Recovery Support Worker 

Employer: South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust
Location: Balham Health Centre, London, SW12 9HS
Salary: £34,186 – £37,389 per year, including Inner London HCAS
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Band: 4
Closing date: 12 October 2026
Reference: 294-MHCA-8336878-EB-A

Sponsorship

UK visa sponsorship is not stated as available for this role. The advert says that, unless expressly stated otherwise, the role is not subject to sponsorship. Applicants must provide evidence of their right to work in the UK.

About the role

South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust is recruiting an Intermediate Recovery Support Worker to work within a community team alongside care coordinators and a multidisciplinary team including nurses, occupational therapists and psychologists.

The role involves supporting service users in their recovery journey and using initiative and creativity to help people engage with activities that promote independence, wellbeing and social inclusion.

Recovery Support Workers will provide one-to-one support in a range of settings, including community locations, care homes, supported living environments and service users’ own homes.

Support may include helping people with self-care, daily living skills, accessing healthcare appointments and benefits, taking part in fitness or sports, pursuing interests, and exploring opportunities such as employment or college.

Main responsibilities

The successful candidate will:

• Provide practical and recovery-focused support to service users and carers in line with care plans.
• Work with care coordinators and lead clinicians to deliver defined recovery-focused interventions.
• Support service users to develop daily living skills such as shopping and cooking.
• Promote independent living and help service users access community resources.
• Build professional and collaborative relationships with service users while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
• Support service users and carers to maintain dignity and independence.
• Help service users access benefits, welfare rights and health-promotion information.
• Support people to access physical health services and monitor their health needs.
• Identify early signs of relapse by monitoring progress, functioning and mental state, and report concerns to the appropriate clinical staff.
• Participate in team meetings, care-plan reviews and relevant training.
• Assess and manage risk, particularly when working with service users who may have a forensic history.

Essential qualifications

Applicants should have:

• Education to GCSE level or equivalent, including Maths and English.
• NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care or equivalent, together with further study/training to diploma level or NVQ Level 4 in Mental Health and/or the WLMHT Assistant Practitioner Course, or equivalent experience.
• Evidence of continued learning through education, training and experience.
• A Care Certificate, which must be completed within six months of starting the role.

Essential experience and skills

The Trust is looking for candidates with:

• Experience of mental health and/or learning disability services, or demonstrable interest in these areas through paid or voluntary experience.
• Understanding of factors that affect mental health in people with learning disabilities and appropriate interventions.
• Experience building relationships with a wide range of people and organisations.
• The ability to recognise and manage risk.
• The ability to work independently while recognising when clinical input is required.
• Good oral and written communication, literacy and numeracy skills.
• Good computer literacy.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop therapeutic relationships.
• The ability to listen effectively and communicate in a non-judgemental manner.
• The ability to remain calm and professional during emergencies, distress and unpredictable situations.

Desirable experience

Experience or knowledge of the following would be advantageous:

• Working as a Recovery Support Worker.
• Health or social care settings.
• Benefits and employment systems.
• The NHS Recovery Approach.
• Mental Health Act or relevant health and social care legislation.
• Clinical skills relevant to the role.
• Nursing, psychology, counselling or health and social care qualifications.

About the employer

South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust provides mental health services across South West London.

The Trust says it is committed to inclusive and diverse teams, flexible working and career development, with a focus on supporting staff and improving care for people using its services.

Application and selection process

The closing date for applications is 12 October 2026.

Applicants should ensure that their application clearly demonstrates their relevant experience, skills and motivation for the role.

The Trust also states that applicants who use AI to help prepare their application should briefly explain how it was used in their supporting statement or application form.

Source: NHS Jobs / South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust