Gym Instructor

Job overview

As a Fitness Instructor you will work closely with the Occupational Therapy and Recreation Team to create opportunities for individuals with acute mental health problems to engage in meaningful activity. By facilitating practical activity groups and individual sessions, you will contribute towards a balanced therapeutic programme, providing service-users with appropriate challenges while maintaining a safe environment.

The post frequently involves working alone in a group setting and the post holder will be supervised in order to promote social inclusion, enabling independence, and enhancing the autonomy of the service user. This will involve initiating and sustaining a respectful, consistent and reliable therapeutic relationship with service users that enhances their ability to build social networks and work in partnership with other agencies.

The service also aims to promote resilience with people in an acute part of their illness to be supported in their homes and communities to prevent admission to hospital wherever possible

Main duties of the job

.2         Develop a working knowledge of the recovery ethos.

.3         Build awareness of the recovery philosophy and the social inclusion agenda, promoting autonomy and enabling choice.

.4         Plan and carry out individual and group interventions within a specific remit (e.g., sporting, creative, or technical activities).

.5         Undertake a range of activities, working flexibly in accordance with the needs of service-users and the service as a whole.

.6         Maintain dedicated time for practical groups and demonstrate effective time management when preparing activities and writing notes.

7     Report any changes in occupational functioning that may indicate either positive or negative effects of treatment.

.8     Ensure that assessment and treatment is delivered in a person centred manner ensuring the gender, sexual orientation, ethnic, cultural and spiritual needs of service users are adhered to.

.9     Use effective interpersonal skills that relate to service users, carers and team members on an equal and respectful basis.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Requires practical qualification (e.g. BTEC, City and Guilds, NVQ 3 or equivalent.
• Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer qualification.
• Relevant training and experience in fitness instructing.
• Experience of independently planning, preparing and facilitating groups in specified activity.
• Awareness of mental health issues.
• Ability to provide instruction with tact and persuasion, receive sensitive information and record observations objectively.
• Technical knowledge required for specific work area.
• Physical fitness required for leading a range of activities requiring accuracy.
• Planning and organisational problem-solving skills for a range of activities requiring formulation and adjustment of plans or strategies.
• Experience of working in an occupational therapy setting is desirable.
• Experience of working in a mental health setting is desirable.
• Experience of customer care is desirable.
• Having a range of activity skills within or beyond specific area of work.
• Experience of training people in fitness programmes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent Organisational Skills
• Ability to work as part of a team

Ability to prioritise and work to the required standards within defined time limits.