Senior Community Support worker

NHS; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Gloucester is looking for a compassionate Senior Community Support Worker to support individuals with complex mental health needs. This position involves following up with service users post-discharge, providing supervision to junior staff, and ensuring effective care planning. The ideal candidate will have experience in community mental health, relevant qualifications, and a commitment to recovery-based approaches.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Supportive team environment

Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in a community mental health or social care setting.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation such as Mental Health Act.
• Clinical skills training in physical health and wellbeing.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the provision of care and treatment to service users in community settings.
• Act as a care co-ordinator for identified service users.
• Provide support to service users with complex needs.

Skills

Community mental health experience

Knowledge of Mental Health Act

Experience in care planning

Understanding Recovery-based approaches

Education

NVQ level 3 in health or social care

Tools

Basic IT skills - word processing

Job description

Senior Community Support Worker

Closing date: 03 October 2025

We are seeking a compassionate and motivated Senior Community Support Worker to join our dynamic Crisis Resolution & Home Treatment Team. This role is essential in supporting service users with complex mental health needs in their recovery journey, enabling them to remain in their community environment.

Overview

The successful candidate will be involved in delivering care for individuals across Gloucester and the Forest of Dean and supporting the wider MDT of the team.

Main duties of the job

Key duties (not exhaustive):

• Provide 48-hour follow up to service users leaving inpatients
• Review a service user’s current home treatment and amend care plans, risk assessments and clustering; ensure accurate recording of essential data as per Assessment and Care Management Policy
• Discharge patients from the home treatment caseload ensuring appropriate follow up care as per MDT discussions
• Liaise with relevant statutory and non-statutory agencies involved in the service user’s care
• Complete risk assessments in conjunction with Registered Practitioners as per the Trust Risk Policy
• Provide formal supervision to Band 3 Community Support Workers
• Work closely with Registered Practitioners to ensure the smooth running of day-to-day team functioning
• Provide telephone support to service users in distress
• Provide telephone advice and support to other professionals, emergency services, carers and service users

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

• Under the supervision of registered practitioners assist in the provision of care and treatment to service users in a community setting, in line with the principles of social inclusion and recovery
• Act as a care co-ordinator for service users identified and directed by senior practitioners assessing service users’ needs and developing and implementing care plans
• Provide support, give time to allocated group of service users with more complex needs to promote recovery and maintain them in their community environment
• Assist the care co-ordinator or key worker to assess, plan, implement and evaluate individual care plans
• Facilitate access to activities to meet the needs of service users and carers within community settings
• Participate in induction and support of new staff and students and co-supervise junior staff
• Attend and participate in identified training and the staff appraisal process

Person Specification

LENGTH AND / OR NATURE OF EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in a community mental health or social care setting
• Knowledge of relevant legislation e.g. Mental Health Act, Child Protection
• Knowledge and understanding of care planning and risk assessment (completed an Approved course in relation to Risk Assessment)
• Clinical skills training (awareness of physical health and wellbeing)
• Knowledge of the CPA process
• Knowledge and understanding of using a Recovery based approach to care

Qualifications

• NVQ level 3 or equivalent level of competency-based training in a relevant health or social care area plus theoretical and practical knowledge to diploma level equivalent, obtained through formal competency training, short courses and experience OR successful completion of approved associate practitioner training or relevant foundation degree or commitment to obtain within 2 years
• Basic IT skills - word processing
• Email
• Some training or qualification in Psychological Intervention e.g. Motivational Interviewing, Counselling, CBT

PROFESSIONAL / MANAGERIAL / SPECIALIST KNOWLEDGE

• Knowledge and Skills in Working with Psychosis
• Knowledge of the purpose and process of workload and clinical supervision
• Ability to complete Mental State Examinations

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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust