Enhanced Support Worker

Look Ahead; London; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

Look Ahead seeks a compassionate Enhanced Support Worker for the Islington Mental Health Accommodation Pathway, providing care to individuals with complex needs. The role involves building supportive relationships, conducting assessments, and offering recovery-focused interventions, all in a collaborative environment that prioritizes diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Annual Leave

Pension Schemes

Staff Discounts

Healthcare

Career Progression

Qualifications

• Experience in social care/charity sector.
• Experience in trauma, mental health, and dual diagnosis support.
• Strong partnerships with external providers.

Responsibilities

• Building supportive relationships with customers and partners.
• Conducting holistic assessments.
• Leading therapeutic and recovery-focused interactions.

Skills

Interpersonal Skills

Resilience

Communication

Customer-focused

IT Literacy

Education

NVQ Level or equivalent in relevant area

Job description

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We’re looking for a kind, compassionate, and resilient Enhanced Support Worker to join our Islington Mental Health Accommodation Pathway service in Islington.

Salary: £[amount], per annum, working hours per week. Benefits include days of Annual Leave, pension schemes, staff discounts, healthcare, and career progression.

Want to feel like you have an exciting future? You’ll feel at home here.
Making you feel at home here means helping you thrive in every way. That’s why we offer a wide range of benefits, award-winning Learning & Development, and a culture that welcomes all. These aren’t token gestures - we’ve thought long and hard about how best to support our team. After all, our people are doing something amazing: helping to transform lives every day.

Islington Mental Health Accommodation Pathway provides support to people living with various mental health conditions and complex needs. The service consists of a [number]-hour supported accommodation service, and medium-low supported accommodation services across the borough of Islington. Enhanced Support Workers will work across services.

When working with individuals with complex needs, who may display challenging, chaotic behaviors, regularly testing boundaries and have experienced multiple traumas as a result of abuse, neglect, street homelessness, or long stays in mental health hospitals, it is essential that the postholder is motivated to support individuals to progress. They should continually hold aspirations for individuals despite setbacks, and display emotional resilience, able to process challenging incidents and remain motivated to deliver excellent support.

Enhanced Support Workers within Look Ahead are required to have either an additional dimension of experience or a higher qualification level as relevant for the post.

You will provide information, social inclusion, and vocational opportunities to support people to recover and stay well; exercise choice and control in their care and lives; and participate on an equal footing in the community. Provision of care and support is also provided to develop a model of re-enablement towards self-advocacy, self-management, and empowerment, incorporating principles of recovery, co-production, and peer support. Post holders will deliver trauma-informed and asset-based support to a caseload of [number] service users with needs aligned to their specialism.

You will work flexibly to respond to emerging needs and effectively address the needs of the customer group. This role includes working bank holidays, weekends, and national holidays.

This role requires a valid Right to Work for the UK, as Look Ahead is not a sponsoring organization.

What you’ll do:

This list is not exhaustive and is subject to change based on the needs of Look Ahead.

• Building supportive, trusting relationships with customers and external partners, creating a positive atmosphere
• Carrying out holistic assessments of new customers, incorporating relevant statutory referral information
• Conducting regular key work sessions that are innovative and engaging to achieve Support Plan goals
• Key-working the most complex service-users with needs aligned to the post holder’s specialism
• Creating risk management and support plans based on ongoing assessments to enable customer progress
• Ensuring ongoing assessment and management of risks associated with customers, adopting a ‘positive risk-taking’ approach
• Providing support and access to relevant services to aid recovery and empower customers to self-manage medication regimes
• Undertaking support work in partnership with external stakeholders to complement their interventions
• Upskilling staff in specific areas of expertise
• Developing productive relationships with partner organizations to improve service outcomes
• Supporting colleagues to provide high-quality service and safety
• Involving customers in the design, development, and delivery of the service
• Adhering to lone working protocols and health and safety policies
• Ensuring timely handovers of key information between shifts
• Providing structured support and guidance to other front-line staff
• Leading groups and activities, offering therapeutic and recovery-focused interactions
• Performing any other duties as assigned by the Team Leader/Service Manager
• Upholding all health and safety responsibilities and policies
• Maintaining accurate files, databases, and electronic handovers
• Attending team meetings and training sessions

About you:

• A strong leader with excellent interpersonal skills
• Socially adept, well-connected, and influential in the sector
• Approachable, professional, assertive, and independent-minded
• Resilient with a positive attitude
• Respectful, articulate, and sensitive communicator
• Passionate about the work and motivated for excellence
• Customer-focused
• IT literate
• Applications from individuals with lived experience of using services are welcome

What you’ll bring:

• Up to NVQ Level or equivalent in a relevant area (e.g., Psychology, Health and Social Care, Mental Health) or experience in social care/charity sector
• Experience building and developing strong professional partnerships with external providers
• IT literacy
• Years of targeted recovery-focused support experience around trauma, mental health, substance use, and dual diagnosis

About us:

Look Ahead is a leading, not-for-profit care and support provider in London and the South East. We deliver over [number] services, supporting around [number] customers annually. Our work spans mental health, homelessness, youth, and learning disabilities, offering many opportunities for growth and career development.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare and expect all employees to share this commitment.

If your application is unsuccessful, but suitable for another role, we may contact you for alternative opportunities, without requiring a new application. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if filled.

We value diversity and inclusion, are accredited with Silver in the Inclusive Employers Standard, and are members of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant. We encourage applications from all backgrounds.