Support For Study Mental Health Advisor

About Us

The King?s community is dedicated to the service of society. King?s Strategic Vision 2029 sets out our vision for the future, shaped around five priority areas: educate to inspire and improve; research to inform and innovate; serve to shape and transform; a civic university at the heart of London; and an international community that services the world. Our ambitious Education Strategy sets out the actions that we must take to transform how we teach, how and where our students learn and how we support them during their time with us.

The Support for Study (SfS) Team at King?s leads on the University?s process where there are concerns for students? health and wellbeing which are impacting on their ability to engage with their studies. SfS is part of the Student Conduct and Appeals, which sits within Student Support and Wellbeing Services (SSWS).

SSWS are part of the Students & Education Directorate, a collection of wide-ranging professional services in place to support King?s students and their education. As a directorate we manage the student lifecycle from application to graduation and beyond, to ensure a coherent and seamless student experience and effective administrative processes, working closely with King?s faculties to do so.

About the Role

The Support for Study pathway incorporates Stages 1, 2, and 3. The first two of these stages are for early or emerging concerns about a student?s engagement or progress, which may be connected to mental health, welfare or wellbeing issues; these meetings are student-led and faculty-based. The third stage is led by the specialist SfS team within SSWS and supported by other SSWS services, such as colleagues from welfare and disability, alongside academic colleagues. Almost all students who are seen at Stage 3 SfS, and a significant number at Stage 2 are experiencing difficulties with their mental health and wellbeing. As such, having a mental health professional at these meetings is essential to ensuring that the student?s needs are best understood and that the SfS panel can be advised appropriately.

The role is for a mental health advisor to assist SfS panel colleagues in understanding the support needs of students who are referred for meetings at Stage 3, but also to help Faculty colleagues, including the Designated Safeguarding Officers, in supporting students at some Stage 2 meetings. The primary purpose of the role is to attend these meetings, speak with students about any current mental health issues, relevant history and their current or planned support, and make recommendations to the panel, or to the student and colleagues, as to potential avenues for additional support (both internally and externally), and any concerns around risks to the safety of a student, or others, as a result of current unwellness. 

The role will involve carrying out dynamic mental health and risk assessments and supporting colleagues and students to understand the implications of any mental health issues on their current plans for their studies and accommodation, as well as considering what support would be needed in order to give them the greatest chance of continuing safely and successfully. 

As well as support from your immediate colleagues and line manager, King?s will ensure you have access to regular supervision with an appropriately qualified internal supervisor from the Counselling & Mental Health Support team.

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates looking to work in a dynamic environment where we embrace new initiatives and ways to improve the provision of mental health support for our students. This is an opportunity to grow your skills in working with a diverse client population within a valued service.

We encourage applications from candidates who have experience from both within and outside of the Higher Education sector where they can demonstrate the skills needed to succeed in this role.

• To undertake informal assessments of students referred to SfS, in order to ascertain the nature of their presenting problems and how best to ensure the meeting format and structure meets their needs.

• To attend SfS meetings as the mental health representative on the staff panel, to advise on considerations regarding mental health, including how to mitigate risk in planning outcomes and to help determine the most appropriate course of action for students in line with SFS and KCL Safeguarding policies

• To attend regular weekly meetings, both with SfS and University colleagues more widely where SfS cases are referred and discussed, and to work closely with King's Counselling and Mental Health Service to ensure students receive appropriate follow-up support.

• Engage with students in one-on-one meetings to provide guidance and support on SFS decisions.

• To support Faculty Designated Safeguarding Officers or other colleagues in Stage 2 meetings with students where there are emerging or moderate mental health concerns impacting on their studies. 
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• Within the bounds of confidentiality, to liaise as appropriate with academic and non-academic staff regarding individual students and to liaise as appropriate with external professionals and institutions for example, GPs, psychiatric or other mental health services, specialist services e.g. Eating Disorder Clinics. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.