Perinatal Community Support Worker

Integrated Care System; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 27,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Gloucester is seeking a Perinatal Community Support Worker to provide essential support to women during pregnancy and after birth. This part-time role involves working closely with families facing moderate to severe mental health challenges. The ideal candidate will have strong communication skills and a background in mental health support. Full training will be provided for those new to the perinatal mental health field.

Qualifications

• Experience working in a community mental health setting.
• Experience working in perinatal mental health.

Responsibilities

• Provide support and education to women with moderate to severe perinatal mental health problems.
• Contribute to holistic community assessments focusing on parent-infant relationships.
• Work flexibly with families and carers in the community.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Support for individuals with moderate to severe mental health difficulties

Education

NVQ level 3 or equivalent

Competency based training in mental health or social care

Job description

Go back Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Perinatal Community Support Worker

The closing date is 07 August 2025

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, passionate and motivated community support worker to join our well established Perinatal Mental Health Team.

This role is offered on a permanent basis. The hours are part-time, 30 hours per week.

The Gloucestershire Perinatal Community Mental Health Team currently provides mental health support and services for women and their families during pregnancy and up to 2 years after birth.

The successful post holder will be an integral part of the service providing support for women and their families in the perinatal period.

The team prioritises women with serious and complex mental health needs including those who have experienced serious mental health episodes in the past and are currently well. We also provide specialist consultation, training and advice to a range of mental health, maternity and primary health services.

We are looking for an individual with a special interest in improving care for women and their families. Experience of working in the Perinatal Mental Health field is desirable but not essential as full training and support will be provided.

All applicants must have excellent communication skills, experienced in supporting individuals with moderate to severe mental health difficulties and their families, in a community setting.

Main duties of the job

Under the supervision of the care coordinator, the post holder will provide support and education to defined caseload of women with moderate to severe perinatal mental health problems, and those with pre-existing severe mental health disorders to help promote well-being, promote mother-infant relationships and reduce risk, during a vulnerable time for women's mental health. They will contribute to holistic community assessments, in a range of settings, with a strong emphasis on the parent-infant relationship and safeguarding. The post holder will actively work with families and carers in their home and in the community working flexibly and will offer practical support and advice based on the identified needs of service users and their children.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

About us

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Job responsibilities

The successful post holder will, under the direction and supervision of a senior clinician, assist in the provision of care and treatment.

Demonstrate skills in developing a therapeutic relationship and enable mothers to achieve their individual recovery goals.

Will accurately record service user information in the care records, recognise and identify any concerns and promptly communicate this with senior clinician.

Provide support to carers and families of the women we work with.

Develop an awareness and links with a wide range of services that support women and their families with mental health issues.

Assist care co-ordinators and key workers to assess, plan, implement and evaluate individual care plans

This role is not eligible for sponsorship as per the Governments UK VISA and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information please visit https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

Person Specification

Qualifications

• NVQ level 3 or equivalent
• Competency based training in mental health or social care

Experience

• Experience working in a community mental health setting
• Experience working in perinatal mental health

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer name

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

£24,937 to £26,598 a yearper annum (pro rata)