydon policies and procedures. Accept line management and supervision from the post holder’s designated line manager and engage constructively in this process. Accept the need to learn from experience, to actively take part in reflective practice, to change where necessary, develop new skills and keep up to date with current practice and undertake training as directed by the post holder’s designated line manager. Staff will be responsible for respecting and maintaining personal and professional boundaries concerning relationships with service users, volunteers, and other staff. Act in a professional and responsible manner which does not have a negative impact on the service or the organisation as a whole and which is in accordance with the policies and procedures of Mind in Croydon. In addition to the tasks and duties outlined in this job description, you may be required to undertake such duties as may be identified and which are compatible with the functions of the post. The Job Description is not exhaustive and is subject to change considering the service, work, priorities, or requirements. ADVOCACY SERVICE MANAGER PERSON SPECIFICATIONS ___________________________________________________________________________ Essential Qualifications 1. NVQ Level 3/ 4 in Independent Advocacy (IMHA qualification preferred) 2. In-depth knowledge of key legislations including: 2007 Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Care Act 2014 3. Strong understanding of mental health and social care policy and legislation, including advocacy best practice and guidelines 4. Ability to interpret and apply overlapping legal frameworks based on client circumstances Essential Experience 5. Proven experience delivering advocacy across diverse settings (e.g. Inpatient, communities etc..) 6. Minimum two years’ experience managing staff or leading advocacy projects. 7. Demonstrable ability to manage complex advocacy cases involving multiple stakeholders. 8. Skilled in creating, managing and maintaining high quality records of contact and interaction with people, working within a caseload. 9. Experience of overseeing service delivery within budgets. 10. Direct experience working in a one-to-one clinical setting with individuals presenting challenging needs. 11. Proven ability to respond effectively to complaints and safeguarding issues. 12. Demonstrable experience of developing and implementing operational policies, procedures and working practices in a team setting. Knowledge and Skills 13. Ability to navigate and apply multiple complex laws that affect the rights of the person you are advocating for. 14. Skilled in selecting and delivering the appropriate advocacy model (including instructed and non-instructed advocacy) based on the persons needs and circumstances. 15. Strong commitment to upholding and promoting the rights and voices of service users. 16. Deep understanding of and commitment to equality, equity and inclusion principles. 17. Ability to build effective, safe and trusting relationships with people using services and with professionals in multi-disciplinary teams. 18. Proven ability to build, develop and lead a high performing team. 19. Capable of establishing and communicating clear standards and expectations to help staff develop to their full potential 20. Proficient in Microsoft Office and use of databases; excellent written and verbal communication skills 21. Willing to travel and meet clients in community settings, as required by the Service Level Agreement. Personal Attributes and Approach 22. Values people and recognises their full potential, worth and strengths. 23. Develops effective and trusting relationships, characterised by respect – being non- judgemental and not making assumptions about the person’s experiences and beliefs. 24. Works inclusively, acknowledging and respecting diverse backgrounds and experiences. 25. Self- motivated and able to learn quickly, willing to seek advice appropriately and accept supervision and training as required. 26. Take ownership of personal development and continuous learning. Desirable criteria 1. Ability to identify and pursue new funding opportunities to sustain, grow and ensure the future of the service. 2. Educated to a degree level in a relevant field (e.g. social work, psychology, law).