Expert by Experience Project Worker (MHELO) and Rethink Forum Participant

Project Worker – 3 hours per week:

We are seeking one project worker with lived experience of mental illness for our MHELO project.

MHELO (mental health experience led opportunities) is a network for people with lived experience of mental health. We run engagement activities, consultation sessions and events.

The project worker will work with the coordinator, the chairs and volunteers to plan and deliver peer-led engagement activities to gather the views and experiences of those with lived experience of mental ill health. This will include focus groups, surveys, and community-based events.

Rethink Forum Participant:

We are looking for up to 5 Experts by Experience (EBEs) with lived experience of severe and enduring mental ill health (SMI), each working 8 days per year as a Rethink Forum Participant.

Each Forum Participant would represent a locality (or multiple localities, provided that the Forum Participant can demonstrate a good understanding and links to each locality).

The localities are Cheltenham, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, the Forest of Dean, Stroud and the Cotswolds. Forum meetings are held by Rethink in each of the localities.

Forum Participants would attend the forum meetings, which are run by Rethink. These are run quarterly (every 3 months) in each locality. These are strategic forums thinking about things to change, opportunities for systemic change and better lives for people with SMI.

A Coordinator may attend the first forum meeting with the Forum Participant but the following three they will attend alone.

At forum meetings, Forum Participants will be expected to contribute thoughts, reflections and ideas that reflect the priorities of people living with mental health needs in those localities. This is to help the mental health system in Gloucestershire to be joined up, identify provision and training gaps and to co-produce solutions to problems.

Inbetween forum meetings, Forum Participants will need to engage with networks to ensure that they understand priorities for people in their locality. This role is ideally intended as an additional role for someone who is already working or volunteering around mental ill health so will have some existing networks.

Forum Participants will also attend preparation and debrief meetings on Teams with Rethink Facilitators and contribute to activities outside the Forum meetings such as Inclusion Mapping and sharing information and insights related to Forum topics, with a note about sources, with Facilitators.

Forum Participants will be expected to be able to work independently but will have regular check ins with a Coordinator and will be able to ask for further support or input as needed.

Forum Participants would need to be available to attend all forum meetings for their locality (expected December, March, June, September). Work in between forums can be worked relatively flexibly, to be agreed with the Coordinator. For example, work may be spread out equating to approx. 3 hours per fortnight or may be worked in larger less frequent chunks.

Hours and pay:

Contract: Project Worker – 3 hours per week fixed term until 31 March 2026 with scope for extension dependent on ongoing funding

Forum Participant – 1.5 hours per week per locality represented, fixed term until 30 September 2026
Hourly Rate: £13.78 per hour

Start Date: As soon as possible

When applying please state which roles and how many hours you are applying for, e.g. Project Worker and Rethink Participant representing the Gloucester locality; or Rethink Participant representing Tewkesbury and Forest of Dean localities.

For further details see information to the right of this advert.

Interviews: Thursday 20 th November 2025 (preferably in-person, in our office at Railway House)

For more information see details to the right of this advert. Alternatively, all documents can be downloaded from our website by clicking on Apply Now.

An application form will be included in the Job Pack. We do not accept CVs without an application form.