Assessment and Placement Practitioner

About Unicare

Unicare Complex Care Specialist Ltd is a nurse-led, CQC-registered provider of supported living and complex care. We support adults with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, mental health needs and complex behaviours across nine supported living services in Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire and South London. Our community outreach service delivers care to adults and children in their own homes, and our complex care division provides nurse-led and nurse-delegated clinical care under our registration for the treatment of disease, disorder or injury. We employ over 170 people.

We take referrals that other providers decline. That is only a safe commitment if we are rigorous at the front door and disciplined about how a new package is built and embedded.

The role

Most providers separate assessment from mobilisation, and placements fail in the gap between the two. This role closes that gap. You will assess the referral, build the package alongside the Registered Manager, and stay with it until the person has settled and you are satisfied it works — and only then sign it off.

You will report to the Clinical Director and work across three phases on every referral.

Phase one: assessment

• Receive and triage new referrals from local authorities, integrated care boards, hospital discharge teams and other providers, assessing urgency and suitability against our registration and capability.

• Carry out face-to-face assessments wherever the person is — in hospital, a current placement, the family home, or a secure or inpatient setting. You will assess the mental health, autism and ADHD presentation, including behaviours of concern, communication and sensory needs, capacity and consent, and any restrictive practice in place, drawing on records, MDT input, behaviour support plans and family perspectives. Where the referral carries clinical or nursing needs, you will assess these too or work with our clinical team to do so.

• Produce clear, evidence-based assessment reports setting out the proposed staffing model, skill mix, environmental requirements, clinical input and identified risks, and give honest advice on whether Unicare should accept the referral — including recommending that we decline where we cannot meet needs safely.

Phase two: setting up the package

• Work jointly with the designated Registered Manager to turn your assessment into a working package — staffing rota, skill mix, recruitment or redeployment needs, training requirements and the physical environment.

• Ensure the support plan, positive behaviour support plan and risk assessments are in place, personalised and understood by the staff team before the person moves in. Brief and prepare the team on who the person is, what matters to them, what their behaviour is communicating and what to do when things go wrong, commissioning or delivering bespoke training where the package needs it.

• Coordinate the clinical elements with our nursing team, including nurse-delegated tasks, competency sign-off for support staff and clinical oversight arrangements, and coordinate the transition itself with the commissioner, family, discharging team and current provider so the move is planned rather than rushed.

Phase three: settling in and sign-off

• Stay actively involved through the first weeks, visiting in person, observing practice and checking that what was assessed is what is being delivered. Review and adjust the package where reality differs from the assessment, escalating promptly where staffing, funding or the environment needs to change.

• Gather feedback from the person, their family and the staff team, and act on what they tell you.

• Formally sign off and hand over the placement to the Registered Manager only when the person has settled, the plan is embedded, risks are being managed and the team is competent and confident — then feed what you learn back into how we assess, price, design and train, so each placement makes the next one better.

About you

Essential

• A registered professional qualification with current registration — RMN, RNLD, RGN, Social Worker (Social Work England), Occupational Therapist or Psychologist.

• Substantial post-qualifying experience assessing adults with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, mental health needs or complex behaviours.

• Demonstrable skill in structured assessment of need and risk, and excellent written English — your reports are read by commissioners and inform funding decisions.

• Experience of setting up, mobilising or embedding a care or support package, not assessment alone.

• Sound working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Care Act 2014, Deprivation of Liberty safeguards and the legal framework around restrictive practice.

• Understanding of positive behaviour support and trauma-informed practice, and of what good looks like in supported living.

• The credibility to work alongside Registered Managers and staff teams, and the confidence to hold your position with commissioners — including when your recommendation is that we decline, or that a package is not yet safe to sign off.

• A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle, with willingness to travel across our operating areas, together with an enhanced DBS check (we will arrange this) and the right to work in the UK.

Desirable

We would particularly welcome applicants who can also assess complex care packages. If you have experience of assessing for nurse-led or nurse-delegated care in people's own homes, please say so clearly in your application.

• Assessment experience across complex clinical needs such as tracheostomy care, ventilation, enteral or PEG feeding, seizure and rescue medication management or epilepsy protocols, and an understanding of clinical task delegation, competency assessment and sign-off for healthcare assistants and support workers.

• Experience of assessing packages for children as well as adults.

• Familiarity with local authority and ICB commissioning, brokerage and funding processes, including Continuing Healthcare, All-Age Continuing Care and Section 117 aftercare.

• Training in a recognised autism, ADHD or behavioural assessment tool.

• Experience of hospital discharge, transforming care or complex transition work, or AMHP, Best Interests Assessor or Approved Clinician status.

What we offer

This is end-to-end ownership: you assess the referral, you build the package and you sign it off, rather than handing your assessment to someone else and hoping. You will have direct access to clinical leadership without layers of sign-off between you and a decision, and real variety across mental health, autism, ADHD, learning disability and complex clinical care, in four counties and a wide range of settings.

We invest in your professional development, including funded training and support with revalidation and CPD. The role carries a car allowance and mileage at HMRC rates. [Annual leave entitlement, pension and any additional benefits to be confirmed.]

How to apply

Please send your CV and a short covering note setting out your assessment experience and any experience of mobilising packages to [email address]. We review applications as they arrive.

For an informal, confidential conversation about the role before applying, please contact [name and contact details].

Unicare Complex Care Specialist Ltd is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the adults and children we support, and expects all staff to share that commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check with the relevant barred list, satisfactory references and verification of professional registration. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community