Support Worker

Description

Job Title: Support worker

Contract: 4x full time Support worker, contract, permanent.

Hours: 38 hours per week

Salary: £27,441

Location: Tower Hamlets, London, E3

About Outward.

For 50 years, Outward has been providing high-quality support and care services to vulnerable people across London, predominantly in North East London. Established by families seeking alternatives to institutional care, we’ve grown into a respected provider of person-centred support for adults with learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs, and complex needs. We support over 1,000 people across nine boroughs, guided by our core values: engage, enable, and empower.

Outward is proud to be an accredited Living Wage Employer. This means we are committed to paying the Real Living Wage – not just the government minimum or national living wage – to our frontline Support Workers and other eligible staff. We recognise the value of the work our teams do, and we are committed to ensuring fair pay that reflects the true cost of living. The Real Living Wage is updated annually by the Living Wage Foundation, and Outward remains committed to aligning our pay accordingly.

About the Role

We are seeking proactive, compassionate, and motivated Support Workers to join our dedicated team. You will be supporting adults with a wide range of needs, including learning disabilities, mental health challenges, and complex support requirements.

As a Support Worker, you will play a vital role in empowering the people we support to live meaningful, independent, and fulfilling lives. You will deliver personalised, high‑quality care and support, and contribute to the smooth and effective running of the service through key working and support planning.

Working closely with the Deputy Manager or Team Manager, you will help ensure our services are person‑centred, well‑organised, and aligned with Outward’s core values: Engage, Enable, Empower.

Your Responsibilities

As a Support Worker, you will:

• Provide direct, person-centred support that promotes dignity, independence, choice, and inclusion.
• Support individuals in achieving their personal goals and agreed outcomes as outlined in their support plans.
• Assist with daily living activities, including personal care, meal preparation, medication support, budgeting, and accessing the community.
• Coordinate and liaise with families, healthcare professionals, social workers, and other external agencies where required.
• Carry out key worker responsibilities, including developing, reviewing, and updating support plans and risk assessments.
• Maintain accurate, up-to-date records and documentation in line with organisational policies and regulatory requirements.
• Promote and safeguard the health, safety, and wellbeing of the people we support, following safeguarding procedures at all times.
• Identify, assess, and report risks, incidents, and safeguarding concerns appropriately.
• Support individuals according to their assessed needs, preferences, cultural background, and communication style.
• Encourage participation in social, recreational, educational, and employment opportunities.
• Work collaboratively as part of a team to ensure high-quality, consistent service delivery.
• Provide emotional support and positive behaviour support where required.
• Attend and actively participate in team meetings, supervision sessions, and training programmes.
• Maintain professional boundaries and uphold confidentiality in line with GDPR and organisational policies.
• Work flexibly across multiple services, including evenings, weekends, sleep-ins, and bank holidays, to ensure continuity of care.

Requirements

Essential Criteria

• Good understanding of safeguarding and risk management in a care/support setting
• Knowledge of health and safety issues within supported housing or care environments
• Understanding of confidentiality, GDPR, and data protection principles
• Staff must have access to a smartphone capable of receiving SMS messages and installing authentication apps for secure systems access.
• Right to Work in the UK. Please note: Outward will not provide visa sponsorship.

Desirable Criteria

• NVQ Level 2 or 3 in Health and Social Care (or equivalent)
• Additional training in PBS, safeguarding, or housing-related legislation

How to Apply

The above is not an exhaustive list of requirements for the role.

If you think you are who we are looking for, please submit a CV and statement detailing how you feel your experiences meets the requirements of the role by referring to the Job Responsibilities and the Person Specification.

There is no specific closing date for this advert. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a sufficient number of suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. It would be great to hear from you.

Outward is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of adults at risk and expects all staff to share this commitment. If the post you apply for involves working with or having access to adults at risk and/or their records, we will require a DBS for successful candidates.

Benefits

We value everything our staff do for the people we support, so we provide a great benefits package:

• 25 days Annual Leave excluding Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time)
• Comprehensive Learning & Development Programme

• Cycle-to-Work Scheme
• Death in Service Benefit
• Health Assured – Employee Assistance Programme
• Eye care Vouchers
• Flu Jab Reimbursement
• Pension Scheme
• Purchase Additional Annual Leave
• Refer-a-Friend Scheme

Diversity and Safeguarding at Outward:

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Outward applies its Equal Opportunities Policy at all stages of recruitment and selection.  Shortlisting, interviewing and selection is carried out without regard to gender, sexual orientation, marital status, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, age or trade union membership. 

As an employer, who aspire to become Disability Confident Committed, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview. Please indicate clearly at the beginning of your supporting statement if you have a disability (as defined by the Equality Act 2010), and you wish to be considered for an Offer Of an Interview (OOI) Please note that the OOI is available to disabled candidates only. Regrettably, any false declaration of disability in order to secure an interview will impact on your overall application.