Job Title
Community Engagement Facilitator (Mental Health) Bradford Health Inequities Programme (Bhip)
JOB DESCRIPTION & PERSON SPECIFICATION
About Happy Healthy You
Happy Healthy You delivers a range of health and wellbeing activities and services across Bradford, working closely with Global Majority communities and people experiencing the greatest barriers to good health and health equity. We go to trusted places where people live, work and gather, working alongside communities to deliver culturally grounded activities and support. We listen to and ethically represent lived experience and community insight, while developing local capacity and leadership. We work with communities and partners to turn that insight into practical action, helping to shape services and contribute to lasting system change that improves health, wellbeing, and quality of life.
The Bradford Health Inequities Programme (Bhip)
Bhip is a five-year programme funded by the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) and delivered jointly in partnership by Happy Healthy You (HHU) and Race Equality Network (REN). As part of the National Lottery Community Fund's National Collective, Bhip is one of nine health inequities programmes established nationally to address health inequities caused by structural racism and discrimination.
Working alongside Communities, Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations, the NHS, public services, and other partners across Bradford District, Bhip will co-design, test and evaluate community-led approaches that address health inequities driven by structural racism and discrimination, influence policy and practice, drive system change, and generate evidence and learning for Bradford while contributing to the NLCF’s National Collective.
As an innovative five-year programme, Bhip expects to evolve through community engagement, co-design, learning, and evaluation. The Bhip team members should therefore expect their roles to develop over time in response to programme learning, funding, and organisational requirements to achieve its aims.
About you
You will be an experienced, approachable community-facing professional with a strong background in mental health, emotional wellbeing or psychosocial support and community engagement.
You will be skilled at building trust with people who may experience stigma, cultural, language or other barriers to accessing appropriate mental health support, particularly within Global Majority communities.
You will be confident facilitating groups and sensitive conversations, culturally aware and non-judgemental, with the judgement to provide appropriate early support while maintaining clear professional boundaries. You will be proactive, adaptable and able to develop creative approaches that respond to the different needs of communities.
The Opportunity
This is an opportunity to join Happy Healthy You and help develop its community-based mental health and emotional wellbeing work and related activities, building on trusted relationships while creating new approaches and support shaped around what communities actually need.
Through working on the Bhip Programme, you will reach people and communities who may be less connected to existing mental health support, creating safe, culturally responsive ways to talk about mental health, build connection and access appropriate support. Working alongside communities and the wider Bhip team, you will help turn lived experience, stories and insight into better community responses, stronger pathways and practical changes to how mental health support works across Bradford.
Key Responsibilities
Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing Delivery: Develop, coordinate and deliver culturally responsive, person-centred community-based mental health and emotional wellbeing groups, activities and support, using creative and flexible approaches that build confidence, connection and wellbeing and respond to the needs and experiences of different communities.
HHU & Bhip Integration: Work closely with the HHU Programme Manager (Bhip), HHU Mental Health Lead and wider Bhip team to connect and strengthen HHU’s existing mental health work with Bhip’s aims and approaches, ensuring community activity, insight and learning contribute to agreed programme outcomes and responding to emerging needs, gaps and opportunities.
Community Engagement & Expanding Reach: Build trusted relationships with Global Majority communities across Bradford, proactively reaching people and communities less connected to HHU or existing mental health support.
Listening, Insight & Co-design: Facilitate sensitive community conversations, listening and ethical story capture, ensuring lived experience informs Bhip activity, co-design and wider service and system change.
Early Support & Pathways: Provide appropriate early support and information, helping people navigate services and strengthening referral and signposting pathways while maintaining clear professional boundaries.
Community Leadership & Capacity: Identify and support volunteers, champions and people with lived experience to become more involved in peer support, community activity and leadership.
Partnership Working: Build effective relationships with community, faith, VCSE, primary care, NHS and specialist mental health partners, strengthening joined-up pathways, appropriate referrals and signposting, and clear routes for escalation where additional support is needed.
Data, Evidence & Learning: Maintain accurate monitoring and insight through agreed systems, including Upshot, using evidence and community learning to identify barriers and opportunities, improve delivery and demonstrate impact.
General Responsibilities:
- Work in accordance with HHU and Bhip policies, procedures and agreed ways of working.
- Maintain appropriate records and contribute to reporting, meetings and programme activity as required.
- Promote safe, inclusive and anti-discriminatory practice, maintaining appropriate professional boundaries and confidentiality.
- Take responsibility for ongoing learning and professional development relevant to the role.
- Represent HHU and Bhip professionally with communities, partners and stakeholders.
- Undertake other duties appropriate to the level and purpose of the role as HHU and Bhip develop.
Flexibility Clauses:
The duties and responsibilities of this post may be reviewed and amended from time to time, following consultation with the post-holder, to reflect the evolving needs of HHU and the Bhip Programme. Any changes will be consistent with the level, purpose, and nature of the role.
HHU - Community Engagement Facilitator (Mental Health)
Experience, Knowledge, Skills, Values & Behaviours & Qualifications
Experience
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A minimum of 2 years’ experience of delivering community-based mental health, emotional wellbeing or psychosocial support.
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Experience of developing and facilitating mental health or emotional wellbeing groups and activities.
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Significant experience of community engagement and building trusted relationships with Global Majority communities and people experiencing health inequities.
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Experience of engaging people who may face cultural, language, stigma or other barriers to accessing mental health support.
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Experience of facilitating sensitive conversations with individuals and groups in community settings.
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Experience of developing relationships and working collaboratively across community, faith, VCSE Sector and NHS and/or community based mental health services.
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Experience of providing appropriate early support, information, signposting or helping people navigate services within clear professional boundaries.
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Experience of gathering community feedback or insight and using this to help develop or improve activities or support.
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Experience of working collaboratively across teams and organisations to coordinate activity, share learning and achieve agreed outcomes.
Qualifications
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Level 4 or above qualification in mental health, counselling, psychology, community wellbeing, therapeutic practice or another relevant mental health and wellbeing discipline, together with a minimum of two years’ relevant practical experience.
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Safeguarding Training
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Mental Health First Aid, suicide awareness/prevention or similar relevant mental health training.
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Counselling skills, health coaching, group facilitation, creative health or therapeutic approaches training
Knowledge
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Understanding of mental health and emotional wellbeing, including common difficulties, protective factors and approaches to early community-based support.
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Good knowledge of Bradford District, its diverse communities and the local mental health landscape, including relevant NHS, primary care, VCSE and community-based services and support.
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Understanding of culturally responsive and trauma-informed approaches to mental health and wellbeing.
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Understanding of the barriers that can affect access to mental health support, including stigma, culture, language, racism, discrimination and social circumstances.
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Understanding of health inequities and how structural racism and discrimination can affect mental health, access, experience and outcomes.
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Understanding of community-led approaches, lived experience, co-design, peer support and community capacity-building.
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Understanding of the boundaries between community-based support and clinical mental health treatment, including recognising risk and appropriate signposting, referral and escalation.
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Working knowledge of safeguarding, confidentiality, consent, data protection and professional boundaries.
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Basic understanding of the importance of community insight, data and evidence in improving delivery and demonstrating outcomes and impact.
Skills
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Strong community mental health and wellbeing skills, able to plan, facilitate and adapt safe, engaging and culturally responsive groups and activities.
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Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills, able to build trust with people who may be reluctant or uncomfortable discussing mental health.
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Strong listening and facilitation skills, able to hold sensitive conversations with empathy, confidence and appropriate professional boundaries.
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Ability to recognise when someone may need additional support and respond appropriately through signposting, referral, safeguarding or escalation.
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Strong community engagement skills, able to open doors, reach new communities and adapt approaches to different cultural, faith, language and individual needs.
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Creative and flexible approach to developing culturally grounded wellbeing activities and opportunities around what communities say they need.
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Good partnership-working skills, able to build effective relationships across community, faith, VCSE, primary care and mental health services.
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Good organisation, initiative and problem-solving skills, able to manage a varied community-based workload and work independently when required.
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Good digital skills, including Microsoft 365, with the ability and willingness to learn and consistently use Bhip’s data, monitoring and evaluation systems.
Values and Behaviours
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Community-focused, culturally aware, approachable and non-judgemental.
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Collaborative and inclusive, supporting people to participate and contribute.
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Resilient and adaptable, with sound judgement in sensitive community situations.
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Proactive, practical and solution-focused.
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Integrity, accountability and professionalism.
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Commitment to health equity, anti-racism, inclusion and anti-discriminatory practice.
Other
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Ability to work flexibly, including occasional evenings and weekends.
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Ability and willingness to travel locally, regionally, and nationally as required.
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Commitment to personal and professional development.
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Commitment to safeguarding the welfare of others and the ability to identify and appropriately escalate safeguarding concerns.
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Driving Licence
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Access to own transport insured for business use.
Ready to help create lasting change?
Closing date for applications: 02 October 2026
Interview date: 13 October 2026