Volunteer and community engagement manager jobs

Mental Health Recovery Worker 

Salary £24,251 - £25,527 

Location Portsmouth 

Permanent, Full Time  

6 week rota including early, mid and late shifts 

Portsmouth MH Serv Lot 1 - Outram provides supported accommodation for up to 12 adults, who have mental ill health and alcohol / substance misuse needs. Our clients have a mix of medium to high support needs and this service provides 24/7 support across two houses next door to each other. 

Our aim is to support clients to develop life skills to enable them to achieve their goals, gain independence and move on to safe and secure accommodation. 

We are looking for a Mental Health Recovery Worker to be part of a small team that works collaboratively with clients to help them achieve positive outcomes. If you love working with people and are looking for a role where you can make a real difference in the lives of those you support, then this is the role for you! 

The role 

As our Mental Health Recovery Worker, you will lead on the case management of clients and be part of a team that supports them in keeping them safe and helping them achieve their goals.You’ll provide people with homes and specialist support so they feel more valued and secure, and ready to take the next steps. 

You will produce and regularly review comprehensive client-based risk assessments along with engaging with local authorities, health providers and other agencies, creating and maintaining constructive working relationships to maximise the opportunities available to clients. 

You’ll lead on client activities to help them gain practical life skills and encourage their engagement with the running of the service.

Helping our client’s to manage their finances, pay rent, manage arrears and access benefits will also form part of your role and you will provide encouragement as well as signpost clients to the local community and to resources relevant to their aspirations including education, training, employment activity or volunteering. 

Further information:    

• This role will require an Enhanced with Barred List(s) disclosure and barring service check is a requirement for this role. This would be completed on appointment of the role. 

• This role will require a full drivers’ licence and access to a vehicle 

• This role will require you to work flexibly across several sites

• This role will require you to work with clients on a one-to-one basis 

• This role will require you to early, mids and lates on a 6-week rotation 

• This role will require you to lone work 

Our ideal candidate will have:    

• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written 

• Clear verbal and written English 

• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word plus keyboard skills for data inputting    

• A confident and assertive manner 

• Ability to self-motivate as you will work on your own 

• Effective team working 

• Ability to respond calmly to crisis 

• Deal promptly with and effectively react to challenging situations 

• Have an interest and genuine concern for homelessness and related issues

Desirable Criteria:    

• Experience of managing a caseload of clients 

• Understanding of the complex support needs of people experiencing homelessness or those with complex needs 

• Knowledge of voluntary and statutory agencies, housing regulations and the benefits system 

• Understanding of risk assessment and person-centred, outcomes-based delivery

We reserve the right to close our adverts early if a successful candidate is found, so please submit your application as soon as possible.  

We're looking for a kind, compassionate and resilient Support workers to join our Young People Service located in Tower Hamlets.

£28,808.00 per annum, working 40 hours per week.

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.
Our benefits include:
* Annual leave increasing up to 30 days with length of service
* Free DBS (take this out if BSW advert)
* Exclusive discounts and cashback via Reward Gateway® and opportunity to buy a Blue Light Card
* Fully paid induction programme and further training
* ILM courses and Apprenticeship Programmes
* Cycle to work scheme
* Employee Assistance Programme for 24-7 confidential support
* Online wellbeing resources
* A generous pension - we will contribute up to 4% and life assurance cover up to £10,000 (T&Cs apply)
* Quarterly Staff Awards to reward & recognise our amazing staff's commitment and contribution
All applicants must be legally eligible to work in the UK by the start of employment as Look Ahead are not able to offer sponsorship.

Campbell Road Young Peoples service provides support and housing for 37 young people in Tower Hamlets that are either leaving care of affected by youth homelessness.

What you'll do:
- Building supportive, trusting relationships with customers
- Working proactively with other members of the team to handle the service caseload and administrative responsibilities
- Supporting key customers to set personalised goals in the form of a Support Plan
- Conducting regular key work sessions that are innovative and engaging in order to achieve Support Plan goals
- Ensuring ongoing assessment and management of risks associated with customers within an attitude of 'positive risk taking'
- Proactively manage risk and safety both in and outside of their physical living environment
- Providing support with daily living activities, including practical assistance where skills are not yet developed, to ensure that customers enjoy a high quality of accommodation
- Proactive development of links with local statutory and voluntary organisations to provide a range of engagement opportunities for customers in the community

This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead

About you:
- Enjoys social interaction and the company of others, joins in local activities to encourage customer involvement
- Approachable and open behaviour
- Prefers working as part of a group or team
- Is fundamentally calm and resilient, does not let emotion adversely affect them or obscure their judgement
- Has a practical and logical mind and is naturally well organised
- Flexible
- Open to feedback and self development
- Thrives on change and enjoys dynamic diverse environments
- Is confident with high levels of self-esteem
- Is respectful, articulate and sensitive in style of communication
- Is essentially customer-focused
- Is motivated towards excellence and improvement of personal performance with a can do attitude
- Ability to cope positively with challenging and diverse behaviours
- Passionate about improving outcomes for young people from a range of backgrounds
- Confident to assess and manage risks associated with our customers, with an attitude of positive risk taking
- Highly competent in advocating for young people, working with other professionals to get the best outcomes

What you'll bring:

Desirable:
- Experience working with young people

About us:

Look Ahead is a leading, not-for-profit care and support provider in London and the South East. Our vision is to build better lives through social care and housing in local communities. As an organisation we deliver over 100 services, providing support to thousands of customers each year. Our mission is to co-design and deliver services that offer innovative social care solutions and support people to thrive. We work across mental health, homelessness and complex needs, young people and care leavers and learning disabilities so there are plenty of opportunities to grow and progress your career with us.
We have a strong social purpose and we live and work by our values:
* We focus on Excellence and innovation.
* We are Caring and Compassionate.
* We are Inclusive and Trusted.
* We work in Partnership and are One-Team.
Look Ahead is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with Silver in the Inclusive Employers Standard 2021. We are a proud member of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant and encourage applications from a diverse range of applicants of all backgrounds.

Please see our website for full Job description

30 hours per week / permanent / working onsite on a seven-day rolling rota, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

 is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be. We do this by providing a safe home, increasing life skills and self-confidence, and improving emotional wellbeing and mental health.

services delivers specialist 24-hour supported accommodation where young people are supported to acquire the necessary skills in preparation for living independently, safely explore their increased freedom of choice and develop responsibilities associated with adulthood, whilst still having the appropriate level of support from an experienced team.

We adopt a trauma informed and psychologically informed approach to supporting our residents to help them build essential life skills, identify their goals and support residents into independent accommodation. We have a dedicated team of Support Workers, Night Workers and additional Bank Workers who provide support, guidance, and signposting around areas such as housing, budgeting, living skills, jobs and relationship building.

We are looking for a Supported Housing Support Worker to join our Cook Road, Horsham team, who will hold a caseload of residents and meet with them weekly to build a support plan. Main areas of responsibilities are:

Housing

• Coach young people to manage their occupancy agreement and adhere to house rules, in preparation for independent living. 
• Promote a credit culture, encouraging young people to keep up to date with all payments for rent.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of housing and welfare benefits for young people and be well-informed on significant changes to housing law.
• Deal effectively with non-compliance issues, such as non-payment of rent or damage to room, using restorative practices and working collaboratively with the rest of the team.

Coaching and Engagement

• Coach young people so they can articulate their aspirations and ambitions and take the lead in acquiring the skills they need to live independent and fulfilling lives.
• Ensure young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their own personal development, to engage with the services on offer and build strong networks and connections within the local community. 
• Ensure consistent standards of safeguarding and Trauma Informed Practice when supporting young people, observing our safeguarding procedures, and keeping yourself and residents safe by respecting professional boundaries.
• Maintain client records on In-Form (client database) detailing the young person’s journey in relation to their strengths and needs, any risks, and any outcomes (to monitor service performance). 

General 

• Work as part of a team, on a rota shift pattern, ensuring young people at the service have non-judgemental, objective, and supportive staff during the day/evening, along with taking responsibility for personal safety during periods of lone working
• Contribute to a great working environment, with a calm, yet assertive manner, being able to handle potentially difficult situations.
• Participate in relevant continuing professional development and utilise Reflective Practice Supervision as part of leading psychologically informed practice. 

There will be times when lone working will be a requirement for this role, but you will get to know the team and service, along with an induction and training prior to starting on a rota. Please download the job profile for full role details.

If you’re enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway and demonstrate how your experience is transferrable. You may be just the right candidate. 

This is a dynamic and varied role; you will be passionate about being involved in the support and growth of young people.

Experience and Knowledge

• Experience relating to housing, support work, and/or working with young people at risk
• Experience of working proactively with a caseload of young people with multiple and complex needs to enable them to achieve independent living. 
• Knowledge of statutory and voluntary resources available to young people with multiple and complex needs.
• Knowledge of good safeguarding procedures in relation to young people and the ability to maintain effective professional boundaries.
• Demonstrated confidence and competence in recording notes/actions in service log, incident forms and health and safety check lists.

Skills and Abilities 

• Ability to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing for appropriate recording of a resident’s progression, and to evidence outcomes achieved.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with all stakeholders, including signposting and advocating for clients as necessary. 
• Ability to work autonomously, and use own initiative, as well as being part of a team.
• Clear verbal and written communication skills, good IT, and keyboard skills.
• Ability to de-escalate volatile situations and manage challenging behaviour appropriately.

If you would like any further information or an informal discussion about this post, please contact . Should you require any assistance with our application process, please email us at 

CLOSING DATE: Sunday 5 October 2025 at midnight

Successful candidates will already have the right to live and work in the UK without restrictions. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role

An inclusive workplace We are committed to policies and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion and to supporting our people to make sure our culture is consistent with this commitment. 

Accessibility If you require assistance or have questions regarding the application process, please do contact us.

YMCA DLG requires all staff and volunteers to be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and to respond proactively to safeguarding concerns. Successful applicants are required to undertake an Enhanced DBS (including the Children’s and Adults’ barred lists) check, along with a reference and background check carried out by a third-party service provider.