Contract:

Fixed Term (until August 2030) | Part-time | Salary £35,000 per year – £17,500 0.5 FTE | Location: Brixton, London flexible working available.

Deadline:

Wednesday 15th of July 2026 at 12:29 PM

Contract:

Full-time | 37.5 hours (flexible working available) | £30,500 | 2 Year Contract | Location: Lambeth

Purpose of the role

The CAPSA (Culturally Appropriate Peer Support and Advocacy) Worker role has been specifically designed to support Black people using the secondary mental health system. As a CAPSA Worker, you will provide both Generic Mental Health Advocacy and Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) to eligible individuals, including people detained under the Mental Health Act(MHA) 1983/2007, conditionally discharged restricted patients, those under Guardianship, and those on Community Treatment orders, as well as individuals considered for section 57 treatments.

You will play a key role in ensuring that the perspectives of Black service users are recognised and respected, addressing their unique and multiple needs, and promoting access to advocacy for all eligible individuals. You will raise awareness of advocacy, rights under the MHA, and the CAPSA service among professionals, individuals, and agencies.

In addition to direct advocacy, you will contribute to service development by supporting an effective administration system and helping evaluate the impact of advocacy for both service users and commissioners.

As part of CAPSA’s race-led approach to systems change, you will also help challenge systemic racism in mental health services, embed culturally competent practice, and promote equitable care within South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM).

Job summary

Black Thrive Lambeth has developed a co-designed, culturally appropriate peer support and advocacy service (CAPSA) on behalf of the Living Well Network Alliance (LWNA). CAPSA provides support to Black community members with mental health needs through peer support and advocacy, led by individuals with lived experience or lived understanding of mental health challenges. The service creates a space where experiences are respected, accepted, and valued equally.

The role involves building positive relationships with Black service users; offering one-to-one and group advocacy; supporting self-advocacy; gathering and sharing information to inform decision-making; and preparing monitoring reports and feedback. Advocates ensure that the views, wishes, and needs of Black service users are heard and acknowledged, addressing the impact of racism within traditional mental health services.

Duties and responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Advocacy & Support for Black Service Users

• Work with individual Black service users to provide culturally informed advocacy, support, and representation to assist them in decision-making related to their care, treatment, and legal status.
• You will manage a caseload of up to 10 clients.
• This will consist of weekly meetings with clients and supporting them around their care in the mental health system, this will be both within inpatient services and CMHTs (Community Mental Health Teams) as well as in the community.
• Support Black service users in developing and maintaining their cultural identity by identifying strengths and advocating for culturally relevant mental health interventions.
• Develop trusting relationships with Black service users within appropriate boundaries to help them express their mental health needs.
• Assist service users in preparing for meetings, attend appointments with them if required, and advocate on their behalf where needed.
• Provide information and updates on the progress of advocacy issues and ensure clients understand proceedings.

Culturally Informed Peer Support & Recovery

• Use lived experience and cultural understanding to promote positive self-esteem and recovery through a culturally informed peer support model.
• Provide practical guidance to Black service users, and where appropriate, their carers, on self-care, resilience strategies, and managing mental health within a race equality framework.
• Promote service user involvement by empowering individuals to communicate their culturally lived experiences and mental health needs to professionals.
• Challenge peer support models, stigma, and discriminatory practices that fail to recognise the cultural needs of Black service users.

Community Engagement & Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work collaboratively with key stakeholders and community members to develop a culturally informed advocacy and peer support model.
• Establish regular advocacy ‘drop-ins’ on wards and in the community, ensuring accessibility for Black service users.
• Signpost service users to culturally relevant community, inpatient, and online resources, as well as mainstream and specialist services.
• Liaise with, and when necessary, challenge NHS professionals, care teams, and local authorities to ensure due process and cultural competence in service delivery.
• To maintain a level of professionalism in all spaces always.

Role Expectations

• Maintain confidentiality, respect service users’ right to privacy, and ensure their dignity is always upheld.
• Keep accurate and timely records of advocacy and peer support work, providing regular verbal and written reports to the line manager.
• Attend team meetings, participate in one-to-one supervision, group supervision sessions, and complete mandatory training in peer support and other job-related areas.
• Raise safeguarding concerns following organisational policies and procedures.

GENERAL

• To attend and participate in meetings held by the CAPSA team and other bodies as required.
• To maintain records of hours worked and to complete accurate expense returns.
• To foster and develop an equality and diversity approach within the role, in line with Black Thrive’
• To promote the service through the distribution of publicity materials, liaising with statutory and voluntary services, and, where appropriate, through the media and presentations to local groups within the agreed company policies.
• To promote the role of advocates both within the Living Well Network Alliance (LWNA) and externally.
• To work well as part of the team in a way that promotes inclusivity and respect in a supportive environment.
• The above is not an exhaustive list of duties, and you will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by your changing role within the organisation and the overall business objectives of the organisation.  

Qualities Required

Each quality is marked as either E (Essential) or D (Desirable).

Experience (E/D)

1. Understanding and/or experience of mental health legislation and the Mental Health journey process in numerous settings – E
2. Lived experience of racism or discrimination in wider society and in the provision of mental health services – E
3. Experience of identifying and meeting the needs of individual people – E
4. Experience and ability to develop and maintain relationships with various stakeholders – E
5. A commitment to working in an anti-racist and anti-oppressive way – E
6. Confidence in challenging stigma and discrimination within structural settings – E
7. Experience of working in an advocacy or healthcare setting – D

Knowledge and Skills (E/D)

1. Understanding and knowledge of assessment of needs – E
2. Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences – E
3. Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, including via telephone, in person, over video link, and through presentations, demonstrating confidence and assertiveness – E
4. Emotional resilience and the ability to cope with sometimes challenging people and environments – E
5. Ability to work flexibly to meet varying demands on the service – E
6. Good organisational skills, including timekeeping and ability to travel to different locations – E
7. Excellent computer literacy and a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office – E
8. An understanding and awareness of The Equality Act 2010 – E
9. Ability to act calmly and respond professionally to distress, disturbance, and unpredictability – E
10. Ability to work independently on own initiative and prioritise workload while working as part of a team – E
11. Commitment to learning through work-based learning and mandatory training – E
12. Knowledge of mental health legislation such as MHA 1983/2007, MCA 2017 – D
13. Understanding of the specific role, purpose, and responsibilities of an Independent Mental Health Advocate – D
14. Knowledge and/or awareness of safeguarding issues – D
15. An additional language (e.g., Portuguese, French, etc.) – D
16. Qualifications in Peer Support / Advocacy – D

We welcome applications specifically from Black people of African and Caribbean heritage, as the statutory requirement of the Equality Act 2010, Advance Equality in Mental Health 2020 and Parent Carer Race Equality Framework 2020, in order to address the importance of Black employee safety. These posts are therefore restricted to Black applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9 and Part 1.

An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be required. Still, we will treat applicants with a criminal record fairly and not unreasonably discriminate because of a conviction or other information revealed.

Contract:

Fixed Term Contract | Full Time | Salary £35 000 – £40,000 | Location: Brixton| Hybrid 

Deadline:

Sunday 16th April 2026

Following a recent round of successful funding, Black Thrive are looking for a highly skilled and community-focused Research & Evaluation Lead to strengthen the evidence and learning functions across the Thriving Futures – Scaling Systems Change programme. This role is central to building a robust understanding of community needs, mental health outcomes, and the impact of systems change activities on Black communities across our localities.

This position requires a researcher with experience in mixed-methods research and who is confident in working both strategically and on the ground in community settings. You will be responsible for developing and implementing evaluation frameworks, gathering high-quality data, and supporting Black Thrive Global and the localities in their own monitoring, learning, and evaluation capacity. Strong relationship-building skills are essential, as much of this role involves working closely with black led organisations, local leaders, and partners across health, voluntary, and statutory sectors.

You will work closely with the Head of Research and Evaluation and the wider Thriving Futures team to design, deliver, and communicate research and evaluation projects that drive learning and improvement. Your work will combine community-based data collection, analysis, inclusive and culturally grounded evaluation methods, and clear reporting that helps us tell the story of our progress and impact.

Black Thrive uses Asana, Microsoft Excel, and a range of qualitative and quantitative tools to track learning, evidence systemic change outcomes, and ensure the programme remains responsive to the needs and priorities of Black communities.

Key responsibilities

Community-Embedded Research & Evaluation

• Lead on-the-ground community-based research activities, including regular engagement with localities, community organisations, grassroots partners, and residents to understand lived experiences, mental health outcomes, and community-identified priorities.
• Conduct mixed-methods community needs assessments to capture changing local conditions, emerging challenges, and gaps in support provision across priority localities.
• Build trusted relationships with community partners to co-design evaluation activities, ensuring methods are culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and accessible to organisations operating in diverse community settings.
• Facilitate participatory research approaches (e.g., community researcher models, participatory action research, peer-led data collection) to ensure the voices of Black communities are embedded in all evaluation work.

Supporting Community Organisations & Localities

• Provide tailored research and evaluation support to Black Thrive localities who delivering the Scaling System Change programme, including helping them develop data collection tools, outcome measures, and monitoring processes that align with Black Thrive’s frameworks.
• Deliver capacity-building workshops, coaching, and 1:1 support for localities to strengthen their ability to collect, interpret, and use data for programme improvement.
• Support localities in implementing mixed-methods approaches, including the design of short surveys, interview guides, focus groups, observational tools, and community feedback mechanisms.
• Work collaboratively with local organisations to interpret findings and co-generate learning that strengthens community-led decision-making and informs systemic change.

Scaling Systems Change Programme Evaluation

• Lead the development of Scaling Systems Change and support in shaping the programmatic evaluation for the Scaling Systems Change programme, including identifying community-relevant indicators, data sources, and measurement approaches that reflect both outcomes and structural shifts.
• Develop and refine theories of change and logic models in collaboration with programme teams and community stakeholders.
• Oversee the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data related to the Scaling Systems Change programme, synthesising insights into evaluative conclusions and strategic recommendations.
• Track progress on system-level outcomes and community-driven indicators, ensuring alignment with Black Thrive Global’s race equity mission and systems change goals.

Data Collection, Analysis & Insight Generation

• Conduct qualitative data collection (e.g., interviews, focus groups, reflective sessions, community conversations) and apply rigorous, culturally informed qualitative analysis techniques.
• Integrate primary and secondary datasets—community-level statistics, organisational monitoring data, local authority data, and service delivery datasets—into comprehensive evaluations.
• Ensure high-quality documentation and coding of qualitative datasets using recognised analytical frameworks.

Reporting, Learning & Dissemination

• Produce high-quality annual research and evaluation reports, local evaluation and research summaries, dashboards, and accessible materials for community partners and stakeholders.
• Translate complex data and findings into clear, actionable insights tailored to policymakers, community organisations, funders, and residents.
• Facilitate feedback loops and learning events with partners to discuss findings, share learning, and identify opportunities for adaptation and improvement.
• Contribute to internal strategic learning by presenting insights to senior leaders, programme teams, and key partners.

Ethics, Governance & Quality Assurance

• Ensure ethical, safe, and culturally competent research practice, especially when working with communities disproportionately affected by systemic racism and mental health inequalities.
• Maintain robust data governance systems suitable for community-based and multi-organisation research environments.
• The above is not an exhaustive list of duties, and you will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by your changing role within the organisation and the overall business objectives of the organisation.

Personal Specification

Essential Criteria

• Ability to carry out community-based data collection (interviews, focus groups, surveys) and basic analysis both quantitative and qualitative.
• Competence in using basic data tools (Excel) for organising and summarising data.
• Strong facilitation skills for participatory approaches (e.g., supporting in Black community researchers).
• Good written and verbal communication skills to present findings clearly
• Ability to build trusting relationships with grassroots organisations and Black people, community leaders from Lambeth, Haringey and Birmingham.
• Good level of understanding of supporting Black people, including trauma-informed and anti-racist approaches.
• Knowledge and understanding of research ethics and GDPR practices including data protection and data sharing.
• Experience conducting qualitative research (e.g., interviews, focus groups) in community settings.
• Have a university degree or equivalent.
• Understanding of race equity issues and mental health inequalities affecting Black communities.
• Awareness of ethical research practices and safeguarding when working with vulnerable groups.
• Experience working with community organisations or grassroots groups.
• Experience producing clear summaries or reports for non-technical audiences.
• Commitment to race equity and social justice.
• Collaborative, approachable, and adaptable.
• Organised and able to manage multiple tasks.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience supporting community-led research projects.
• Familiarity with basic evaluation frameworks or monitoring tools.
• Knowledge of participatory research principles.
• Ability to use simple data visualisation tools (e.g., Canva, Power BI basics).
• Previous involvement in capacity-building activities (training or coaching).
• Degree in social sciences, public health, or related field (or equivalent experience).

To apply, please submit a CV and a cover letter (no longer than 2 pages) via CharityJobs

This will be a two stage interview process.

The first interview will take place on Tuesday, 28th April 2026, and the second Interview will take place on Tuesday 5th May 2026.