Bank Support Worker – Milton Keynes Support Service
Salary: £12.60 per hour
Hours: Bank
Contract: Permanent
Location: Milton Keynes (agile working)
At Rethink Mental Illness, we believe everyone deserves a better quality of life — and you could help make that happen. We're looking for passionate, motivated Support Workers to join our Milton Keynes Support Service, where we work alongside people severely affected by mental illness to build confidence, independence and meaningful connections.
About the Role
This is an exciting opportunity to work creatively and collaboratively with people who may be feeling isolated or disconnected from their community. You'll play a key role in introducing individuals to new hobbies, building social networks, and developing the practical skills that support independent living.
You'll offer a mix of 1:1 support, group sessions, and face‑to‑face contact through our weekly wellbeing hubs and activity‑based groups — including walking groups. Every day is different, but every day you'll be making a genuine difference.
In this role, you will:
1. Provide supportive, person‑centred 1:1 and group sessions
2. Help individuals self‑manage daily living skills and access community resources
3. Support people to attend appointments, engage in social activities and explore education, voluntary work or employment
4. Create and review recovery‑focused support and safety plans
5. Work closely with local agencies, community groups and mental health services
6. Promote independence, wellbeing and hope
7. Keep accurate, timely records in line with Rethink policies
8. Contribute to service development and positive change
About You
You're someone who believes in the power of connection, community and compassion. You don't need to have it all figured out — if you bring heart, commitment and a willingness to learn, we'll support you to grow.
You'll need:
9. Experience supporting people living with mental illness (paid or voluntary)
10. Knowledge of recovery principles and a person‑centred approach
11. Ability to assess needs, manage risk and develop meaningful support plans
12. To live within 40 minutes of our Milton Keynes hubs
13. A relevant Level 3 qualification (or working towards) — or equivalent lived/caring experience
Our Values
At Rethink Mental Illness, our values guide everything we do:
14. Passion – We lead the way to a better quality of life
15. Commitment – We go above and beyond for those we support
16. Openness – We work transparently and collaboratively
17. Hope – We believe everyone can thrive
18. Expertise – We bring knowledge, skill and compassion
19. Understanding – People living with mental illness are at the heart of our work
20. Equity – We treat everyone with fairness and respect
And through our Rethink CARES behaviours, we:
Connect, stay Accountable, show Respect, Evolve, and celebrate Success — together.
Why Join Us?
You'll be part of a supportive, passionate team, led by a Service Manager dedicated to staff development, high‑quality support, and positive outcomes. You'll receive training, supervision and opportunities to grow as part of a charity making a real difference every day.
Why Work With Rethink Mental Illness?
At Rethink Mental Illness, we believe that when you feel supported, you can make the biggest difference. That's why we offer a range of benefits to help you thrive:
21. Inclusive Culture: Join staff networks that champion diversity and inclusion.
22. Wellbeing Support: Access our Wellbeing Hub, Employee Assistance Programme, and the Unmind mental health app.
23. Recognition & Rewards: Enjoy discounts, cashback offers, and celebrate achievements through our PULSE platform.
24. Flexible Working & Generous Leave: Starting at 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays and your birthday off), with options to buy or sell extra days.
25. Learning & Development: Grow your career with structured onboarding and training opportunities.
26. Financial & Family Support: Contributory pension scheme, enhanced family leave, and travel benefits like season ticket loans and cycle-to-work schemes.
27. Referral Bonus: Earn up to £300 for introducing someone to our team.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Diversity is important to us, and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we're working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer. We recognise and support staff networks and support groups for our ethnically diverse and LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter.
We aim for our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve; for those who work for us to feel heard, valued and feel they belong; and for our work to help tackle wider mental health inequalities. We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience of mental illness, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and any other gender identity not expressed here (LGBTQIA+); people who are neurodiverse, have a health condition, or a disability or hidden disability and people from an ethnically diverse background - regardless of your age, religious or spiritual belief, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, political view or socio-economic status.
Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation
We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider - and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our anti-racist statement . We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our Race Equality Action Plan which demonstrates our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.