Mental Health Carers Specialist Advisor

Mental Health Carers Specialist Advisor

Location: Field-based (Cornwall & Isles of Scilly)
Hours: 24.5 hrs per week (0.70 FTE) in year 1 , increasing to 26.25 hours per week (0.75 FTE) in year two and 28 hours per week (0.80 FTE) in year 3
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £17,181.44

Make a difference to carers’ lives – every single day

At Rethink Mental Illness, we believe everyone severely affected by mental illness deserves a better quality of life. As a Mental Health Carers Specialist Advisor, you’ll play a vital role in supporting unpaid carers — people who are often the backbone of mental health support.

This is more than a job. It’s an opportunity to build meaningful relationships, empower carers, and ensure no one feels they are navigating mental health challenges alone.

What you’ll be doing

You’ll provide practical and emotional support to unpaid carers supporting someone with mental illness. Using a person-centred, strengths-based approach, you’ll help carers build confidence, access the right services and improve their wellbeing.

You will:

• Deliver one-to-one support, helping carers identify goals and create personalised support plans
• Provide information, advice, guidance and signposting to services and community support
• Help carers navigate mental health, health and social care systems
• Facilitate carer groups, courses and awareness events
• Complete Carers Assessments and support access to personal budgets
• Work collaboratively with health, social care and voluntary sector partners
• Promote inclusion and help identify hidden carers in the community
• Maintain accurate records and contribute to quality and service improvement

You’ll also play an important role in creating a safe, inclusive and responsive service, shaped by the voices and experiences of carers.

About the service

Our Cornwall Mental Health Carers Service supports unpaid carers across the county, offering tiered support ranging from short-term guidance to more intensive, ongoing help.

We work flexibly — providing support face-to-face, online, by phone, and in community settings — and collaborate with partner organisations to ensure joined-up care.

What you’ll bring

We’re looking for someone who is compassionate, proactive and values-driven, with a genuine commitment to supporting carers.

Essential:

• Experience supporting people in health, social care, community, or carers services
• Understanding of unpaid carers’ needs and challenges
• Knowledge of mental health and recovery
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills
• Ability to provide person-centred support and practical advice
• Confidence in managing risk and responding to safeguarding concerns
• Good IT skills and ability to manage a varied workload
• A relevant qualification or willingness to complete Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) within your first year

Desirable:

• Experience working directly with unpaid carers or families
• Experience facilitating groups or community activities
• Knowledge of local services and referral pathways

Why join us?

• Be part of a supportive, purpose-driven team
• Make a real difference to carers and families
• Access training and development opportunities
• Contribute to a service that values co-production and lived experience

Ready to apply?

If you’re passionate about supporting carers and want to be part of a team that’s leading change in mental health, we’d love to hear from you.