Role Terms
| Salary: | Grade D – £27,215 to £30,173 |
| Hours: | 37 hours, Monday to Friday, with the possibility of evening and weekend shifts |
| Role type: | Fixed term for 2 years |
| Place of work: | No Limits and community locations in Southampton |
| Essential Driver? | Yes |
| Closing Date: | 9am on Monday, 16th of March 2026 (We reserve the right to close this advert early if sufficient applications are received) |
| Interview Date: | Friday, 20th of March 2026 |
✨We’re looking for an Intensive Support Youth Worker who is passionate about working with young people and want to make a difference by supporting those with mental health difficulties✨
Our Charity
No Limits is the leading youth services charity in Southampton, supporting children and young people in the city and across Hampshire.
At No Limits, it is important our staff and volunteers reflect, represent, and have experience of the challenges faced by the children and young people we support. We are proud of and appreciate our many staff and volunteers who use their own lived experience to support the children and young people they work with.
With this in mind, we are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in all aspects of our work and organisational culture – and when recruiting, it’s important to us that we continue diversifying our staff and volunteer teams, with children and young people at the centre of everything we do. You can learn more about our DEI approach here.
When we talk about talent, we value the transferrable skills and experiences you can bring to No Limits, whether through work (in the same or a different sector), volunteering, or personal experiences. To make sure we get the best talent on our team, we are open to and actively encourage applications from all backgrounds and sections of the community, including diverse ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and neurodiverse individuals.
Your Role
The Intensive Support Youth Worker will work with young people experiencing mental health difficulties, who do not meet thresholds for statutory services. By offering timely, preventative support you will help prevent escalation to crisis and reduce pressure on the wider mental health system.
You will be supporting young people with varying levels of mental health need. This could range from more common mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, to complex mental health problems, including presenting in mental health crisis. You will be responsible for a case load of young people and use therapeutic led interventions to address their individual mental health needs. You will also take a holistic approach, linking young people into No Limits services where wider issues such as housing, substance misuse or domestic abuse are impacting on mental health. With knowledge of the wider mental health support and systems, you will advocate on behalf of young people to ensure they are receiving the most appropriate levels of support and interventions
Your key responsibilities will include:
- Supporting a case load of young people, using therapeutic led interventions to address their individual mental health needs
- Assessing young people following their referral, looking at both their support needs and any risks, either from the young person or posed to them
- Working with young people on their individual goals, creating support plans and using SMART action planning to achieve these goals
- Responding to young people in mental health crisis, including de-escalation, crisis management, safety planning and emotional regulation.
- Ongoing intensive support focusing on stabilisation and alternatives to presenting in Emergency Department.
- Work in partnership with other agencies to support referrals, advocate for young people and improve multi agency support plans.
- Strengthen multi-agency working with mental health and social care and contribute to multi-disciplinary meetings and safeguarding discussions
- Use appropriate outcome tools to measure young people’s wellbeing along their journey with No Limits.
- Provide development, training and mentoring support to other colleagues, students, and volunteers in your specialist work area.
Please see the job description for further details about the responsibilities of the role.
We are committed to making a difference in the lives of the children and young people we work with, and as such, you must show a willingness to demonstrate commitment to the values and behaviours which flow from the No Limits ethos. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people is paramount.
We particularly welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and those who have had experiences similar to the young people we aim to support. We are committed to creating a diverse environment where people can be their authentic selves, where their experiences and opinions are valued, and we are all open to learning from each other.
As part of our team, you’ll receive a comprehensive induction and access to learning and development opportunities relevant to your role, supporting your ongoing growth.
You’ll have the essentials of:
- Build trusting and supportive relationships with children and young people
- Respect and promote children and young people’s rights to make their own decisions and choices
- Be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults
Please let us know if we can support you with any reasonable adjustments at any point prior to, during or after the selection process, such as access arrangements, flexible working, or a suitable place to pray.
>>> Our Benefits 😄 (click to expand)
We are committed to being a great place to work, where people achieve and feel valued. In our People Survey, 98% of staff and 100% of volunteers said they were proud to tell people they work or volunteer for No Limits. We’re proud to offer some great benefits, on top of being able to make a meaningful contribution to the lives of local children and young people:
🏖️ 36 days annual leave (including public holidays)
🌱 Two additional wellbeing days per year – Supporting you to take additional time off for your wellbeing or development.
💰 Pension scheme – Supporting your future by matching your additional pension contributions up to 2%.
⛑️ Life assurance scheme – Giving you peace of mind with 2x annual salary cover for pension members.
💻 Hybrid and flexible working – Giving the flexibility to work in the best way for your role.
👩🏾🏫 Comprehensive induction and training offer – Including our online learning management system with hundreds of opportunities to support your development.
📞 Employee Assistance Programme – Providing you with counselling, financial, personal support and health and wellbeing services.
Find out more about our benefits here
We’d be happy to have an informal discussion and answer any immediate questions you might have. If you’d like an initial discussion please contact Maria Slevin, our Head of Advice, Employability & Safeguarding on maria.slevin@nolimitshelp.org.uk.
To apply, please complete an application form (see above) and upload using the portal below, before the closing date of 9am on Monday, 16th of March. Please contact people@nolimitshelp.org.uk if you need your application in an alternative format.
In the ‘Your Supporting Statement’ section of the application form, please include how your knowledge, skills and experience meet the ‘About you – knowledge, skills and experience’ section of the role description: link to JD
Please note that as we follow safer recruitment guidelines, we do not accept CVs, only completed applications.