Are you passionate about supporting individuals with mental health needs and making a real difference in your community? Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Carer Support Worker to join its dedicated team in Oldham, Manchester. This is a valuable opportunity for individuals who have a good standard of education (including English to GCSE level or equivalent) and hands-on experience supporting people with mental health conditions.
The successful candidate will play a key role in engaging with carers, families, and service users, helping to ensure the highest standards of support and wellbeing across the trust’s mental health services. Excellent communication skills, empathy, and an understanding of the challenges faced by those caring for loved ones with mental health needs are essential.
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is available for suitable candidates who meet UK Home Office eligibility criteria. If you’re looking to take the next step in your mental health support career within a progressive NHS trust, we encourage you to apply.
About the Trust
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust is dedicated to providing high-quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and within the community, across the five boroughs of Greater Manchester: Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, and Tameside and Glossop.
The Trust’s vision is to foster a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in its communities. Staff are committed to delivering the best care for those who use the services, and the Trust takes great pride in its #PennineCarePeople, ensuring it remains a fantastic place to work.
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust strives to maximise individuals’ potential by promoting an inclusive environment and enhancing the diversity of its workforce to better reflect the communities it serves.
Applications are encouraged from all individuals, regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion, or belief, marriage, and civil partnership. The Trust also welcomes applications from individuals with lived experience of mental illness, either personally or as a carer.
Position: Carer Support Worker
Salary: £24,625 – £25,674 a year
Job Type: Full Time
Location: Oldham, Manchester
About the Role:
An opportunity has arisen within the Older Adult Wards at Oldham for a Carers support Worker. Cedars is a 10 bedded Male dementia ward and Rowan is a 12 bedded male functional mental health ward.
A carer is “a person who provides unpaid, practical or emotional support to someone with a disability, addiction or illness. The person may be a relative, partner, friend or neighbour. A carer may be of any age and may be a young person providing assistance to a parent or another person. A carer may live with the person they care for or provide support from a distance.”
This role will involve supporting the carers whilst the person they care for is an in hospital. This may involve telephone, email, and face-to-face contact with carers offering them support and helping them to look at co-operative ways of working, with a range of health and social care professionals.
The post-holder will promote carers rights and services to both carers and health and social care professionals raising awareness of issues affecting carers and their families and support available. Identifying opportunities to engage ‘hidden’ carers (those carers who do not see themselves in a caring role and not accessing available support or services) you will develop carer support groups, particularly for those who struggle to navigate care and support systems or are socially isolated.
Main duties of the job
- The role is to support carers both practically and emotionally, ensure that they are well informed and supported with their individual health and well-being needs .
- Work closely with clinical teams, offering support to carers in their own right
- To support carers attending reviews and ward round
- Advocate for carers
- The post holder will work in partnership with Local Authority, the voluntary and community sector and other NHS agencies to increase the number of carers identified and improve recognition.
- To ensure that the role of unpaid carers is recognised, supported and valued. To promote the Triangle of Care (TOC) standards and principles, and other carer specific initiatives to services and carers.
- To provide carers with information and advice about services both within and external to the organisation, that contributes to their caring role and increases their knowledge regarding care and treatment processes.
- To work collaboratively with carers and clinical teams to ensure that carers feel involved and supported in the care and treatment of their loved one in accordance with Service User’s consent, Trust Strategic Priorities and Carers Engagement Procedures.
- To have knowledge in the identification and support required for young carers.
- To facilitate the delivery of carer support in a group setting where required
Person Specifications
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with people with mental health needs
- Experience of working in a role that involves contact with families and carer
Desirable
- Lived experience as a carer
- Knowledge Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Have basic knowledge of the range of mental health problems, treatments and related procedures, to underpin the support that the role provides to carers
- Have knowledge of the range of issues that affect Carers
- Have knowledge of carers assessments and how/where to access them
- Have knowledge of existing, new and emerging technologies and social media to engage carers to enable them to feedback about their experiences and to be involved and engaged in services
- Have awareness of policies and procedures in relation to confidentiality, information sharing, and safeguarding
- Have knowledge of the Carers Act
- Knowledge of the Triangle of Care and ability to work in a collaborative way
- Knowledge of support services available for carers
- Be able to communicate effectively with a wide range of people including: service users, carers, other professionals, and members of the public
- Have experience of working with a diverse range of clients with differing levels of needs
- Ability to articulate carers views and represent balanced view in MDT working
- Ability to run a carers group in conjunction with other team members
- Have the ability to access and contribute to the Trust Electronic Patient Record
- Ability to complete records in a timely and accurate manner
- Have the ability to balance a range of tasks with competing demands
- Have a positive regard for carers and understand the importance of involving them in the service users care and recovery journey
Education
Essential
- NVQ Level 3 or equivalent
- Good basic education including English to GCSE level or equivalent
- Carer awareness training or willingness to undertake training
Desirable
- NVQ Level 2 Training in Health and Social Care
Benefits
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.
Required Documents
- CV/Resume
- Cover Letter
Application Process
To apply for this role, please visit the NHS WEBSITE
Application Deadline
June 22, 2025