Youth Support Worker - CAMHS Community Crisis Care
NHS AfC: Band 4
Main area: Mental Health
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 4
Contract: Permanent
We are an extended hours service and operate seven days per week, 8am to 10pm. Hours will be worked across these periods.
* Full time
* Flexible working
* Compressed hours
37.5 hours per week (most team members work 12 hour shifts. This equates to three weeks working three days per week and four days on week four.)
Job ref: 349-MCH-7037169
Site: Carol Kendrick Centre
Town: Manchester
Salary: £26,530 - £29,114 Per Annum, Pro Rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 03/04/2025 23:59
Job overview
We are excited to offer an opportunity for a motivated Band 4 Youth Support Worker to join our innovative Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Community Crisis Care Service. In this vital role, you will provide practical and emotional support to young people experiencing acute mental health crises, helping them navigate challenges and build resilience.
This role offers a unique opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people and their families. You will be part of a forward-thinking, compassionate, and ever-expanding team dedicated to improving outcomes for young people through person-centered care and tailored interventions.
As a valued member of our team, you will play a crucial role in supporting young people in crisis, helping them develop coping strategies, regain independence, and work towards recovery. You will also collaborate with other professionals to ensure holistic, needs-led support.
As part of our CAMHS Crisis Care service, you’ll gain invaluable experience, enhance your skills, and contribute to the development of innovative approaches to youth mental health care.
Main duties of the job
* Provide emotional and practical support to young people experiencing crisis, ensuring they feel safe, heard, and empowered during distressing times.
* Assist in assessments under professional guidance, identifying the young person’s strengths, challenges, and support needs to inform tailored interventions.
* Facilitate therapeutic activities across home, community, and clinical settings, promoting engagement in self-care, education, social interactions, and meaningful activities that support recovery.
* Offer hands-on support to young people and families, helping them navigate daily challenges, reduce isolation, and prevent crisis escalation.
* Work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team, including nurses, social workers, assistant psychologists, and other professionals, ensuring a joined-up, holistic approach to care.
* Maintain accurate records, monitor progress, and provide feedback to inform ongoing care planning and intervention strategies.
* Support young people through transitions and discharge planning, assisting their reintegration into school, home, and community life post-crisis.
* As part of the CAMHS Crisis Care service, provide intensive short-term support, focusing on recovery-oriented care plans that promote resilience and reduce the likelihood of future crises.
* This role involves direct engagement in emergency, community, and home settings, ensuring flexible, responsive support tailored to each young person’s needs.
Working for our organisation
MFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England with a turnover of £2.8bn & is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We’re creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.
Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 30,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals.
We’ve also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research, and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our Electronic Patient Record system which launched in September 2022.
At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open, and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.
Person specification
Education / Qualifications
* National Youth Agency accredited Youth Work qualification/Graduate Diploma in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Practice, or equivalent experience
* BA in Youth work or Youth and community work
Experience
* Experience of working with children, young people (CYP) and/or families in varied contexts
* Experience of offering advice and support to CYP and families.
* Experience of family work/ group work
* Experience of working with other agencies
* Experience of working autonomously and managing own workload
* Experience of supporting and working as part of a team
* Experience of working with IT systems
* Experience of multidisciplinary working in mental health care with complex cases.
* Presentation/ teaching and training skills in mental health
* Experience of working in a child and adolescent mental health setting
Knowledge
* Awareness and understanding of mental health and emotional problems including self-harm and suicide.
* Ability to communicate with children, young people and families around sensitive issues
* Knowledge of child development.
* Ability to support CYP and families with emotional and behavioural issues
* Ability to engage children and young people in recovery focused, resilience building activities
* Thorough knowledge of safeguarding legislation and responsibilities.
* Knowledge of evidence based interventions for common mental health and emotional problems
* Working knowledge and understanding of the Mental Health Act
Skills and Abilities
* Skills in supporting CYP and families with emotional and behavioural issues
* Skills in engaging children and young people in recovery focused, resilience building activities
* Skill in understanding and managing complex presentations within complex systems.
* Skills in communicating empathically and effectively even when people are highly dysregulated and potentially abusive.
* High level of emotional resilience to be able to keep thinking and performing skilfully under pressure.
* Well-developed organisational skills
* Ability to work as part of a team and use initiative.
* Ability to work across agencies and within a multidisciplinary context
* Belief in the child centred, needs led, recovery focused values base of the service.
* Able to prioritise work delegated by a mental health professional
* Ability to create innovative solutions alongside CYP to help them meet identified goals
* Able to collect, record and organise information and data systematically
* Ability to develop cooperative networks with external agencies
* Evidence of commitment to user and carer involvement
* A willingness to be flexible to the demands of the role
* An ability to uphold good practice in a non-judgemental way in difficult situations
* An ability to act calmly in emergencies and to respond in a professional manner to stressful and challenging behaviour
* Display a positive attitude to role of supervision and to supporting colleagues
* Highly motivated and professional approach
Work Related Circumstances
* Willingness to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service which will include travelling, supporting CYP in their own homes or within varied settings.
* Willingness to work nights and unsocial hours
* Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the footprint in line with service needs
* Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
* Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.
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