JOB DESCRIPTION

Title:

Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space Advice Worker

Reports to:

Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space Manager

Location:

Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space (CHWS), Whitgift Centre,
North End, Croydon CR0 1LP (additional locations may be identified
in the future)

Salary Range:

£29,239.64

Hours:

Contract:

36 hours per week (full time), Monday to Friday with occasional
weekend working required

Fixed Term until December 2027 – with potential to extend
depending on funding.

Role:
Croydon  Health  &  Wellbeing  Space  (CHWS)  is  an  exciting  and  dynamic  service,  run  in
partnership  with  Mind  in  Croydon  and  Croydon  BME  Forum  and  commissioned  by  South
London and Maudsley Mental Health Service (SLaM). The CHWS opened in 2022 with the
aim of providing advice, information, and specialist support to Croydon residents with mental
health  concerns,  who  drop-in,  or  have  been  referred  to  the  via  the  local  Integrated  Care
Network Plus multi-disciplinary clinical and community mental health support teams.

The Advice Worker will be part of a friendly team, including crisis workers and clinical mental
health  professionals  and  function  as  the  first  point  of  access  for  visitors  to  the  CHWS.
Following an initial conversation to ascertain the clients’ needs, the Advice Worker will provide
information and advice, as well as signposting and referrals to specialist services, such as the
Mental Health Personal Independence Co-ordinators, Social Prescribers and Community Link
Workers, in addition to the wider voluntary and statutory services in the borough. The role will
be fast paced and vary each day offering a fantastic opportunity for the postholder to develop
their knowledge and skills and make a difference to the users of this service.

Main Duties and Responsibilities
  Provide  advice,  information  and  support  to  people  who  visit  the  Croydon  Health  and
Wellbeing Space. The post-holder will be based in the direct access drop-in area and will
have their own caseload.

  Provide  a  reassuring  and  friendly  welcome  and  ensure  that  visitors  are  referred  to  the
correct person or service within the Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space and re-direct
members of the public to internal and external services where necessary.

  Provide  information  and  advice  about  issues  affecting  clients,  including  mental  health,

housing, employment, and welfare benefits.

  Provide information, advice and support to clients who present in crisis.

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  Ensure that each person is listened to and connected with the support they seek as far
as possible. A key skill will be to identify when a client presents with ‘surface level issues’
and when a deeper conversation is needed to identify the underlying issues.

  Undertake checks for welfare benefits and entitlements and support clients to complete
claim  forms,  including  liaison  with  relevant  agencies  such  as  the  Department  for Work
and Pensions.

  Support colleagues with enquiries which relate to the postholders specialist knowledge

and experience e.g., mental health, benefits, housing, education, training, employment.

  When the Volunteer Lead Support Worker is unavailable, provide support to the Croydon

Health and Wellbeing Space volunteers in their welcoming duties.

  Work as a member of a multi-disciplinary team.

  With the rest of the team, attend staff meetings and participate in whole staff planning and

strategic development of the service in accordance with our aims and objectives.

  Provide updates and feedback to the other Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space teams

to facilitate multi-disciplinary partnership working.

  Work  in  partnership  with  local  professionals  in  statutory  and  voluntary  sector
organisations to ensure that appropriate referrals are made and to enable effective inter-
agency relationships to be developed.

  Promote  the  Croydon  Health  and  Wellbeing  Space  to  statutory  and  voluntary  and
community sector organisations within the borough via attendance at local partnerships
and forums.

  Give  presentations  about  the  work  of  Croydon  Health  and  Wellbeing  Space  to  other

organisations and stakeholders within the borough.

  Contribute  positively  and  constructively  to  the  development  of  Croydon  Health  and

Wellbeing Space.

  Attend training, forums, and meetings to ensure knowledge remains relevant and current.

  Keep up to date with relevant legislation, policy, and practice in mental health, as well as

within the field of information & advice more generally.

  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, undertake training, and keep up to date with
current mental health practice.

  Maintain accurate and up to date client records using online triage and database systems

in accordance with service policies and procedures.

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  Collect and collate statistics and qualitative feedback from users of the Croydon Health
and Wellbeing Space for the purposes of effective monitoring for commissioners and other
key stakeholders.

  Work  within  the  Advice  Quality  Standard,  the  mark  of  quality  for  independent  advice

organisations and other relevant quality and performance standards.

  Work  within  all  policies  and  procedures  of  the  Croydon  PIC  Partnership,  ensuring  that
information remains confidential and adheres to the General Data Protection Regulations
2018 (GDPR).

  Maintain quality standards in accordance with Mind in Croydon policies and procedures.

  Respect  and  maintain  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, undertake other duties
as required.

Job Description Agreement
The Job Description is not exhaustive and is subject to change considering the service, work,
priorities,  or  requirements.  Such  change  will  be  discussed  and  consulted  on  with  the  post
holder. Mind in Croydon Ltd and Croydon’s BME Forum reserve the right to vary or amend the
duties and responsibilities of the post holder at any time in accordance with the needs of the
service. The statements contained in this description, reflect general details as necessary to
describe the principal functions of the job, the level of knowledge and skill typically required to
undertake the role.

It  should  not  be  considered  an  all-inclusive  listing  of  work  requirements.  Individuals  may
perform other duties as assigned, including work in other functional areas to cover absences,
peak work periods or otherwise to balance the workload.

The  dated  signature  of  the  current  post  holder  is  an  agreement  that  the  Job  Description
provides an accurate outline and picture of the job as it currently exists.

Signed:

Name:

Dec 2025

Date:

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Person Specification

Knowledge and Experience

Qualifications

Essential  Desirable

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Relevant mental health, housing, social care or psychology related
training or qualifications.

Demonstrable evidence of equivalent learning or training.

Experience

At least one year's employment in advice work, covering topics
such as welfare benefits and entitlements, housing, employment,
training, etc.

Demonstrable lived or learned experience and understanding of
mental health and related issues and difficulties or challenges.

Working knowledge and experience of person-centred approaches
and recovery models.

Experience of working in uncertain situations and with clients
presenting in crisis.

Experience of working in voluntary or community settings and
building relationships with local groups and organisations.

Experience of creating, managing, and maintaining high quality
records of contact and interaction with people, working within a
caseload.

Experience of peer support approaches and asset/strengths-based
care and support systems.

Knowledge, Skills, and Capabilities

Detailed and up-to-date knowledge of welfare benefits, housing,
and mental health legislation

Ability to write and record clear and concise case records and
letters and understanding of the need for detailed case recording
using a database.

Ability to work alongside clients in non-directive ways – helping the
person find solutions that work for them (rather than suggesting
solutions).

Ability to focus on and build a person’s strengths and their ability to
make use of the resources available to them.

Ability to remain recovery-focused, working with empathy, building
autonomy, empowering the person to define, lead and own their
recovery.

Ability to quickly build rapport with clients to create an effective,
safe, and trusting relationships with people using services and with
professionals in multi-disciplinary teams.

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Excellent numeracy, literacy, IT, and verbal communication skills.

Ability to deal in an impartial, courteous, and culturally competent
manner, with people from diverse backgrounds and with various
levels of communication skills.

Ability to make people feel heard and understood in a short space
of time.

Ability to give effective help to people who may be withdrawn,
distressed and/or confused and to manage exposure to dealing
with difficult and emotional circumstances/situations.

Ability to maintain excellent standards of work under pressure.

Ability to work alone on specific tasks, to prioritise tasks and time
effectively, and manage workload to meet appropriate standards
and performance measures.

Understand the implications that a confidentiality policy has for the
service.

Ability to work flexibly across the team and localities and some
evenings and weekends as required.

Be willing to work in any other place within the community to fulfil
the Service Level Agreement Requirements.

Personal Attributes and Approach

Value people and see their potential, worth and strengths.

Develop effective and trusting relationships, characterised by
respect – being non-judgemental and not making assumptions
about the person’s experiences and beliefs.

Work inclusively, respecting the diversity of each person’s
experience, and their background or cultural context.

Highly motivated and able to learn quickly, willing to seek advice
appropriately and accept supervision and training as required.

Share responsibility for own personal development.

Use own imitative to problem solve issues as they present.

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