Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Specialist Support Worker & Autism Liaison

The closing date is 25 March 2026

Job summary

**Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.**

The Oxleas Adult Autism Service will be launching a Community Autism Service within the areas of Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich. The new service is designed to provide multidisciplinary, person-centred support and advocacy services to autistic adults who are not eligible for a learning disability service or community mental health services or other relevant care setting. This is a very exciting opportunity to be part of a growing service aimed at reshaping how Autism is understood and supported within the local community.

We are seeking 2 specialist support workers to work alongside an MDT composed of Occupational therapy, Speech & Language Therapy and Psychology.

The post would could also suit someone interested in a career in Speech and Language Therapy and/or Occupational Therapy or Psychology.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be a member of our multi-disciplinary team and will be responsible of supporting Autistic adults in the community. The main responsibility for this role will be to support the implementation of specialist programmes and strategies designed by the MDT for our service users.

As a second part of the role the post holder will also be key to support the person in navigating and sign posting them to the appropriate community third sector service and provide information on how to access them. The post holder will guide the person through the community offer, make relevant contact if needed and support in attending key appointments.

A key responsibility of this role will be to maintain ongoing collaboration with third-party service providers. This includes establishing and nurturing relationships, developing effective channels of communication, and regularly updating liaison pathways between the community autism service and other organizations operating within the community.

When both roles are filled, one person will mainly handle the clinical duties associated with the specialist support worker, while the other will primarily focus on non-clinical tasks linked to the Autism liaison specialist. However, both post holders should be prepared to work flexibly across the service and cover the full scope of responsibilities when necessary.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

  • We're Kind
  • We're Fair
  • We Listen
  • We Care

Details

Date posted

18 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£32,199 to £34,876 a year pa inc

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

277-7827194-ALD

Job locations

Queen Mary's Hospital

Frognal Avenue

Sidcup

DA14 6LT


Job description

Job responsibilities

Further detailed information relating to the role and responsibilities can be found in the attached supporting documentation.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Further detailed information relating to the role and responsibilities can be found in the attached supporting documentation.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • Demonstrated experience of working with Speech and Language Therapists and/or Occupational Therapists and/or Psychology
  • Experience of supporting autistic people in the health service, social care and/or community settings.

Desirable

  • Direct experience working and contributing to MDT planning and provision

Education & communication

Essential

  • Sufficient literacy and computer skills to contribute to the creation of professional documents, reports and data collection.

Desirable

  • Relevant healthcare foundation degree or NVQ level 3 or evidence of specialist training relevant to the post

Knowledge

Essential

  • Understanding of basic MDT (OT/SaLT/Psych) interventions and ability to develop specialist skills under the supervision of qualified professionals
Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • Demonstrated experience of working with Speech and Language Therapists and/or Occupational Therapists and/or Psychology
  • Experience of supporting autistic people in the health service, social care and/or community settings.

Desirable

  • Direct experience working and contributing to MDT planning and provision

Education & communication

Essential

  • Sufficient literacy and computer skills to contribute to the creation of professional documents, reports and data collection.

Desirable

  • Relevant healthcare foundation degree or NVQ level 3 or evidence of specialist training relevant to the post

Knowledge

Essential

  • Understanding of basic MDT (OT/SaLT/Psych) interventions and ability to develop specialist skills under the supervision of qualified professionals

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

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. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

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. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Queen Mary's Hospital

Frognal Avenue

Sidcup

DA14 6LT


Employer's website

http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Queen Mary's Hospital

Frognal Avenue

Sidcup

DA14 6LT


Employer's website

http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Consultant Psychologist and Service Clinical Lead

Andrea Centonze

andrea.centonze1@nhs.net

Details

Date posted

18 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£32,199 to £34,876 a year pa inc

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

277-7827194-ALD

Job locations

Queen Mary's Hospital

Frognal Avenue

Sidcup

DA14 6LT


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)