Role Summary

NdCare and the Neuro Inclusion Project are building systems designed to reduce distress, fragmentation, and harm for neurodivergent people navigating care, work, and complex services.

We are seeking a Care Navigator / Triage Lead to act as the first human point of contact within the NdCare ecosystem.

This role is not about processing people quickly.
It is about helping people feel safe enough to continue.

Purpose of the Role

The Care Navigator exists to:

• Provide emotionally safe first contact
• Reduce overwhelm at points of entry
• Support people through uncertain or delayed pathways
• Create continuity in systems that usually fragment experience

If this role is done well, people feel less alone — even when answers are not immediate.

Key Responsibilities

1. First-Contact Safety & Triage

• Act as an initial point of contact for ND individuals engaging with NdCare
• Provide calm, clear, non-shaming communication
• Identify immediate risks or safeguarding concerns and escalate appropriately
• Set realistic expectations without dismissing distress

2. Pathway Navigation & Continuity

• Help individuals understand options, next steps, and timelines
• Support navigation across therapy, digital tools, research, or external services
• Maintain continuity where people might otherwise fall through gaps

3. Waiting-List & Uncertainty Support

• Provide supportive check-ins during waits
• Reduce distress caused by silence, ambiguity, or system delay
• Offer grounding, orientation, and clarity — not false reassurance

4. Boundary & Scope Protection

• Maintain clear role boundaries (this is not therapy)
• Know when to refer, escalate, or step back
• Work closely with the Clinical Director and Lead Therapist on safety thresholds

5. System Feedback

• Identify common points of confusion, distress, or breakdown
• Advocate for changes that reduce harm upstream

Feed insights back into:

• pathway design
• product UX
• service improvements

What This Role Is Not

• It is not a call-centre or admin role
• It is not crisis therapy
• It is not about fixing broken systems alone
• It is not expected to absorb unlimited emotional labour

This role prioritises clarity, containment, and care.

Equity, Time & Structure

• Compensation: Equity only (shares or options)
• Equity range: ~0.25–0.75%
• Vesting: 3–4 years (structure to be agreed)
• Time commitment: ~1 day per week initially
• Review point: 6 months
• Salary transition: On pathway funding or contracts

Who This Role Is For

This role may suit someone who:

• Has experience in care navigation, advocacy, support work, or lived-experience roles
• Is calm, empathic, and able to hold uncertainty
• Understands neurodivergence and emotional dysregulation
• Can maintain boundaries without becoming detached
• Values continuity and relational safety

Formal clinical qualifications are not required, but training and supervision will be provided.

What We Explicitly Welcome

• Neurodivergent candidates
• Lived-experience-informed perspectives
• Flexible working styles
• Honest conversations about capacity and emotional load

We will provide reflective support and supervision to protect wellbeing.

Why This Role Matters

Most harm in care systems does not happen in treatment.
It happens between steps.

The Care Navigator reduces:

• drop-out
• escalation
• shame
• isolation

By doing something deceptively simple:
being present, clear, and human.