Recovery Support Worker

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 34,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust is recruiting a full-time Recovery Support Worker for the Rough Sleeping & MH Programme in London. The role focuses on adults with complex mental health needs who are rough sleeping, delivering recovery-focused care in the community across multiple boroughs.

You will support care planning, risk management and independent living, working with clinicians to provide holistic care and facilitate access to health and welfare resources.

Qualifications

• Experience or lived experience with mental health support is essential.
• Demonstrates compassion, empathy, resilience and cultural awareness.
• Ability to build trusting relationships and communicate effectively with individuals.
• Commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion in care.
• Knowledge of local services and community networks is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Provide recovery-focused interventions aligned with care plans.
• Develop positive, non-judgmental relationships with clients.
• Contribute to meaningful care and risk management plans and interventions.
• Participate in team meetings and contribute to recovery-focused service delivery.
• Promote independent living and maintain knowledge of community resources.
• Support patients to access welfare benefits and physical health services.
• Assist patients with daily living skills (shopping, cooking, activities).
• Support patients to monitor health needs in the community on an ongoing basis.

Skills

Mental health support

Compassionate

Empathetic

Resilient

Culturally aware

Communication skills

Equity & inclusion

Local services knowledge

Job description

Main area Rough Sleeping & MH Programme Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract 7 months (fixed term until 31 March 2027) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 294-COMM-8185387-EB-A

Site Elizabeth Newton Building Entrance 2, Springfield University Hospital Town London Salary £34,186 - £37,389 per annum inclusive of Inner London HCAs Salary period Yearly Closing 14/09/2026 23:59

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We provide a full range of local mental health services to the Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth London boroughs, as well as specialist forensic mental health services, including specialised services such as national deaf adults and CAMHS inpatients and OCD.

We are committed to providing high quality integrated health and social care for local people with mental health problems in South West London and more specialist mental health services for people throughout the UK. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ however we aim to be ‘outstanding’.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values; being consistent, compassionate, collaborative, respectful and open is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is "making life better together".

When you join us, you’ll be part of something special – an innovative and rapidly growing organisation that is helping to redefine the Mental Health, education and social care landscape in the UK.

As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full time Recovery Support Worker to join the rough sleeping and mental health community team. The rough sleeping team works with adult rough sleepers predominately aged 18-74 who have moderate to severe mental health conditions and are rough sleeping in the Boroughs of Wandsworth, Richmond, Kingston, Merton, and Sutton. This is currently a fixed term contract until the 31st of March 2027.

You will play a vital role in providing support to individuals experiencing serious mental illness and their families within the community. This position involves addressing diverse needs and facilitating their journey to recovery.

We’re looking for someone who:

• Has lived experience or experience in mental health support.
• Is compassionate, empathetic, resilient, and culturally aware.
• Can build trusting relationships and communicate effectively.
• Is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
• Has knowledge of local services and community networks.

Main duties of the job

Successful applicants will assist qualified clinicians in the team who are working as care coordinators, psychiatrists and psychologists to:

• Provide clearly defined recovery focused interventions, in line with patients’ care plans.
• Be able to develop positive relationships with clients, adopting a pragmatic and non-judgmental approach.
• Contribute to meaningful care plans, risk management plans, and deliver appropriate and therapeutic interventions.
• Actively participate in team meetings including zoning, seeking to provide high-quality services, strongly focused on recovery.
• Positively promote and support independent living for patients in the community by maintaining extensive knowledge and links with community resources and actively supporting patients to access them.
• Enable patients to acquire daily living skills, such as shopping, cooking, accessing community activities etc
• Help patients to gain access to resources and information about welfare benefits.
• Help patients access physical health services and gain skills to monitor their health needs in the community on an on-going basis.

Working for our organisation

Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. Working autonomously in a specialist rough sleeping community mental health team within the parameters of the role leading on implementing the delivery of quality nursing care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual care in a recovery-focused way through therapeutic engagement and activities, and taking steps to address any issues that arise.
2. Leading on and undertaking activities to ensure that the fundamentals of care are met - nutrition, hydration, hygiene, comfort, emotional and social support.
3. Supporting the patients management of care needs through:
   1. b. Monitoring of individual service user / patient progress
   2. c. Feedback and discussion
   3. d. Producing reports and in-care reviews
   4. e. Devising a plan of care and interventions supervised by a Registered Nurse.
4. In a junior leadership role leading on and directing junior to staff in providing hands-on care to service users including:
   1. a. Undertaking 1-1 engagement with service users in an honest, open and non-judgmental way.
   2. b. Recognising and valuing service users as individuals, acknowledging the importance of always maintaining the service user’s respect and dignity and ensure that the care provided respects equality and diversity.
   3. c. Contributing to the development of care plans that reflect service user needs and relevant patient care documentation working in partnership with service users, wider MDT and friends/relatives/significant others.
   4. d. Escalating any concerns to relevant Health Care Professional.
   5. e. Monitoring and recording service user clinical observations, such as physical observations and vital signs and escalating as appropriate any signs or symptoms of deterioration or that do not fulfil the personal parameters to the relevant professional (Registered Nurse or Doctors). Promote healthy lifestyles and give health promotion advice and support.
   6. f. Implementing the principles of ‘recovery’: encouraging and supporting service users to engage with healthy lifestyles, facilitating psychosocial activities and other activities of their interest. Where appropriate contributing to psychological interventions under the guidance of a registered professional.
5. Escorting service users, as required, in line with Trust policies.
6. Advocating for service users’ needs and rights within Trust policy. Encouraging and empowering service users to have an optimum level of responsibility for their individual programme of care.
7. Supporting the registered nurse to coordinate and prioritise activities within the clinical area and in the community.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in job applications

If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form.

Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.

Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role.

Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

Person specification

Education & Qualifications

• Completion of Care Certificate and acquired competencies.
• English and Mathematics basic qualifications (eg GCSE at Grade C or above or evidence of Level 2 in Functional skills for numeracy and literacy)
• Level 2/3 Health and Social care qualification / working towards qualification.

Experience & Knowledge

• Clinical experience minimum 1 year and experience of engaging with service users / patients.
• Knowledge of treatment options.
• Experience in different clinical care settings.
• Experience in supervision of staff.

At South West London St Georges Mental Health Trust we are committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Committed Employer, and welcome applications from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We are Members of Stonewall Diversity Champions and Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.

As part of the Trust's commitment to Equalities and Diversity, the Trust supports the establishment of Staff Networks groups to promote diversity in the workplace:

• BME (Evolve) Staff Network
• DiverseAbility
• Mental Health Staff Forum
• Women's Staff Network
• LGBTQIA+

We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and has signed the Armed Forces Covenant.

We provide reasonable adjustments to the interview process for any candidates with a disability.

South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. The contact details published on our official website are the Trust’s authorised contact channels and should be used for all recruitment communications, job applications, and verification of employment offers.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Alison Hawthorne Job title Team Manager Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07745742150