Assertive Outreach Support Worker

Job summary

Hillingdon, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL)

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Assertive Outreach Team (AOT) as a Band 4 Support Worker.

This is a new and innovative service, designed to support individuals with severe mental illness who are at risk of disengaging from services and require intensive, proactive, community-based support.

This is a community-facing role, where you will work directly with service users in their homes and local environment, helping to maintain engagement and prevent crisis.

Main duties of the job

Working with the Team

Hillingdon Mental Health Service is committed to delivering safe, compassionate and high-quality care across all services.

Our Assertive Outreach Team offers:

The opportunity to work in a new and developing service

A strong focus on engagement, recovery and patient safety

A supportive team environment with clear clinical leadership

Opportunities for development within a growing community mental health model

About us

Our Values:-

Compassion:Our staff will be led by compassion and embody the values of care outlined in our Staff Charter.Respect:We will respect and value the diversity of our patients, service users and staff, to create a respectful and inclusive environment, which recognises the uniqueness of each individual.Empowerment:We will involve, inform and empower our patients, service users, carers and their families to take an active role in the management of their illness and adopt recovery principles.We will ensure our staff receive appropriate direction and support, to enable them to develop and grow.Partnership:We will work closely with our many partners to ensure that our combined efforts are focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for the people we serve.

The Assertive Outreach Team (AOT) role is fundamentally a patient-facing position, focused on engaging and managing individuals who are often reluctant to engage with services. Given the nature of this work, requiring proactive outreach, direct contact, and consistent face-to-face intervention, the role is not suitable for remote or hybrid working arrangements.

Job responsibilities

Person Specification (Summary)

Essential:

Experience supporting individuals with mental health or complex needs

Ability to engage hard-to-reach or vulnerable individuals

Experience of community-based or outreach work

Strong communication and interpersonal skills

Ability to recognise and escalate risk concerns

Driving licence and access to a vehicle for work

Desirable:

Experience in mental health, outreach or crisis services

Understanding of Assertive Outreach or recovery-focused care

Additional Information

Community-based role with regular home visits required

Flexible working may be required to support engagement

Work with a complex, high-risk and often disengaged cohort

If you are passionate about supporting people in the community and making a difference to those who struggle to engage with services, we would welcome your application.

This role is about:

Going out to patients

Maintaining engagement when others disengage

Providing practical support that prevents crisis

Person specification

Education & Qualifications

Essential

• Good general education up to GCSE A level standard / NVQ level 3 (or equivalent experience in health/social care)
• Care Certificate (or willingness to complete)
• Relevant mental health/support worker training

Experience

Essential

• A significant experience supporting people with mental health or complex needs
• Experience working in community or outreach settings
• Experience engaging with hard-to-reach or vulnerable individuals
• Experience working as part of a team or MDT

Desirable

• Knowledge of the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and policies