Social Work Assistant
At a glance
- Band
- Band 4
- Contract
- Permanent
- Pattern
- Part-time
- Posted
- 08/09/2026
- Closes
- 22/09/2026
Sponsorship verdict
This contract type is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.
NHS Trusts cannot issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for part-time, bank, locum, zero-hours, job-share or short fixed-term (under 12 months) contracts under current Home Office rules. This applies even when the wider Trust holds a Skilled Worker licence.
Role summary
This Social Work Assistant role involves supporting service users and their carers through crisis recovery within a fast-paced community setting. You will work under the guidance of the Social Work Team and a Multi-Disciplinary Team, undertaking delegated tasks to ensure seamless social work interventions. The role bridges social care support with clinical crisis intervention, requiring an empathetic, resilient, and highly organised individual. A full UK driving licence and access to a car are essential for this community-facing position.
Key responsibilities
- Undertake specified tasks with service users as agreed with the Social Worker/MDT.
- Liaise with a range of partnership agencies, both statutory and voluntary, and the wider MDT.
- Contribute to risk assessment and risk management planning.
- Support the delivery of a competent level of social work to assist service users with their health and wellbeing needs.
- Assist in the assessment of service users' mental well-being and community support and care needs under supervision.
- Ensure accurate and reliable documentation of patient records are maintained.
Essential criteria
- NVQ Level three
- Experience of working in a caring environment, including the undertaking of initial assessments and risk assessments and the drafting of support plans.
- Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team
- Experience of working and liaising with other partnership agencies
- Knowledge of mental health conditions
- Good awareness of social issues and knowledge and experience of the problems relating to particular service users
- Understanding the Social Work task
- Knowledge of Adult/Children Safeguarding procedures
- Ability to work as member of a team
- Effective communication skills, both orally and written, in order to communicate effectively with service users and their families, colleagues and external agencies
- Ability to record and maintain written notes
- Able to prioritise workload and work effectively on own initiative and undertake delegated tasks
- To be self aware and recognise appropriate boundaries in client relations
- demonstrate a sensitive, and empathetic response to service users and carers
Desirable criteria
- NVQ Level four
- Experience of working within mental health services
- A good understanding of local facilities and resources
- Able to use RiO
- Competent IT skills (Word, Excel, Outlook)
- Good self-awareness
- Reliable
- Non-judgemental
Useful to know
Agenda for Change 2024/25 pays Band 4 at £26,530 – £29,114 a year, across England.
This advert: £28,392 – £31,157 — outside the standard scale; check for HCAS/London weighting.
Posted 1d ago · Closes in 14d
Plenty of time to prepare a strong application.
Full advert · preview
Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust
Social Work Assistant
The closing date is 22 September 2026
Job summary
We are looking for an empathetic, resilient, and highly organised Social Work Assistant to join us. If you want to live our Trust values of being Respectful, Open, and Empowering while making a tangible difference during someone's most critical time of need, we want to hear from you.
As a Social Work Assistant within Dartford CRHT, you will hold delegated responsibilities crucial to the seamless and safe delivery of our social work interventions. Working under the direct guidance of the Social Work Team and alongside our diverse Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT)--including nurses, occupational therapists, doctors, and support workers--you will help service users and their carers safely navigate crisis recovery.
This is a fast-paced, community-facing role that bridges social care support with clinical crisis intervention.
Main duties of the job
The post holder must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).
- To undertake certain specified tasks with service users as agreed with the Social Worker/MDT
- To liaise with a range of partnership agencies, both statutory and voluntary on behalf of service users as well as the wi
Join the community to read the full pack, responsibilities and person-specification in one place.
Your seat is reserved — activate it
CareerHive is included with your CareerHive Skool community membership. If you haven't claimed your account yet, join the community (or sign in with the same email you joined with) to unlock the full advert, the apply link, HiveMind AI interview & application suite, your private vault, and daily sponsorship alerts.