Mental Health Worker (Short Term Service – Families First Team)

Full time/Fixed term – Secondment for 12 months

PO1: £43,308pa rising in annual increments to £45,852pa incl. LW

About Us:

Located in the heart of South London, Lambeth Borough is a vibrant community of over 317,600 residents. Stretching from the dynamic neighbourhood of Streatham in the South to the iconic landmarks of Waterloo in the North, we are proud to be the 9th largest borough in London. Our diversity is our strength, with more than 130 languages spoken, making Lambeth the home of the Windrush generation, London's largest LGBTQ+ community, and a thriving Portuguese-speaking community.

It is an exciting time to join Lambeth Council, we have bold ambitions for the future of Lambeth’s communities and residents through our Lambeth 2030 Plan ‘Our Future, Our Lambeth.

With exceptional schools, lush green spaces including Brockwell Park, cultural gems like the Black Cultural Archives, and world-renowned institutions such as St Thomas's Hospital, Lambeth offers an enriching and dynamic environment.

Please have a look at our dedicated One Lambeth Values and Behaviours page.

About the Team:

The Short Term Service (STS) is an innovative, multi-agency pilot at the front door of children’s services, designed to help families earlier, make better decisions faster, and prevent unnecessary escalation into statutory intervention.

Operating as a time-limited, 10-working-day assessment and brief intervention model, STS brings together social care professionals and embedded specialists to rapidly understand risk, need and family context, and take purposeful action.

This is a small, high-impact, multidisciplinary team working alongside the Initial Response Hub/MASH.

Our approach is:

Child-centred and safeguarding-led
Evidence-informed and analytically robust
Multi-agency from day one

Following a time-limited assessment and brief intervention, the team will support clear, confident decisions to:

Step families down to early help or community support
Close cases where needs are met
Escalate appropriately where risks require statutory intervention

STS is a focused, action-oriented service designed to reduce drift, improve family experience, and strengthen decision-making at the earliest point.

This is a 12-month pilot with strong senior sponsorship and real opportunity to shape system change, working at the heart of front-door transformation.

About the Role:

Early mental health input can transform a family’s trajectory. By embedding a dedicated Mental Health Worker within the Short Term Service we aim to be able to provide targeted support at the earliest point of intervention.

What you will do:

Provide rapid mental health triage and brief intervention.
Advise on risk, emotional wellbeing, and access to services.
Work closely with social workers, schools, GPs, and community MH providers.
Help inform Day‑10 decisions with specialist input.

What we are looking for:

Experience in community mental health, wellbeing, or psychological support.
Strong early intervention and engagement skills.
Ability to work at pace while maintaining high‑quality practice.

How to Apply:

To be considered for interview, your CV and supporting statement will clearly evidence how you meet the shortlisting criteria on the personal specification marked “A” for application:

JD and Person Specification

We operate an anonymised application process, so be sure to remove personal details when uploading your CV or personal statement.

Advert closing date: 11:59pm on 20^th of September 2026

Please click here to view: Lambeth Staff Benefits

Successful candidates will be asked to apply for an Enhanced Certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Further information about the DBS can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/dbs

You will be required to undertake a Cifas check. Further information about Cifas can be found here Cifas

Contact Information:

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Johanna Weston, jweston@lambeth.gov.uk.

At Lambeth, we are dedicated to providing quality services and equal opportunities for all. We are committed to safer recruitment and are proud to be a Stonewall diversity champion, a Living Wage Employer, and to guarantee interviews for all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria of the role. For a full list of our accreditations, please click here.