Technical Instructor

NHS; Norwich; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in Norwich is seeking a Technical Instructor to support the mental health recovery of service users. The role involves facilitating physical activities, working closely with healthcare professionals, and helping patients enhance overall wellbeing. A Foundation Degree in sports and fitness training is required, along with the ability to engage effectively with individuals facing mental health challenges. Competitive salary and extensive benefits are offered.

Benefits

Comprehensive training programmes

Career progression

Starting annual leave of 27 days

NHS discounts

Responsibilities

• Support service users in undertaking physical activity.
• Facilitate time away from the unit to access community resources.
• Observe and assess general behaviour and response of patients.

Skills

Ability to teach/transfer knowledge to a wide variety of people

PMA, Safeguarding and Suicide Training

Basic knowledge of computers

Education

Foundation Degree or equivalent in sports and fitness training

Job description

Here at Hellesdon Hospital we have an exiting opportunity for you to join our team as a Technical Instructor. This is a role which service users consistently identify as having a positive impact upon their recovery and their experiences in mental health inpatient services.

We feel this is an excellent time to join us because in January 2025 we opened our brand new gym and outdoor sports facility!

This post is specifically to work along side an Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist and the wider MDT to deliver a wide range of 1-1 and group interventions to our patients. A minimum qualification of a Level 2 Gym Instructor would be required. You will support people currently on the ward to engage in conversations or engage practically to help them maintain or improve their physical health and their overall wellbeing.

Main duties of the job

You will be based in the Therapy Team which work across all 5 acute wards and a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Hellesdon Hospital. In this role you will be required to be based across 2 wards across to support service users in undertaking physical activity, but will be expected to help cover for other wards during periods of leave for other Technical Instructors.

You will also be encouraged to facilitate time away from the unit with some individuals in order to access community resources and engage with nature.

A relevant qualification in Occupational Assistant therapies or a foundation degree is essential for this post, in addition to a level 2 Gym Instructor qualification.

You will be expected to observe and assess general behaviour, functional ability and response of patients during therapeutic activities.

Report patient observation and assessment to the appropriate clinical ward-based team.

Attend patient clinical meetings, as deemed appropriate by your Line Manager.

It is essential you can work as part of a team in order for us to provide evidence based interventions for the people we support.

You will require effective communications skills as you will be working with lot of individuals with complex mental health and physical health needs.

About us

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you'll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We're an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Benefits included with this role are:-

• a comprehensive in house & external training programmes
• career progression
• starting annual leave of 27 days per annum increasing to 33 days pa based on length of service (plus paid bank holidays)
• NHS discounts and many more.

Job responsibilities

We are looking for someone with an interest and background in mental health care to work with existing staff to help drive our standards upwards. Whilst the primary focus is on those who have experience of working in adult inpatient mental health environments, we would also welcome applications from those who may have less experience in this specific field but feel that their existing knowledge and skills can bring something special to our staff teams.We value life skills, lived experience and a commitment to work with us to meet the needs of the ward. We are keen to integrate individuals existing skills into the services we are able to provide, as well as supporting personal and professional development through additional training.If you are someone who relishes a challenge, works well under pressure and likes to be part of a great team then we would welcome your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Foundation Degree or equivalent in sports and fitness training.

Experience

• Experience working with a wide range of mental health clients

Skills

• Ability to teach/transfer knowledge to a wide variety of people.
• PMA, Safeguarding and Suicide Training
• Basic knowledge of computers

Knowledge

• An understanding of mental health problems

Other

• Flexible, adaptable to change.
• Common sense and initiative.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£27,485 to £30,162 a yeargross per annum