Disability Adviser (Mental Health)

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Disability Adviser (Mental Health)

The Disability Adviser (Mental Health) will join our Student Disability Service, within the Student Life department, providing advice and support to current and prospective students with long term mental health difficulties, focusing on more severe, complex and long-term mental health conditions.

We are looking for a skilled, qualified practitioner from a professional background, for example, Mental Health Nursing, Occupational Therapy or Social Work, to join our existing team. The post holder will work collaboratively with disability advisers and colleagues across Student Life, including the Health and Wellbeing Service.

You will provide advice and support to current and prospective students with long term mental health difficulties, focusing on more severe, complex and long-term mental health conditions. The post holder will take responsibility for a student caseload, identifying reasonable adjustments and specialist support, identifying risk and making referrals as required. You will provide effective liaison between services supporting students with mental health difficulties and work with staff across the university to meet students’ needs and effectively implement reasonable adjustments.

The post is part time, 21 hours a week, over 3 days, and open ended.

Salary: £39,347-£44,263 per annum (pro-rata) (Grade 6).

The postholder will normally be based at the Centre for Student Life. We work flexibly; therefore some element of home working may be suitable and appropriate and specific arrangements will be discussed with the successful candidate.

For an informal discussion please contact Bethan Griffiths at [email protected],

Date Advertised: 21 February 2024
Closing date: 8 March 2024.

Please be aware that Cardiff University reserves the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received.

Cardiff University offers many excellent benefits, including 37 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), pro rata for part time staff, local pension scheme, a cycle to work scheme and other travel initiatives, annual increments up the pay scale, and more. It is an exciting and vibrant place to work, with many different challenges and is a proud Living Wage supporter.

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

Job Description

Key Duties

• Provide professional advice and guidance on mental health conditions and co-occurring conditions to identify support and appropriate reasonable adjustments to internal and external customers that will have institute wide impacts. Using judgement, creativity and professional knowledge to suggest the most appropriate course of action where appropriate, and ensuring complex and conceptual issues are understood.
• Take responsibility for resolving issues independently within disability advice and mental health support, where they fall within set role objectives.
• Investigate and analyse specific issues within mental health advice, guidance and support, creating recommendation reports, supported by developments within disability, mental health and higher education.
• Ensure that the provision of professional mental health support are delivered to the institution, providing direct intervention via specialist mentoring, proactively changing the delivery according to customer requirements.
• Establish working relationships and effective partnerships with key contacts, developing appropriate communication links with the University’s Schools/Directorates and outside bodies as required.
• Create and manage specific working groups or other collaborations from colleagues across the University to achieve our objectives.
• Plan and deliver specific small scale projects, co-ordinating and supervising project teams created as needed.
• Develop and deliver training on mental health and on other aspects relevant to mental health and access to higher education.
• Undertake a variety of administrative duties to support the department.
• Instruct and guide other employees across the University on support and reasonable adjustments for students with mental health difficulties.

Specific Duties

• Contribute to the development and provision of student resources and University policies.
• Promote the Student Disability Service to all key stakeholders through selected media and participation at events such as Open Days.
• Undergo personal and professional development that is appropriate to and which will enhance performance.

General Duties

• Ensure that an understanding of the importance of confidentiality is applied when undertaking all duties.
• Abide by University policies on Health and Safety and Equality and Diversity.
• Perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.

Person Specification

Important notice:

• It is the University’s policy to use the person specification as a key tool for short-listing. Candidates should evidence that they meet ALL of the essential criteria as well as, where relevant, the desirable.
• As part of the application process you will be asked to provide this evidence via a supporting statement.
• Please ensure that the evidence you are providing corresponds with the numbered criteria outlined below.
• Your application will be considered based on the information you provide under each element.

When attaching the supporting statement to your application profile, please ensure that you name it with the vacancy reference number, e.g. Supporting Statement for 18156BR.

Essential Criteria

Qualifications and Education

Educated to degree level with relevant professional mental health qualification e.g. mental health nurse, Mental Health Social Work, Occupational Therapy, or other professional area related to mental health.

Professional membership/registration that meets the Department for Education (DfE) qualification and professional membership requirements (See Band 4 Specialist Mentor, Mental Health).

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Substantial experience of working with people with severe, complex and long-term mental health difficulties in educational, statutory or non-statutory organisations.

Able to demonstrate application of professional knowledge of the UK Mental Health and Equality legislation to give advice and guidance to internal and external customers.  

Proven experience in developing new processes and procedures to enhance service delivery.

Customer Service, Communication and Team Working

Excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate conceptually detailed and complex information effectively and professionally with a wide range of people.

Evidence of ability to explore customers’ needs, maintaining professional boundaries, and adapt the service accordingly to ensure a quality service is delivered.

Proven ability to develop networks, including statutory and non-statutory organisations, to support clients and contribute to long term developments.

Planning, Analysis and Problem solving

Evidence of ability to solve expansive problems using initiative and creativity; identify and propose both practical and innovative solutions.

Knowledge of key advances within mental health support and how it applies to higher education.

Desirable Criteria

Experience of working with people with Autism Spectrum Conditions.

Experience of working in a Higher Education environment.

Fluency in Welsh, written and oral.

Job Category

Health, Management & Executive