AGE CONCERN ISLINGTON

Age UK Islington

Job Description

Job Title:
Locality Navigator
Team:
Navigation Service
Contract Type:
Fixed Term – Until March 2026 with a view to extending
Part time Hours:
3 days (22.5 hours) per week
Salary:
£20,063 per annum
Access to pension scheme and a generous annual leave entitlement
Benefits:
Location:                   The post holder may be required to undertake duties at any location within the Borough of

Reports to:

Islington, to meet service needs.
Team Leader - Navigation

Key working Relationships:

•  Voluntary, Community, Social Enterprise services and groups (VCSE)
•  Service Users, clients or patients
•  Primary Care Networks GP Clinical Leads
•  Primary Care ARRS roles, including SPLWs, Care Coordinators, Health & Wellbeing Coaches,

Pharmacists and others.

Islington Adult Social Care

•  Community matrons
•  General Practitioners and practice nurses
•
•  Mental Health Services, both statutory and voluntary
•  District Nurses via the community matrons
•  London Ambulance Service
•  Carers and Carer Organisations
•  Other clinical teams

Background:
Integrated care is a way of better coordinating care for adults with one or more long term conditions. Integrated
care in Islington is defined as collaborative working between key stakeholders, including GPs, health and
Social care and VCSE organisations, to integrate and organise patient care more effectively.

Better coordinated care includes weekly engagement with each of the Integrated Network Coordination (INC)
meetings, these include a wide range of professionals including GPs, hospital clinicians, social workers,
community matrons, mental health and rehabilitation professionals, also to discuss patient care to ascertain
who would benefit from a multi-agency approach and a co-ordinated care plan to support their personal goals.
There are also a number of people that are not yet requiring this level of care and part of this role is to support
people through social prescribing into supportive services that can delay or stop the requirement for such
intensive care support and dependency on public sector services.

Purpose of the post:
The Case Worker - Navigator role is key to integrating care for all adults who are 16 years of age and above.
The post provides an interface between VCSE provider organisations and service users, health and social
care multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) and other statutory bodies. The aims of the role are:

Age UK Islington – Locality Navigation

     Version 9 – August 2025

•  To  work  with  patients in a personalised and strengths based way in order  to  support  them  in

identifying  ways  of  achieving  individual physical and or mental health  improvement through the
delivery of personal goals and connecting with appropriate health services and other VCSE providers to
make best use of community resources to support the delivery of these goals.

•  To  provide  enhanced  social prescribing  through  current  up  to  date  knowledge  of  local  services

available; ensuring access and connections to these services in order to promote patients’
independence through improved access to information and support linked to personal goals.

AS PART OF THE DRIVE TO IMPROVE CARE FOR SERVICE USERS THERE MAY BE A REQUIREMENT
FOR THIS POST HOLDER TO WORK SOME FLEXIBLE HOURS.

Key skills:
The post holder will be an excellent communicator and develop a wide knowledge of the services offered by
VCSE providers, particularly within Islington and the North London area.  The post holder will require strong
organisational skills, must be flexible in approach, able to exercise initiative and demonstrate a consistently
high standard of professionalism, being aware of the need for confidentiality and integrity.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

1   Integrated Care Coordination

•  Active Signposting, Referral and connections of patients to the multitude of support services that are

available through VCSE providers tailored to the person’s specific needs.

•  Work as part of Age UK Islington’s busy Helpline receiving and triaging referrals via a drop-in, telephone,

email etc. Ensuring the client is allocated to the most effective service for their need.

•  Be the point of liaison for service users and carers principally with VCSE providers as well as useful

commercial services.

  Coordinate with professionals involved in patients’ care, including primary and secondary care services,

Adult Social Care, London Ambulance Service and community services.

•  Working with patients as a case worker to support them to deliver specific personal goals in

tandem with the INC MDT team.

•  Promote independence and empowerment through active signposting to self-care and self-

management programmes

•  Build strong relationships with VCSE providers and identify key links with the providers to facilitate
smooth transition of patients, promoting patient independence and ensure care does not become
fragmented or duplicated.

•  Deal in a professional, helpful and sensitive manner with patients, staff and other agencies by

telephone or face to face, taking messages, advising patients about appointment locations visits,
referring other issues as appropriate and answering routine enquiries.

•  Build  and  strengthen  relationships  with  other  Navigators  (specialist  and  generalist)  already  in  post

within other organisations within Islington and other boroughs

2   Information and Data Coordination

•  To be proficient in using Microsoft office packages and other identified IT systems and support other

team members in their use.

•  To record relevant patient documentation contemporaneously on identified IT systems as required.
•  Maintain Electronic Case Record Management systems and to input patients’ engagement
  with VCSE providers.
•  Support the completion of patient referrals, record electronically and feedback to team members.
•  Be responsible for updating the electronic service directory on a regular basis, sourcing referral criteria

and ensuring these are accessible to all relevant parties.

Age UK Islington – Locality Navigation

     Version 9 – August 2025

3   Patient Support

•  Case Manage a quota of clients, proficiently working within key targets
•  Offer appointments that meet the needs of clients, either via the office, community, GP practice or home

visits.

•  Ensure patients’ requirements from specialist VCSE and other services is managed smoothly with

no fragmentation in service delivery

•  Ensure appropriate actions from MDT meetings are completed in a timely fashion
•  Communicate with members of the MDT team as required if identifying patients as being in need

of referral to wider community to support independence.

•  Communicate effectively with service users and their families/carers, other staff both internal and

external and members of the public.

4   General:

•  The post holder must at all times carry out duties and responsibilities with due regard to the

organisations’ equal opportunity policies and procedures.

•  The post holder must at all times respect patient confidentiality and, in particular, the confidentiality of

electronically stored personal data in line with the requirements of the General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR).

•  The post holder will be expected to take responsibility for self-development on a continuous basis,

undertaking on-the-job training as required.

•  The post holder must be aware of individual responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act

and identify and report as necessary any untoward accident incident or potentially hazardous
environment.

•  The post holder will ensure they accurately represent Age UK Islington and ensure the values of Age

UK Islington are upheld at all times in carrying out their work

•  The post holder will work as part of a team and provide cover for absent colleagues.
•  The post holder may be required to undertake duties at any location within the Borough of Islington, in

order to meet service needs.

•  The post holder must work in general accordance with the organisation’s policies and guidelines at all

times.

•  The post holder must adhere to the organisation’s information governance policy at all times, in

particular ensuring that there is no breach of confidentiality as a result of his/her actions.

This job description is intended as a guide to the main responsibilities of the post and not as an exhaustive list
of duties and tasks. The post holder may be required to undertake other duties appropriate to his/her grade,
which are not listed above, at the direction of his/her manager. The job description may be amended from time
to time after consultation with the post holder.

Equal Opportunities:
The organisation operates an equal opportunities policy and expects staff to have a commitment to equal
opportunities policies in relation to employment and service delivery.

Risk Management:
All post holders have a responsibility to report risks such as clinical and non-clinical accidents or incidents
promptly. They are expected to be familiar with the organisation’s use of risk assessments to predict and
control risk, as well as the incident reporting system for learning from mistakes and near misses in order to
improve services. Post holders must also attend training identified by their manager or stated by the
organisation to be mandatory.

Age UK Islington – Locality Navigation

     Version 9 – August 2025

Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults:
Post holders have a general responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their
daily duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.

Smoking Policy:
It is the organisation policy to promote health. Smoking, therefore, is actively discouraged. It is illegal within the
organisation’s buildings

Performance Management
Indicators of performance in the post will be drawn from service KPIs listed in the contract between Age UK
Islington and the CCG. Example indicators include:
1.   Numbers of patients benefiting from services
2.   Service response times achieved
3.   Number of users reporting improved outcomes
4.   User perception of quality/usefulness/responsiveness of service
5.   MDT and wider practitioner perception of quality/usefulness/responsiveness of service

Age UK Islington – Locality Navigation

     Version 9 – August 2025

Age UK Islington

Essential  Desirable  Assessment

Person Spec: Locality Navigator: Integrated Care (Locality Based)
Person Specification
Factors
Experience/
Qualifications

Description
Health or Social Care qualifications or
equivalent experience



Skills

Knowledge

Aptitude

Application of outcomes-based approaches to
care and support

Working with at-risk individuals in a case
working capacity
Carrying out Care Planning and Coordination
processes.
Using IT based case management systems

Effective and confident written and verbal
communication to wide range of patient and
practitioner audiences

Identifying and resolving patient issues sensitively
within service and professional boundaries

Able to build supportive and trusted working
relationships
Able to prioritise and manage own workload

Working with people on a one to one basis in a
coaching role

Working as part of a multidisciplinary team
Personalised working using motivational
interviewing techniques
Relevant voluntary and community sector services
knowledge

Patient confidentiality, privacy and dignity
best practice requirements

Core health and social care processes and
integrated working approaches

Commitment to delivering a high quality and safe
service
Able to communicate with clients and
professionals at all levels
Able to assess risk when lone working

Able to manage own work load and prioritise
competing pressures
Willingness to undergo further training
or development































App = Application
Int = Interview
Pres = Presentation

App

App/Int

App/lnt

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int/Pres

App/Int

App/Int/Pres

App/Int



App/Int

App/Int/Pres
App/Int



App/Int/Pres

App/Int



App/Int

App/Int

App/Int/Pres



App/Int/Pres

App/Int/Pres

App/Int

Age UK Islington – Locality Navigation

     Version 9 – August 2025

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE:                       Community Mental Health Keyworker

WORKING HOURS:

37.5 hours per week - worked flexibly to meet the needs of the Service
Users

SALARY:

£31,155 pa inclusive; access to pension scheme

DBS LEVEL:                     Enhanced DBS with Adult & Child Barring

REPORTS TO:                  Team Leader at Age UK Islington

LOCATION:

INTRODUCTION

The  Post  will  be  based  across  two  main  office  locations  –  Islington
Mental health Core teams and Age UK Islington. However, we reserve
the right to relocate post holders to other operating bases in line with
operational requirements.

The North London NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and social care services,
across five Boroughs. The Keyworker role will be based within the Islington Core Teams – see
link for further information: Our Services Page | North London NHS Foundation Trust . The Core Team’s
vision is to provide integrated and person-centered care and to work together in partnership
with primary care, the Voluntary & Community Sector (VCS), social care, communities, service
users, their carers and families to support and improve mental and physical health for the whole
population through a combination of prevention, supporting people to stay well and
responsiveness to changes in need.

The service provides five keyworkers to work across the localities in Islington. Three
keyworkers are employed by Age UK Islington and two keyworkers by MIND Islington.

Age UK Islington and Islington MIND are both independent charities, Age UK Islington provides
a range of one to one personalised support and Islington MIND offer a range of structured and
open access mental health interventions including our peer led bespoke projects.

For more information you can visit Age UK Islington on www.ageuk.org.uk/Islington

JOB PURPOSE:

To work within the Islington core community mental health multidisciplinary/multiagency core
team, that integrates services across health, social care and the Voluntary & Community
Sector.

The main aims of the role:

•  Improve Service User experience and outcomes.
•  Ensure people with mental health issues have improved access to mental health support.

CMHKW JD/PS

©Age UK Islington and Islington Mind

V7 Jan 2024

•  That care and support is holistic and person-centred, truly orientated towards the promotion

and maximisation of individuals’ health, wellbeing and independence

•  Health inequalities often faced by people with mental health issues are reduced.
•  The new community service approach is a true integration across secondary mental health
services, the VCS, primary care, social care, community assets as well as other physical
healthcare provision.

The post holder will work across various Service User database systems to both input and
extract data to support the effective delivery of services.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

•  Key workers will seek to identify and address the wider determinants of mental health,

such as debt, poor housing and physical inactivity.

•  Working with Service Users as a case worker to support them to deliver specific personal

goals in conjunction with the wider core team

•  Provide the time and flexibility needed on a case-by-case Service User basis to enable
and sustain the regular planned engagement that Service Users need to maximise their
health, wellbeing and independence.

•  Offer a bespoke, tailored approach, ensuring flexibility in form, type, location, time and

day of support – recognising one size does not fit all.

•  Offer a range of different accessibility options to Service Users, whether this involves

face to face at locations and times to suit the individual e.g. local park, café, community
centre, online or telephone contact, as well as meeting Service Users at their home
where appropriate.

•  Develop supportive relationships with local VCS organisations, culturally appropriate
community groups and statutory and health services, to make timely, appropriate and
supported referrals and connect with diverse local communities, particularly those
statutory agencies may find hard to reach e.g. BAME, P of C and LGBTQ+.

•  Work with a Service User to co-create a personalised support plan including resources
and support to access health and wellbeing support from a range of disciplines and
providers, building upon a strengths-based approach to motivate and encourage
preventative options for longer term self-management, as well as providing complex
intensive casework input where required.
In addition to this relationship building with the Service User, the key worker will also
seek to build effective working relationships with other members of the team and outside
professionals as part of our ‘Test and Learn’ approach. This will include building effective
communication channels to identify and solve problems, avoid duplication and work
assertively to represent the individual needs of Service Users and share where system
change or flex is needed to improve practice

•

Casework

•  Receive and triage referrals from members of the Core Team and a range of Service

Users and professionals.

•  Carry out case work activity and case manage a quota of Service Users.
•  Work flexibly with individuals to provide support in managing their health and wellbeing

and make connections to community services and activities.

CMHKW JD/PS

©Age UK Islington and Islington Mind

V7 Jan 2024

•  Coproduce personalised support plans with Service Users
•  Provide support that focusses on enabling Service Users to take control of their health
and wellbeing and live independently, working with a diverse range of people and
communities.

•  Follow up on support and identify ongoing prevention opportunities during case work
and at case closure including an agreed ongoing schedule of contact/follow up.
•  Carry out and record all work and interactions with Service Users on a range of

systems, including NHS recording systems.

•  Work collaboratively with Core team members, including representation and attendance

at key sites and multi-disciplinary meetings.

•  Collaborate with other service teams and systems to ensure the full range support is

implemented and fulfilled.

•  Carry out learning and personal development responsibilities.

Monitoring, Information and Quality Assurance

•  To be proficient in using Microsoft office packages and other identified IT systems.
•  To record relevant Service user documentation contemporaneously on identified IT

systems as required.

•  Facility for learning new software packages which may be in continued development.
•  Support completion of Service User referrals, record electronically and feedback to team

•

members.
Input data onto the Service User information management systems to update Service
User Service User details, and periodically use reports to ensure Service User Service
User details are correct.

•  Be responsible for updating the electronic service directory on a regular basis, sourcing

referral criteria and ensuring these are accessible to all relevant parties.

•  Provide quarterly reports and feedback to your manager in line with agreed KPI’s
•  Maintain quality standards in accordance with the policies of your organisation

Partnership Building

•  Build and maintain effective working relationships with the Core Team partners and act

as a link between these and the wider community offer.

•  Develop an in-depth understanding of the specialist service offer from the other partners
and how this can be applied in a prevention approach to ensure effective onward referral
after triage.

•  Ensure the prompt identification and escalation of any areas of system delay, failure or

areas of learning and escalate these to the service manager.

Risk Management:

•  All post holders have a responsibility to report risks such as clinical and non-

clinical accidents or incidents promptly. They are expected to be familiar with the
organisation’s use of risk assessments to predict and control risk, as well as the
incident reporting system for learning from mistakes and near misses to improve
services. Post holders must also attend training identified by their manager or
stated by the organisation to be mandatory.

•  Manage risk within your sphere of responsibility, including taking reasonable care

CMHKW JD/PS

©Age UK Islington and Islington Mind

V7 Jan 2024

of your own safety and the safety of others who may be affected by acts or
omissions. To be aware of the responsibilities placed upon you by The Health Act
(2007) to ensure they maintain a safe, infection free environment. This includes the
knowledge and understanding of the management of infected Service Users and
the principles of Standard Infection Control Precautions including the correct
technique for Hand Washing and the appropriate use of Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE).

Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults:

•

•

Post holders have a general responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable
adults in the course of their daily duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the
specific duties relating to their role.
Keep up to date with current Safeguarding policy and procedure and follow protocol
at all times.

Wider Organisational responsibilities

•  Work  collaboratively  within  an  MDT  setting  with  clinical  staff  and  with  other  services

provided by the organisation and its partners.

•  Meet legislative and all relevant regulatory requirements including Health & Safety.
•

Ensure the values of Age UK Islington/Islington Mind and the North London NHS
Foundation Trust are upheld.
Carry out duties in accordance with principles, policies and procedures.
Provide cover for absent colleagues.
Carry out administrative duties in connection with the post.

•
•
•

Notes:
This role description is not intended to be exhaustive in every respect but rather to clearly define
the  fundamental  purpose,  responsibilities  and  dimensions  for  the  role.  Therefore,  the  role
description does not describe any individual role holder.

In addition to the contents of this role description, employees are expected to undertake any and
all other reasonable and related tasks allocated by line management.

CMHKW JD/PS

©Age UK Islington and Islington Mind

V7 Jan 2024

Age UK Islington   PERSON SPECIFICATION/SUCCESS PROFILES        HR: Recruitment

Person Specification
Factors
Experience/
Qualifications

Description
Health and or Social Care qualifications

Essential  Desirable  Assessment
✓

App

Skills

Knowledge

Aptitude

Experience of supporting people with Mental
health issues

Application of outcomes-based approaches to
care and support

Working with at-risk individuals in a health
or social care type role
Carrying out screening and triage functions

Using IT based case management systems

Effective and confident written and verbal
communication to wide range of Service User
and practitioner audiences

Identifying and resolving Service User issues
sensitively within service and professional
boundaries
Able to build supportive and trusted working
relationships
Able to prioritise and manage own workload

Working flexibly with people on a one-to-one
basis in a coaching role

Working as part of a multidisciplinary team
Personalised working using motivational
interviewing techniques
Relevant voluntary and community sector services
knowledge

Service User confidentiality, privacy and
dignity best practice requirements

Core health and social care processes and
integrated working approaches

Commitment to delivering a high quality and safe
service
Able to communicate with Service Users and
professionals at all levels
Able to assess risk when lone working

Able to manage own workload and prioritise
competing pressures
Willingness to undergo further training
or development

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

App

App/Int/Pres

App/lnt

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int/Pres

App/Int

App/Int

✓

App/Int

App/Int/Pres
App/Int/Pres

✓

App/Int/Pres

App/Int

✓

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int/Pres

App/Int/Pres

App/Int/Pres

App/Int

App=Application Int= Interview Pres = Presentation
Age UK Islington & Islington MIND are a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we want to help candidates
demonstrate their full potential. If candidates require any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process, they
should let the recruitment manager know.

CMHKW JD/PS

©Age UK Islington and Islington Mind

V7 Jan 2024

Job Description

Job Title:                      Information & Advice Caseworker
Ref:                              IA-CW-25- PT
Primary Focus:
Contract Type:
Hours:
Salary/benefits:
Location/Team:

Information & Advice
Permanent
3 days (22.5 hours) per week
£19,478 (FTE £32,464) pa inclusive; access to pension scheme
The post holder will be required to work at various locations and within different team
settings, in line with business needs.

Reports to:                   Team Leader – I&A Services

PURPOSE of the ROLE

The aim of the Age UK Islington Information and Advice service is an early intervention and prevention service
that works with people to identify and resolve the root causes of their problems with the aim of preventing
escalation of the problem. Optimised for residents/clients looking for answers to simple information/advice
requests to help themselves in looking after their wellbeing, both as preventative opportunities and in dealing
with current issues. The purpose of the offer is to support early resolution and problem-solving to help people
to become more self-sufficient and resilient.

You will have responsibility for ensuring the I&A service is provided effectively and efficiently on a day-to-day
basis through face-to-face and digital platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. You will be able to
develop effective partnerships and positive relationships with professionals across organisations.

Our Information and Advice service is Advice Quality Standard (AQS) accredited. Therefore to maintain this
standard you will need to continually evolve and respond to changes in advice provision, including
technological advances and shifting societal needs.

You will be an excellent communicator and able to prioritise daily challenges and expectations. You will be
confident in making sound decisions that respond flexibly and quickly to changing needs that arise in a range
of community setting requirements.

The I&A worker will provide up-to-date, accurate and impartial information and support to Age UK Islington`s
clients. You will need to respond sensitively to those who call, email, write and contact us via social media,
also including carers, employers, and healthcare professionals. Supported through an ongoing programme of
coaching, updates, and personal development, you will deliver the highest quality service, ensuring that we
are responsive to clients’ needs and striving to ensure that everyone who contacts us feels that they have a
positive experience of Age UK Islington. Working within a framework of customer focussed policies and
processes, you will be part of a team that is committed to continuous improvement and will regularly contribute
to the development of the service in order to meet evolving client needs and expectations.

Information & Advice Worker  JD                                               © Age UK Islington 2019                   Version V.1  January 2023

Summary

To provide an Information & Advice casework service to help clients with issues relating to their wellbeing such
as: Housing, Income Maximisation, Money Management, Grant Applications, Employment, Consumer, and
other areas of social welfare.

To take a person-centred approach. Communicating in a friendly, confident and empathetic manner in order to
try and understand the clients problems, their aims and goals and empower them to find solutions.
To help clients resolve their issues by helping them to prioritise, understand letters, support them to complete
forms and challenge decisions, contact relevant organisations, and signpost to other specialist services.

To network with the local authority and local organisations and services to develop referral and signposting
pathways, and effectively promote the service.

To obtain and record all essential information accurately on our Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
system including personal details, equality monitoring data, consent, and enquiry details.

Main Responsibilities and Duties

1.  Provide high-quality information and Advice in an empathic and professional approach via in-person,

telephone, email, letter, and social media platforms to clients.

2.  Accurate and timely data capture of enquiries working alongside agreed measures.
3.  Manage own caseload  - including prioritising issues and meet tight deadlines.
4.  Work within the policies and processes in place for the service, including enquiry handling processes,

data input and management, quality assurance processes and safeguarding procedures.

5.  Escalate difficult issues, queries or complaints in a timely and appropriate way and take responsibility

for any ongoing actions to ensure issue/query/complaint is resolved.

6.  Provide input into projects as required to ensure that the I&A service is represented internally, across

Age UK Islington activities.

7.  Support the Team Leader to plan, organise, co-ordinate and deliver I&A outreach sessions to Islington

residents across the Borough.

8.  Act as an ambassador of Age UK Islington at external events and meetings in order to promote the

work of the I&A and wider services.

9.  Ensure all client interactions are record accurately on our Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

system including personal details, equality monitoring data, consent, and enquiry details.

10. The post holder must at all times respect client confidentiality and, in particular, the confidentiality of
electronically stored personal data in line with the requirements of the General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR).

11. Advise the I&A Team Leader of any problems and take appropriate action as directed.
12. Contribute to the continuous improvement of service provision in Age UK Islington communicating

service user feedback to the managers where appropriate.

13. To perform any other relevant duties that may be determined by the changing needs of the service.
14. Be able and confident to identify the need and take action to modify and adapt methods of

communication to account for the differing needs of callers especially in stressful and difficult situations.

15. To be confident in adapting, escalating and maintaining control when dealing with safeguarding

situations under pressure.

16. Promptly refer any issues/concerns outside the scope of the post holder’s responsibilities to the

Information & Advice Team Leader.

17. Reflect the diversity of needs in the community by utilising all available resources to facilitate access to

the service where there are barriers to communication and understanding, e.g. text phone,
interpretation services.

18. Make use of supervision, peer support, training and learning opportunities.

Information & Advice Worker  JD                                               © Age UK Islington 2019                   Version V.1  January 2023

19. The post holder must be aware of individual responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act
and identify and report as necessary any accident incident or potentially hazardous environment.

20. The post holder must work in general accordance with all other organisation’s policies and guidelines at

all times.

21. The post holder must at all times carry out duties and responsibilities with due regard to the

organisations’ equal opportunity policies and procedures.

This job description is intended as a guide to the main responsibilities of the post and not as an exhaustive list
of duties and tasks. The post holder may be required to undertake other duties appropriate to this grade,
which are not listed above, at the direction of the line manager and/or CEO. The job description may be
amended from time to time after consultation with the post holder.

Please see the Person Specification below.

                                        PERSON SPECIFICATION
Factors
Experience/
Qualifications

Description
No specific qualification – demonstrable
experience and knowledge are most
important.
At least two year’s full-time (or two years’ part-time)
experience in an advice-giving or counselling,
customer facing role, in either a voluntary or paid
capacity.
Experience of using customer relationship
management (CRM) databases.
Minimum of one-year direct experience of case
working support preferably in a health-related,
voluntary sector or similar environment.
Competence in MS Office skills (in particular
Outlook, Word and Excel).
Excellent written and verbal communication skills,
with ability to communicate complex and sensitive
issues with ease.
Proven ability to make effective decisions in a fast
paced environment.
Excellent planning and organisational skills with
good attention to detail and the ability to work on
multiple tasks simultaneously.
Strong listening and communication skills, with
understanding and empathy to help inform,
challenge and influence effectively.
Work closely with the rest of Age UK Islington
services teams, to demonstrate/be able to access
up-to-date knowledge of the work of the
organisation and current developments in services.
Ability  to  work  independently  and  proactively  with
minimal supervision to deadlines, as well as being a
supportive team player.

Essential   Desirable    Assessment

√

App/Int

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

Skills

Information & Advice Worker  JD                                               © Age UK Islington 2019                   Version V.1  January 2023

Knowledge

General

Ability to give and receive feedback objectively and
sensitively and a willingness to challenge
constructively.
Ability to maintain confidentiality sensitively and
appropriately.
Knowledge of data protection and safeguarding
procedures backed up with experience of using
these processes.
An understanding of the broad range of problems
people of all ages including their family and carers
in all situations (health & wellbeing) encounter in
their daily lives and can offer appropriate
information/advice and practical solutions.
Strong commitment to high standards of service
delivery and customer care
Willingness to undergo further training or
development.

√

√

√

√

√

√

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App/Int

App = Application Stage
Int = Interview

Information & Advice Worker  JD                                               © Age UK Islington 2019                   Version V.1  January 2023

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title:

Team Leader – Social Prescribing Link Work

Primary Focus:

Primary Care Networks

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hours:

5 days (37.5 hours) per week.

Salary/benefits:

£36,792 per annum, plus benefits, hybrid working

Location/Team:

The post holder will be required to work at various locations across
Islington and within different team settings, in line with the needs of the
service.

Reports to:

Head of Services – Personalised Care & Support

Background to Social Prescribing Link Work service:
Social Prescribing Link Workers work as part of the Primary Care Network (PCN) multi- disciplinary
team. Social prescribing helps PCNs to strengthen community, personal resilience and reduce health
and wellbeing inequalities by addressing the wider determinants of health, such as debt, poor
housing and physical inactivity, by increasing people’s active involvement with their local
communities. It particularly works for people with long term conditions (including support for
mental health), for people who are lonely or isolated, or have complex health and social needs which
affect their wellbeing.
The Team leader role includes screening and allocation alongside specialisms in e.g. working with
specific service user groups, project development, referral pathway development, new service
implementation, coaching and mentoring and multi-disciplinary services integration.

Main purpose of the role

The Team leader will have responsibility for ensuring the following:

•  That staff and volunteers are supported, well engaged, trained, motivated, and committed

and that they deliver a professional service to clients and their carers/families.

•  Maintain own area service monitoring, while ensuring that the service continues to meet the

needs of service users and that all quality standards are fully met.

•  Ensure a continuous flow of referrals into the services through external networking with key

partners and stake holders.

•  Develop and deliver proactive social prescribing through LTC workshops in partnership with

other providers

•  Triage and allocate referrals to the Social Prescribing Link Workers or redirect to the most

appropriate service within Age UK Islington.

•  Support the Head of Services to develop, sustain and review referral pathways with internal

and external services, practitioners and other service leads.

•  Work collaboratively with other Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme professionals

within PCNs, including Care Coordinators

•  Ensure you have an up to date understanding of the role and focus of Personalised Care.
•  Be the go-to person for specific enquiries about new and emerging issues, specifically related

to client needs.

•  Provide supervision, coaching, mentoring and practice development support to SPLWs.

JD – Team Leader SPLW

© Age UK Islington

Version 3 – December 2025

•  Develop the service to ensure that client access to support is delivered across the Primary
Care Network sites, including community venues, GP surgeries and other locality sites.
•  Contribute to own service area and or wider organisation communications and promotion.

Case Work Role

•  Carry out case work activity and case manage a quota of clients in proportion to other

responsibilities as outlined above.

•  Work creatively to match client needs with a variety of community-based providers to

increase their confidence and stability.

•  Work closely with the client and third parties to manage and coordinate delivery of the

personalised support plan.

•  Liaise with relevant third parties as required and throughout the client support to achieve

service goals, making direct referrals to other providers where necessary.

•  Work as part of a rota receiving and responding to enquiries from clients, professionals,

carers and others.

•  Work with volunteers to agree a fixed short duration period of support, matching

volunteers’ skills with identified client needs.

•  Identify ongoing prevention opportunities during case work and at case closure including

an agreed ongoing schedule of contact/follow up.

•  Ensure case notes and other relevant records are entered and updated on the CRM database

and Primary Care Data systems (EMIS) in line with system processes and policies.
•  Ensure services are delivered and all activities carried out in line with organisation

and service specific policies.

Partnership Working

•  Research and share knowledge across the organisation of community services beneficial to a

range of client needs.

•  Develop  and  deliver  services  to  a  wider  client  group  in  collaboration  with  key  partner

agencies, including Health and Social care services from VCS, NHS and ASC.

•  Ensure  understanding  of  key  working  relationships*  (as  specified  below)  in own  area  and

maintain effective partnership/joint working arrangements.

•  Ensure understanding of and close working relationships with wider voluntary sector services

providing ongoing support.

•  Provide flexible cover for and support AUKI’s wider casework teams.

*Key working Relationships:

Voluntary, Community, Social Enterprise services and groups (VCSE)
Clients or patients
Primary Care Network GP Clinical Leads
Islington GP Federation
General Practitioners and practice nurses
Islington Adult Social Care
London Ambulance Service and paramedics
Carers and carer organisations
Other clinical teams including PCN Additional Role & Responsibility Scheme staff
Local Wellbeing Networks
Housing

Performance Management

•  Monitor and ensure compliance with Key Performance indicators (KPIs)

JD – Team Leader SPLW

© Age UK Islington

Version 3 – December 2025

•  Ensure services are delivered to a high standard and in line with organisational and service

specific policies.

•  Ensure that response times to specific referral types are met.
•  Obtain user feedback on perceived quality and effectiveness of services.
•  Monitor  and  act  on  complaints  and  feedback  related  to  the  service,  escalating  to  the

appropriate manager.

Wider Organisational responsibilities

•  Work collaboratively with individuals and teams internally in the organisation and with its

partners.

•  Meet legislative and all relevant regulatory requirements including Health & Safety and

Employment.

•  Carry out responsibilities for Safeguarding.
•  Carry out duties in accordance with Age UK Islington values, principles, policies and

procedures.

•  Provide cover for absent colleagues.
•  Carry out administrative duties in connection with the post.
•  To cover the wider casework team across AUKI when required.

Note:
This role description is not intended to be exhaustive in every respect but rather to clearly define the
fundamental purpose, responsibilities and dimensions for the role. Therefore, the role description
does not describe any individual role holder. In addition to the contents of this role description,
employees are expected to undertake any and all other reasonable and related tasks allocated by
the Head of Services.

JD – Team Leader SPLW

© Age UK Islington

Version 3 – December 2025

Person Specification
Factors
Experience/
Qualifications

Description
Minimum 3 years of experience supervising, coaching, or
supporting staff
Health or Social Care qualification or equivalent experience

Experience of carrying out triaging, service
assessments and creating service user support plans
Experience of working with vulnerable adults in a direct support
role
Experience of liaising with a wide range of professionals
Experience of managing a team to meet compliance with key
performance indicators
Experience of support or developing new services or projects

Skills

Skills in carrying out service assessments and goal planning

Confidence to lead a team and be solutions focussed

Able to design and deliver proactive social prescribing to
specific cohorts of clients in collaboration with partner
agencies
Able to maintain an overview of own service area, including
referral pathways and case allocation

Skills in matching volunteers and clients to take forward goal
specific support
Able to understand and follow processes
related to service delivery
Able to complete client and home-based risk
assessments
Able to operate, input and extract records and data
from a service database to monitoring key areas of performance

Able to communicate effectively with family carers, professional
staff and others to ensure safe and efficient working with
individual clients
Knowledge of Personalised Care and Strength based
approaches  and best practice in care and other service settings

Knowledge of services, types of
of support and the roles of different teams, including Health,
Adult Social Care and VCSE organisations
Knowledge of Safeguarding processes

Requirements/approaches to supporting
volunteers in a care and support role

Knowledge

Aptitude

Able to form effective working relationships

Able to drive forward on projects, dealing with setbacks.

Self-directed. Willing to take responsibility
and be held accountable.

Essential  Desirable  Assessment

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

App/Int

App

App/lnt

App/lnt

App/lnt

App/lnt

App/lnt

App/Int

✓

✓

✓

✓

App/lnt

✓

App/lnt

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓
✓

✓

App/lnt

App/lnt

App/lnt

App/lnt

✓

App/lnt

App/lnt

App/lnt

App/lnt

✓

App/lnt

App/lnt

App/lnt

JD – Team Leader SPLW

© Age UK Islington

Version 3 – December 2025