Assertive Outreach Support Worker

Job overview

Assertive Outreach  support worker Band 4 Full-time, 37.5 hours  Community Mental Health Hub (Kensington & Chelsea)

Make engagement happen. Prevent crisis. Change trajectories. We’re building a focused Assertive Outreach (AO) offer within our Community Mental Health Hub to reach adults with severe mental illness (SMI) who are at risk of disengaging from care. If you thrive on meaningful relationship-building, rapid decision-making, and real-world impact, this role is for you.

About the role as an Assertive Outreach support worker, you’ll be the consistent, trusted keyworker for a small caseload, delivering time‑limited, intensive support over a stepped 6‑month model. You’ll combine engagement and therapeutic skill with creativity and persistence—meeting people where they are, in homes and community spaces across Kensington & Chelsea—to stabilise engagement, reduce risk, and prevent crisis.

Main duties of the job

The Assertive Outreach Support Worker will provide practical, engagement‑focused support to adults with severe mental illness (SMI) who are at risk of disengaging from services. Working under the direction and supervision of the Band 6 Assertive Outreach Worker, the postholder will help stabilise engagement, reduce risk, and support individuals to access essential practical, social, and community resources.

This role is central to the Assertive Outreach model described in the Band 6 JD, which emphasises persistent outreach, flexible engagement, and holistic support (this includes community-based contacts, and phone/text engagement).

The Band 4 role contributes to this by delivering practical support that enables engagement and reduces barriers.

The postholder will:

• Provide practical, hands‑on support in community settings where the service user feels most comfortable.
• Assist with housing, benefits, appointments, and daily living tasks.
• Support the team in delivering the stepped 6‑month outreach model.
• Build trusting, consistent relationships using trauma‑informed and person‑centred approaches.
• Contribute to risk monitoring and communication within the MDT.

This role requires excellent interpersonal skills, persistence, and the ability to work safely in the community with the support of your team.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Carry out outreach activities as directed by the Band 6 AO Worker, including home visits, community meetings, and phone/text contact.
• Support the “no discharge for DNA” approach by using persistent, creative engagement strategies.
• Provide practical support that enables engagement, such as: Attending housing appointments Supporting with benefits forms Helping with ID applications Accompanying service users to GP or D&A appointments Supporting access to community resources
• Attending housing appointments
• Supporting with benefits forms
• Helping with ID applications
• Accompanying service users to GP or D&A appointments
• Supporting access to community resources
• Build rapport through empathy, reliability, and trauma‑informed practice.
• Maintain regular contact attempts in line with the AO model.