Job summary 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. About us 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 set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you'll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary. 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. We're proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What's more, we're excited to be embarking on our Green Plan which sets out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable. 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. Date posted 18 March 2025 Pay scheme Agenda for change Band Band 4 Salary £26,530 to £29,114 a year Per Annum, Pro Rata Contract Permanent Working pattern Full-time, Flexible working, Compressed hours Reference number 349-MCH-7037169 Job locations Carol Kendrick Centre South Moor Road Manchester M23 9XD Job description Job responsibilities To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience youll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading. So that youre even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, youll need to take time to read the Candidate Essentials Guide that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how we care for you as you care for others. Most importantly, it also contains critical information youll need to be aware of before you submit an application form. COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst COVID-19 vaccination is not currently a condition of employment, we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated. If you are unvaccinated, there is helpful advice and information available by searching on the NHS England website where you can also find out more about how to access the vaccination. Diversity Matters MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at resourcingmft.nhs.uk. Were looking forward to hearing from you Job description Job responsibilities To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience youll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading. So that youre even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, youll need to take time to read the Candidate Essentials Guide that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how we care for you as you care for others. Most importantly, it also contains critical information youll need to be aware of before you submit an application form. COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst COVID-19 vaccination is not currently a condition of employment, we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated. If you are unvaccinated, there is helpful advice and information available by searching on the NHS England website where you can also find out more about how to access the vaccination. Diversity Matters MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at resourcingmft.nhs.uk. Were looking forward to hearing from you Person Specification Education / Qualifications Essential oNational Youth Agency accredited Youth Work qualification/Graduate Diploma in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Practice, or equivalent experience Desirable BA in Youth work or Youth and community work Experience Essential oExperience of working with children, young people (CYP) and/or families in varied contexts oExperience of offering advice and support to CYP and families. oExperience of family work/ group work oExperience of working with other agencies oExperience of working autonomously and managing own workload oExperience of supporting and working as part of a team oExperience of working with IT systems Desirable oExperience of multidisciplinary working in mental health care with complex cases. oPresentation/ teaching and training skills in mental health oExperience of working in a child and adolescent mental health setting Knowledge Essential oAwareness and understanding of mental health and emotional problems including self-harm and suicide. oAbility to communicate with children, young people and families around sensitive issues oKnowledge of child development. oAbility to support CYP and families with emotional and behavioural issues oAbility to engage children and young people in recovery focused, resilience building activities oThorough knowledge of safeguarding legislation and responsibilities. Desirable oKnowledge of evidence based interventions for common mental health and emotional problems oWorking knowledge and understanding of the Mental Health Act Skills and Abilities Essential oSkills in supporting CYP and families with emotional and behavioural issues oSkills in engaging children and young people in recovery focused, resilience building activities oSkill in understanding and managing complex presentations within complex systems. oSkills in communicating empathically and effectively even when people are highly dysregulated and potentially abusive. oHigh level of emotional resilience to be able to keep thinking and performing skilfully under pressure. oWell -developed organisational skills oAbility to work as part of a team and use initiative. oAbility to work across agencies and within a multidisciplinary context oComputer literate oBelief in the child centred, needs led, recovery focused values base of the service. oAble to prioritise work delegated by a mental health professional oAbility to create innovative solutions alongside CYP to help them meet identified goals oAble to collect, record and organise information and data systematically oAbility to develop cooperative networks with external agencies oEvidence of commitment to user and carer involvement oA willingness to be flexible to the demands of the role oAn ability to uphold good practice in a non - judgemental way in difficult situations oAn ability to act calmly in emergencies and to respond in a professional manner to stressful and challenging behaviour oDisplay a positive attitude to role of supervision and to supporting colleagues oHighly motivated and professional approach Work Related Circumstances Essential oWillingness to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service which will include travelling, supporting CYP in their own homes or within varied settings. oWillingness to work nights and unsocial hours oUse of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the footprint in line with service needs oWilling to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust's Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies oAppointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure. Person Specification Education / Qualifications Essential oNational Youth Agency accredited Youth Work qualification/Graduate Diploma in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Practice, or equivalent experience Desirable BA in Youth work or Youth and community work Experience Essential oExperience of working with children, young people (CYP) and/or families in varied contexts oExperience of offering advice and support to CYP and families. oExperience of family work/ group work oExperience of working with other agencies oExperience of working autonomously and managing own workload oExperience of supporting and working as part of a team oExperience of working with IT systems Desirable oExperience of multidisciplinary working in mental health care with complex cases. oPresentation/ teaching and training skills in mental health oExperience of working in a child and adolescent mental health setting Knowledge Essential oAwareness and understanding of mental health and emotional problems including self-harm and suicide. oAbility to communicate with children, young people and families around sensitive issues oKnowledge of child development. oAbility to support CYP and families with emotional and behavioural issues oAbility to engage children and young people in recovery focused, resilience building activities oThorough knowledge of safeguarding legislation and responsibilities. Desirable oKnowledge of evidence based interventions for common mental health and emotional problems oWorking knowledge and understanding of the Mental Health Act Skills and Abilities Essential oSkills in supporting CYP and families with emotional and behavioural issues oSkills in engaging children and young people in recovery focused, resilience building activities oSkill in understanding and managing complex presentations within complex systems. oSkills in communicating empathically and effectively even when people are highly dysregulated and potentially abusive. oHigh level of emotional resilience to be able to keep thinking and performing skilfully under pressure. oWell -developed organisational skills oAbility to work as part of a team and use initiative. oAbility to work across agencies and within a multidisciplinary context oComputer literate oBelief in the child centred, needs led, recovery focused values base of the service. oAble to prioritise work delegated by a mental health professional oAbility to create innovative solutions alongside CYP to help them meet identified goals oAble to collect, record and organise information and data systematically oAbility to develop cooperative networks with external agencies oEvidence of commitment to user and carer involvement oA willingness to be flexible to the demands of the role oAn ability to uphold good practice in a non - judgemental way in difficult situations oAn ability to act calmly in emergencies and to respond in a professional manner to stressful and challenging behaviour oDisplay a positive attitude to role of supervision and to supporting colleagues oHighly motivated and professional approach Work Related Circumstances Essential oWillingness to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service which will include travelling, supporting CYP in their own homes or within varied settings. oWillingness to work nights and unsocial hours oUse of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the footprint in line with service needs oWilling to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust's Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies oAppointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure. 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 (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. Employer details Employer name Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust Address Carol Kendrick Centre South Moor Road Manchester M23 9XD Employer's website https://mft.nhs.uk/careers/ (Opens in a new tab)