Mental Health Service Manager

BHT Sussex; Burgess Hill; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stakeholder pension scheme

Life assurance

Medical cash plan

Learning & Development platform

Employee assistance helpline

Cycle-to-work scheme

Bus pass

Generous holiday allowance

Wellbeing and fundraising activities

Job summary

BHT Sussex is recruiting a Mental Health Service Manager to support the Lived Experience workstream within Pathfinder West Sussex. The role is based in West Sussex with hybrid working and regular travel around the area, contracted as a permanent position at 37 hours per week.

The role focuses on embedding co-production across services, with a strong emphasis on lived experience perspectives and collaboration with partners to drive continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Lived experience of mental health challenges used to drive service improvement.
• Experience representing client views or acting as a group facilitator or Peer Mentor.
• Proven ability to build partnerships with voluntary and statutory organisations.
• Knowledge of local agencies providing mental health services.
• Understanding of coproduction involvement and engagement best practice.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and guidance on co-production across Pathfinder services.
• Represent lived experience on strategic groups and forums.
• Lead collection and analysis of client feedback and outcomes.

Skills

Lived experience leadership

Group facilitator

Peer Mentor

Partnership building

Coproduction knowledge

Job description

Mental Health Service Manager

If you have lived experience of mental health challenges and the ability to translate your experience into meaningful service improvement, we want to hear from you.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Mental Health Service Manager to play a vital role in providing support in Pathfinder West Sussex.

This is a new and exciting role in which you will be supporting the Lived Experience workstream within the Pathfinder West Sussex Mental Health Support Service.

Position: Mental Health Service Manager (Internal Job Title: Lived Experience Manager)
Location: West Sussex/hybrid (with regular travel around West Sussex)
Salary: £36,729 per annum
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 37 hours per week (Monday – Friday)
Closing Date: 14 October 2026 at 23:59

About Pathfinder West Sussex

As a Mental Health Service Manager, you will be working for a people-led organisation whose mission and values is to inspire change across Sussex. Pathfinder West Sussex is a partnership of mental health, homelessness and employment support organisations working together to improve people’s wellbeing across the county.

Co-production is at the heart of everything we do. This role will be instrumental in supporting staff and subcontractors to embed co-production principles and continuously enhance the way we deliver services.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and expert guidance on co-production across Pathfinder services, including line management of the Lived Experience Lead and partnership working with lived experience colleagues across West Sussex Mind.
• Provide lived experience representation on strategic groups and forums.
• Lead on the collection and analysis of client feedback and outcomes and link with SPFT lived experience groups and the West Sussex LEAG.
• To support the Senior Manager in delivering the strategic direction of the service, ensuring service development and continuous improvement are informed and shaped by lived experience perspectives.

About You

To be successful in the role of Mental Health Service Manager, you will need to have great communication skills and be committed to the values of BHT Sussex. Some of the key skills and experience you will need to bring with you include:

• Lived experience of mental health challenges and a track record of using personal experience to support continuous service improvement.
• Experience of representing for client views or experience as a group facilitator or Peer Mentor.
• Experience of establishing, developing and maintaining effective working relationships with voluntary and statutory partners.
• Knowledge of local agencies that provide services to people experiencing mental health.
• Knowledge of coproduction involvement and engagement best practice.

The role covers the service area of West Sussex and as such we need someone who lives within a commutable distance of the area.

In Return

BHT Sussex is proud to have Gold Accreditation from Investors in People, be a Disability Confident employer, and part of the Mental Health at Work commitment.

You will also receive:

• 5.5% stakeholder pension scheme and life assurance
• Medical cash plan with BHSF
• Access to Learning & Development platform
• Free and confidential employee assistance helpline
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Free 28-day Network Saver Brighton bus pass (new starters)
• Generous holiday allowance (starting at 27 days and rising to 32 with service)
• Opportunities to participate in wellbeing and fundraising activities throughout the year

BHT Sussex is an equal opportunities employer, committed to equality, equity, inclusion, and diversity. Applications are welcomed from individuals with lived experience. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments if invited to interview.

Please Note: An Enhanced with Adults DBS check will be required for this role.

Lived experience of mental health challenges is an occupational requirement for this role under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010. The role requires the postholder to draw upon their personal experience to provide leadership, influence service development, promote co-production, and ensure the voices of people with lived experience are embedded in the design and delivery of services.