Join Our Team as a Care Navigator
Location: HMP Millsike
Working hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week
Rethink Mental Illness work alongside Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) and Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust to deliver an integrated stepped care mental health service within HMP Millsike.
The team compromises a range of highly skilled professionals who work collaboratively to provide the highest quality of care for those with mental health needs within the prison and for Rethink Mental Illness employees, this is carried out between 0800 – 1600 Monday to Friday.
Purpose of the Role
To provide person-centred support for individuals with health vulnerabilities transitioning from prison to the community, ensuring continuity of care and effective release planning. The role focuses on reconnecting individuals with health services, improving wellbeing, reducing health inequalities, and supporting a sustainable reduction in reoffending through coaching-based interventions and collaborative working with partner agencies.
What I will do and achieve:
Delivering Person-Centred Support
- Provide holistic care navigation to individuals before and after release from prison, ensuring continuity of care and effective, well-planned transitions into the community
- Complete initial screenings, care mapping assessments, and structured release plans using a tailored, person-centred approach
- Deliver flexible 1:1 and group-based support using a coaching framework to promote independence, resilience, and long-term wellbeing
Improving Health and Reducing Reoffending
- Reconnect individuals with appropriate health and community services, reducing health inequalities and supporting sustained recovery
- Prevent deterioration in physical and mental health by enabling access to ongoing care and promoting self-management
- Contribute to reducing reoffending by supporting stability, engagement, and positive lifestyle changes
Collaborative and Multi-Agency Working
- Work closely with prison staff, healthcare providers, and statutory and non-statutory agencies to coordinate safe and effective release planning
- Build and maintain strong professional relationships, representing both the service and service users in multi-disciplinary settings
- Support health promotion initiatives and joint working to improve service reach and impact
Quality, Performance and Accountability
- Maintain accurate, timely, and professional clinical records in line with organisational and national requirements
- Manage a high-volume caseload, balancing competing demands while meeting service targets and deadlines
- Work autonomously with strong organisational skills, adapting to a fast-paced and evolving environment
Professional Standards and Development
- Uphold safeguarding, confidentiality, and professional boundaries at all times, modelling a proactive and solution-focused approach
- Engage fully in supervision, reflective practice, and ongoing training to continuously improve service delivery
- Demonstrate commitment, motivation, and resilience in delivering high-quality support within a challenging but rewarding area of work
Essential Skills and Experience:
- NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent) in a relevant area such as Health and Social Care
- Experience supporting vulnerable individuals to set and achieve goals through 1:1 and group interventions
- Working knowledge of mental health, substance misuse, housing, social care, and the criminal justice system
- Experience delivering structured, time-limited support
- Strong assessment skills, including risk management and support planning
- Passionate about supporting individuals leaving the criminal justice system, promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion
- Calm, patient, and respectful, with the ability to manage challenging situations and maintain professional boundaries
- Confident communicator with strong interpersonal and written skills
- Excellent time management and organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise workload and adapt to changing demands
- Competent in IT systems, including Microsoft Office and clinical databases
- Committed to ongoing professional development, reflective practice, and using supervision effectively
If you’re passionate about empowering individuals, reducing stigma, and improving mental health outcomes, we’d love to hear from you!
IND1
Why Work With Rethink Mental Illness?
At Rethink Mental Illness, we believe that when you feel supported, you can make the biggest difference. That’s why we offer a range of benefits to help you thrive:
- Inclusive Culture: Join staff networks that champion diversity and inclusion.
- Wellbeing Support: Access our Wellbeing Hub, Employee Assistance Programme, and the Unmind mental health app.
- Recognition & Rewards: Enjoy discounts, cashback offers, and celebrate achievements through our PULSE platform.
- Flexible Working & Generous Leave: Starting at 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays and your birthday off), with options to buy or sell extra days.
- Learning & Development: Grow your career with structured onboarding and training opportunities.
- Financial & Family Support: Contributory pension scheme, enhanced family leave, and travel benefits like season ticket loans and cycle-to-work schemes.
- Referral Bonus: Earn up to £300 for introducing someone to our team.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Diversity is important to us, and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we’re working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer. We recognise and support staff networks and support groups for our ethnically diverse and LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter.
We aim for our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve; for those who work for us to feel heard, valued and feel they belong; and for our work to help tackle wider mental health inequalities. We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience of mental illness, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and any other gender identity not expressed here (LGBTQIA+); people who are neurodiverse, have a health condition, or a disability or hidden disability and people from an ethnically diverse background - regardless of your age, religious or spiritual belief, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, political view or socio-economic status.
Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation
We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider - and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our anti-racist statement . We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our Race Equality Action Plan which demonstrates our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.
