Assessment and Placement Practitioner

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 — a safe commitment only 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.

01 Assessment

• Receive and triage new referrals from local authorities, ICBs, hospital discharge teams and other providers, for urgency and suitability against our registration and capability.
• Carry out face-to-face assessments wherever the person is — hospital, current placement, family home, or a secure or inpatient setting — drawing on records, MDT input, behaviour support plans and family perspectives.
• Assess the mental health, autism and ADHD presentation, including behaviours of concern, communication and sensory needs, capacity and consent, and any restrictive practice. Assess clinical or nursing needs, or work with our clinical team to do so.
• Produce clear, evidence-based reports setting out the proposed staffing model, skill mix, environmental requirements, clinical input and identified risks.
• Give honest advice on whether to accept, and recommend we decline where we cannot meet needs safely.

02 Setting up the package

• Work jointly with the Registered Manager to turn your assessment into a working package — rota, skill mix, recruitment or redeployment, training and physical environment.
• Ensure the support plan, positive behaviour support plan and risk assessments are in place, personalised and understood by staff before the person moves in.
• Brief and prepare the staff team — who the person is, what matters to them, what their behaviour communicates, and what to do when things go wrong. Commission or deliver bespoke training where needed.
• Coordinate clinical elements with our nursing team, including nurse-delegated tasks, competency sign-off and clinical oversight.
• Coordinate the transition with commissioner, family, discharging team and current provider so the move is planned, not rushed.

03 Settling in and sign-off

• Stay involved actively through the first weeks, visiting in person, observing practice and checking that what was assessed is what is delivered.
• Review and adjust where reality differs from the assessment — escalating promptly where staffing, funding or environment must change.
• Gather feedback from the person, family and staff, and act on it.
• Formally sign off and hand over to the Registered Manager only when the person has settled, the plan is embedded, risks are managed and the team is competent and confident.
• Feed what you learn back into how we assess, price, design and train.

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 in writing assessments others can act on.
• Experience setting up, mobilising or embedding a care package — not assessment alone.
• Sound knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Care Act 2014, DoLS and the framework around restrictive practice.
• Understanding of positive behaviour support, trauma-informed practice and what good looks like in supported living.
• Credibility to work alongside Registered Managers and staff, and confidence to hold your position with commissioners — including when you recommend we decline.
• Excellent written English — your reports inform funding decisions.
• Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle, willing to travel across our areas.
• Enhanced DBS (we arrange this) and the right to work in the UK.

Desirable — a distinct advantage We especially welcome applicants who can also assess complex care packages, including nurse-led or nurse-delegated care in people's own homes — please say so clearly.

• Assessment across complex clinical needs: tracheostomy, ventilation, enteral/PEG feeding, seizure and rescue medication, or epilepsy protocols.
• Understanding of clinical task delegation, competency assessment and sign-off for HCAs and support workers.
• Experience assessing packages for children as well as adults.
• Familiarity with LA and ICB commissioning, brokerage and funding, including CHC, 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.
• AMHP, Best Interests Assessor or Approved Clinician status.

WHAT WE OFFER

• End-to-end ownership — you assess it, build it and sign it off.
• Direct access to clinical leadership, without layers of sign-off.
• Variety across mental health, autism, ADHD, learning disability and complex clinical care, in four counties and a wide range of settings.
• Investment in your development, including funded training and support with revalidation and CPD.
• Car allowance and mileage at HMRC rates.
• [Annual leave, pension and additional benefits to be confirmed].