Membership Officer

Hours: Flexible as agreed – part time (28hrs per week)
1 year fixed term (renewable)
Based:  1 St Barnabas Terrace, Homerton, London  E9 6DJ
Salary: £27,000 pro rata.  Actual take home pay £21,600.  Reviewed after 6 months (pay scale max 33K)
Responsible to: Operational Lead/ Senior Membership Manager
Applications deadline Friday 1^st December 2023

Summary

Core Arts are looking for Creative Membership Coordinator to offer their skills and expertise to support the membership team to deliver a high-quality service to our members.

Core Arts is a Mental Health Charity based in Hackney offering a range of creative arts education to improve health and wellbeing to adults who experience mental health issues. We have over 800 clients using Core Arts/Core Sports services, working with up to 1500 people per annum.

The role is within the membership team which offers to our members: empowering support planning, motivational guidance, case management, care team partnership working, safeguarding, creative goal setting and the position oversees individual development to members referred from our clinical & inpatient team partners as part of their recovery planning.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about Creative Arts and have excellent hands-on experience in mental health support work, adult education and strong knowledge of the challenges this group face, and how the Creative Arts can support recovery.

The candidate may have worked in a creative industries or educational/ group work setting and worked dynamically with various staff teams and be confident in developing quick rapport with clients. The successful candidate will demonstrate experience of working with external partnerships, including secondary care clinicians.

We are looking for candidates who:

• Client focused and able to energise and engage others (direct client experience)
• Enjoy working in a fast-paced, changeable environment and thrives in this setting
• Likes the challenge of adapting their approach to fit with the different client groups.
• Can fit in with teams and quickly adapt to a team culture and ethos
• Have a flexible, resilient, thoughtful, therapeutic approach to working with clients with complex needs.
• Be able to manage a high volume of administration as part of the role
• Have ability to be self- motivating, work under pressure and manage time effectively prioritising different areas of work according to need.
• Must be enthusiastic about working with arts and education in order to support clients to improve confidence and quality of life.
• Must be innovative and resilient in approach & working practices
• Experienced in support work including early intervention, safeguarding and risk management.

You will be comfortable working within a strengths and recovery framework, & will ensure that all aspects of your working practices are delivered to the highest standard are fully compliant with organisational values and contractual requirements and reflect current good practice.

If you think you would like to join our team, we would love to hear from you

Please see attached the relevant job profiles for further information.

Closing date for applications:  Friday 1^st December 2023

To apply for this vacancy please send a covering letter of why you fit the Job Description and attach your CV via the button below.

Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities

Team Work & Personal Development:

• To be flexible, to share skills and knowledge and support colleagues.
• To participate in team discussions or reviews by being fully prepared, ready to share and discuss ideas and offer solutions.  Including early interventions, dynamic risk assessment and problem solving as a team taking direction and instruction from the membership managers or Senior management.
• To take personal responsibility for own ongoing development and learning as part of the post and any opportunities that may arise as part of your engagement with the service.
• The sensitivity and flexibility to find ways to engage and work with clients who may have a low level of interaction with the service or experiencing difficulty interacting
• The ability to respond calmly to challenging situations is essential.
• Ability to maintain boundaries and effectively implement these in your practice.
• The ability to work in a self-directed manner with close daily direction.

Referral assessment, processing & Member engagement for clinical referrals:

• To promote the provision and referral pathway to clinical teams in Hackney.
• To respond to the referrer regarding the referral outcome by assessing the referral for appropriate funded pathway as directed.
• To manage the admin around referrals and eligibility, and ensure all communication as well as data is recorded for contractual KPI review.
• To submit notional Personal health budgets in line with the membership package and review using tools provided by the framework.
• To contact the prospective member to offer an induction or to guide regarding outcome of the referral and next steps.
• To ensure repeated contact to engage the referred member takes place and the best chance of induction and engagement is given, developing strong rapport and creative engagement from the start,
• To support existing members to access via the recovery alliance and assess and support referrals to other pathways in the team (funded/ personal Health Budget/ Wellbeing Network/ Direct payments panel)
• Ensure that the demand is met, and responsive offer is effective; communication and information sharing mechanisms are in place, and that working collaboratively with all relevant agencies (health, social care, locality teams, education and voluntary)
• To offer professional tours and member visits to show prospective members the offer.
• To present to forums or other relevant opportunities alongside the Operational lead as needed.

Inductions and Enrolments/Reviews (membership case management):

• Conducting initial brief assessments or initial meetings for new starters booked into the service by the membership team
• Ensuring that the criteria are met re: paperwork and welcome pack in the meetings including our Code of Respect and suitable clients are accepted.
• Prioritising need and recommending the signposting for new referrals for further services when required
• To advance & support new members through the enrolment process by ensuring they are appropriately placed in workshops and goals have been formulated.
• Recording meetings: supporting the facilitation for various meeting types, enrollment, reviews, and 1:1 support (within the Core Arts framework, including goal setting, motivational interviewing and action planning)
• Adding new members to ‘Inform’ and various systems required following Data protection best practice: the candidate would be asked to enrol new members onto the database so that their contact information, course details and funding streams are recorded on Inform and entry systems used at Core Arts.
• To ensure that membership is maintained at agreed levels and is individualised to suit each member
• Action Planning: in partnership with the client and any significant others involved in their support, workers will translate assessed need into goals that are SMART and give scope for progression.
• To undertake outcome monitoring and case studies for individuals to capture any impact or progress
• To assess members for potential to volunteer and offer skill sets as part of progression.

Client use of time:

• During the assessment process, work with clients to identify activities that they would like to take part in to prepare them for independence and move through & include in needs assessment.
• To ensure clients are assisted to access such activities internally/ externally.
• To support clients that are ready to move into work, education or training by assisting them to access suitable courses or placements by discussing this with their clinical team.
• To offer Personal Health Budgets to support wider recovery goals and staying well/ self-management.

To support member participation in Core’s activities:

• To identify and follow up on non-attendance and relevant funding for members and record attendance
• To ensure creative courses are appropriate to member and best placed/fit in terms of dynamic.
• To promote digital inclusion and skill development in this area
• Tracking & client facing support: engaging clients with the centre, through encouraging phone calls and weekly contact ensuring consistency week to week.  This would involve receiving feedback from sessions, providing information on courses and listening to any concerns the member may have. This information is then recorded, so that staff can follow up any enquiries.
• Spending time with members within the centre to build rapport, create light and positive interactions, presence and well as support work
• To liaise with staff, volunteers and members to ensure clear communication of interests, concerns, changes in activity
• To liaise with external agencies, within the parameters of Core Arts Confidentiality Policy, to ensure maximum support for members and at the agreement of membership managers
• To promote creative workplans and monitoring outcomes for all members
• To identify development and progression opportunities in response to member’s identified needs, and to signpost to more appropriate sources of help when relevant (with membership team guidance)
• To meet clients to review their progress and ensure they are fully aware of an individual’s workplans in order to support members in achieving their aims.
• To monitor the wellbeing of members, offer support and guidance alongside communication with the appropriate services where necessary.

Risk assessment and management:

• To minimise risks to clients by identifying, reporting and following up any safeguarding concerns.
• To provide a comprehensive handover to the membership manager post meeting with new members or existing members having completed a review or 1:1 support meeting
• To manage member incidents with the support of the senior management team and liaise with care teams in line with incident procedures and the Code of Respect policy and procedure.
• To work collaboratively within the membership team to offer thoughtful and proactive support for issues arising for members and initiate signposting to respective agencies in terms of their overall care and support.
• To proactively support any signs of relapse and offer guidance and support in the members best interests

Administration and accountability:

• To maintain appropriate systems and records of member activity, and maintain database of members
• To review sensitive client data and ensure case summary is assessed as part of support planning and suitability to engage.
• Support any administrative tasks to ensure smooth use and running of various systems to maintain accurate data
• To be aware of the running of the centre and other departments – offering comprehensive support wider than the role if required.
• Attendance: recording weekly attendance of members on the Salesforce database, booking members into courses in line with attendance and assess patterns of attendance and flag issues with the allocated worker.
• The candidate would support the office to in answering phone calls, taking messages and supporting members with any enquiries. Any conversation, support given or follow up will be communicated to the team and recorded. The candidate would support members who come to office with an enquiry, to pay to access a session etc.

Social Inclusion:

• To support individuals to work towards gaining greater independence through participation, at service and organisation level and within the wider community.
• To support the running of exhibits and events as required, including practical set up and support of the bar and entertainment.
• To be aware of wider determinants the members may be facing socially and support equality of access.
• To promote the projects internal feedback methods such as the complaints procedure and to respond positively to suggestions.
• To take personal responsibility for feeding back to colleagues/managers any information or comments that would contribute to ensuring the service is relevant and responsive.

Health and Safety:

• To be aware of the roles and responsibilities and work in accordance with H&S Policy and the law around H&S at work.
• To take responsibility for the safe working of self and others and to ensure that local procedures around Lone Working and Fire are followed.

General

• Contribute to the development of Core Arts charity objectives.
• Carry out all duties in the context of and in compliance with Core Arts Equal Opportunities Policy.
• Contribute positively to team working including attending team meetings when requested and any supervisory sessions and adhere to the policies and procedures of Core Arts.
• Comply with and contribute pro-actively to the Core Arts Health and Safety policies and procedures.
• To undertake any required training and updating of skills as necessary.
• To contribute to the business aims and implement plans made.
• To promote Core Arts ethos and unique vision to prospective members and mental health practitioners and relevant services across London.
• Any other duties within the competence of the post-holder that may be required in line with the post and at the direction of the senior management team.

Experience

• The ideal candidate would have experience working in education, with experience engaging people considered to be vulnerable (D)
• An understanding of using person centered and motivational recovery focused ethos is essential.
• Excellent communication, presentation and interpersonal skills (E)
• Good understanding of data protection, confidentiality, safeguarding and risk management and demonstrable examples of putting these into practice (E)
•  Experience working within a charity setting with direct client experience would be desirable. (E)
• The candidate will have a passion for music and arts, in order to support the creative journey of members at the centre. (E)
• Able recognise to the unique abilities and interests of members, in order to choose appropriate classes that support individualised projects, tailored to their strengths (E)
• The ideal candidate will have excellent hands-on experience in mental health support work (E)
• Have strong experience of working with external partnerships, including education sector, creative sector, secondary care clinicians (E)
• Ability to assess delivery and Key performance indicators to meet contractual arrangements (D)
• Ability to work and support a team, delegating and overseeing overall members outcomes as part of the wider caseload (D)

Knowledge and understanding

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Word and Excel or a similar database/ Salesforce
• Proficient in entering information on databases, Internet and email
• Of the impact of creativity on wellbeing
• Of the creative arts and relevance of community engagement
• Of the issues faced by people with mental health issues within an inner city, multi-cultural setting
• Of confidentiality and information sharing
• Of wider issues in the voluntary sector and the political climate for our service users
• Of strategic and innovative ways of working responding to our service users support needs
• Of the risk assessment process
• Of tools for change, motivation and support planning (such as brokerage)
• Of the purpose and practice of working within an equal opportunities’ framework
• Of health and safety practices

Skills & Abilities

• Excellent communication and networking skills
• Able to work self-motivate/ target set alongside line manager
• Discretion and sensitivity in contact with clients
• Able to risk assess and adapt situations
• Able to engage and motivate potential clients
• Able to work productively and creatively with a wide range of people
• Able to communicate effectively and professionally at all times
• Able to work alone without supervision
• Able to instill confidence in others
• Able to motivate people, especially where they have little confidence or positive self-image
• Ability to maintain high standards whilst working under pressure
• Able to work as part of a high performing team

Personal Qualities

• A strong person centred ethos which can be communicated to other professionals and members
• Warm and friendly presence able to engage various people
• Creative Knowledge and innovative working style
• Excellent time-keeping skills and sound knowledge of lone working practice
• Excellent organisational skills and proactive team working ethos
• Creative and flexible approach to work and responsive to new ideas
• Methodical and thorough approach to managing relationships and continuous networking
• Excellent communication, negotiation and networking skills with various audiences
• Ability to promote the service offer appropriately to various audiences and promote creative activities to support positive mental health
• Key team player, will the ability to motivate, support and be responsive to team members