Role Title: Mental Health Coach - Black Mental Health*
Hours: 22.5 hours per week (part-time)
Contract: Permanent, starting April 2026
Salary: £29,446.79 per annum (full-time equivalent, pro rata)
Base: African Community School, Hackney, E8 3DL
Accountable to: ACS Senior Programme Manager and Project Officer
Functional supervision: Wellbeing Network Operations Manager
DBS Requirement: Enhanced DBS with children and adults barred list
*This post is exempt under Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010 (Genuine Occupational Requirement). Applicants must be of African or African Caribbean heritage.
About African Community School
African Community School (ACS) is a registered charity based in Hackney, established in 2000. Our vision is a city where everyone can fulfil their potential and live free from poverty and social exclusion.
ACS works holistically with children, young people aged 5-16, adults, and families, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds or at risk of underachievement and social exclusion. We deliver OCR and NCFE-accredited education and training programmes, alongside supplementary education for Key Stages 1-4, youth development activities, family learning, cultural programmes, mentoring, and wellbeing support.
We actively promote community cohesion by ensuring that our services are inclusive and accessible to people from all ethnic backgrounds within the community. Our wellbeing activities support the physical and mental health of parents, carers, and children. By creating safe spaces for learning, connection, and support, we help reduce isolation and strengthen healthier family relationships.
Our work primarily supports children and young people from global majority communities, using a holistic, whole-family approach. This means we not only support young people academically but also provide opportunities for their parents and carers through:
* Adult learning courses
* Parenting programmes
* Health and wellbeing activities
This integrated approach enables young people to thrive in their education while empowering parents and carers to gain new skills, confidence, and qualifications that benefit the whole family.
About the Wellbeing Network
ACS is a partner organisation within the City and Hackney Wellbeing Network, a multi-agency programme led by Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest (Mind CHWF). The Wellbeing Network delivers an outcomes-based model of mental health support across the City of London and Hackney, taking a trauma-informed, person-centred and compassion-focused approach that honours intersectionality, representation and diversity.
Job Purpose
To provide person-centred one-to-one key-working and group psychosocial support to adults and young people with mental health challenges, based within ACS as part of the integrated Wellbeing Network team. The postholder will manage a caseload of complex clients, co-produce care and recovery plans, facilitate therapeutic and psychoeducational groups, and co-ordinate access to wider network services. The postholder will receive regular clinical and management supervision and will function as part of the cross-network blended team.
Key working relationships: Wellbeing Network Operations Manager, ACS Senior Programme Manager, ACS Project Officer, Mental Health Coaches, Wellbeing Network Facilitators, external partners and shared care providers.
Value-based Recruitment:
We know that for various reasons, not everybody who can successfully perform in a role, performs their best under traditional interview/selection procedures. We are therefore seeking ways to further breakdown barriers in our recruitment & selection process.
Shorted-listed candidates will be provided with some questions to help them prepare for the interview.
How to apply:
Please press the apply button
To be considered for this post, we need to receive the following:
1. Cover Letter
2. A copy of your latest CV.
Please note that if we do not receive the two documents listed above then we may not consider you for the role.
Once you have completed the application form, please click here and upload it along with your latest CV.
The closing date is by 8th April 2026, however, please do not delay applying as this advert may close before the stated deadline if we find a suitable applicant for the role.
We are a disability confident employer. All applicants with a disability, who meet the minimum essential short-listing criteria are guaranteed an interview. If this applies to you, please let us know in your application.
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