About the role
Support for adults living with mental ill health, in supported accommodation, hospital step-down services or community teams.
These are the criteria providers across the UK typically set for this role, so you can judge your own fit before you apply anywhere. Individual services vary — any role we put you forward for will have its own criteria, pay and rota, and we confirm those with the provider first.
What the role usually involves
- Work to a recovery-focused support plan and review it with the person, not about them
- Support practical stability — tenancy, benefits, appointments, budgeting, food and medication prompts
- Recognise when someone is becoming unwell and escalate early to the clinical or on-call team
- De-escalate calmly, and record incidents accurately including the near misses
- Liaise with community mental health teams, housing officers, GPs and family where consent allows
Typical criteria
- Experience of mental health support, whether paid, voluntary or lived and reflected on
- Understanding of risk, safeguarding and confidentiality in a mental health setting
- The judgement to hold a boundary while staying warm — the balance most services interview hardest on
- Reliability across a rota that may include lone working and waking nights
- Willingness to work towards a Level 2 or 3 qualification if you do not hold one
Often asked for as well
Not usually dealbreakers, but they widen the range of services that will consider you.
- Working knowledge of the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and care programme arrangements
- Breakaway, de-escalation or suicide-prevention training
- Experience of dual diagnosis, substance misuse or forensic step-down services
Hours and pay
Full-time and part-time on a rota. Many services run waking nights rather than sleep-ins, and some involve lone working.
Forensic, step-down and complex-needs services pay above general supported accommodation, and lone-working nights usually carry an enhancement.
Checks and eligibility
- An enhanced DBS check on the relevant barred list, or a current one on the update service we can check
- The right to work in the UK — we are not a licensed sponsor, so we cannot offer visa sponsorship or take over an existing certificate
- A full employment history with references covering it, including one from your most recent care employer
- Proof of identity and address, plus evidence of any qualification or professional registration the role depends on