Grow your career with us
We promote people on their talent, determination and fit with our values – not time served. Here is how you can build a career at Secure Care UK.
A message from our Managing Director
“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough – and you’re never too old.”
Matt Jackson, Managing Director
At Secure Care UK we promote and develop people on their talent, determination and fit with our values – not on time served. The board is fully committed to that.
Age is only one of the things that has held people back in the past. Gender, sexual orientation, disability, racial background and religion are others. The patients we care for come from diverse backgrounds, and the more diverse we are as a team, the better we can support them. We want an even playing field that lets talent rise to the top.
“People are the cornerstone of our business – from the patients we look after to the team we have to look after them.”
The Board, Secure Care UK
Your first months
Starting with us
Most careers here start as a Mental Health Transport Assistant (MHTA). No previous experience is needed for many of our roles – and you won’t do this alone, and your DCOM, Team Leader and trainers support you at every step.
Week 1
A 5-day induction with our trainers, certified by ACT. You collect your uniform and take your driving assessment.
Next
Shadow shifts alongside experienced colleagues, plus your online training. You have a workplace buddy to ask from day one.
First 6 months
Your probation. You complete an induction book, and your DCOM signs off each part as you go.
After probation
Your health cash plan starts, helping towards everyday costs such as dental and optical treatment.
Every year
Annual refresher training, appraisals and regular supervisions keep your skills up to date.
Your future
Team Leader, DCOM and beyond – with apprenticeships to help you get there.
Your driving assessment
You need to pass a driving assessment before you drive with patients on board. If you don’t pass first time, please don’t worry – we will work with you to pass on the second attempt.
Moving into a new role?
When you’re promoted, there’s an induction for your new role too. Learning new skills can be a challenge, so you can also ask for a mentor to support you.
Your career map
Three paths, one team
Every role fits into one team that works closely together. Most people start on the road, and you can move between paths as your interests and skills grow.
Operations
- Mental Health Transport Assistant (MHTA)
- Team Leader
- Deputy Care Operations Manager (DCOM)
- Excellence Manager or Area Care Operations Manager (ACOM)
- Head of Operations
Control Room
- Control Operative
- Control Team Leader
- Deputy Control Operations Manager
- Control Room Manager or Control Excellence Manager
Support teams
- Quality
- HR and Recruitment
- Training – Trainer and Senior Trainer
- Finance and IT
- Business Development
- Implementation
The roles
What each role involves
Mental Health Transport Assistant
You’re the safe hands for someone at their most vulnerable. The job is about transporting patients from one setting to another – but more importantly, keeping them safe and engaging with them. Our training shows you how to de-escalate stressful situations and use the least restrictive approach for each patient.
Where it can lead: Team Leader, the Control Room or a specialist role.
Team Leader
You lead the team on a journey – or in the Control Room as a Control Team Leader – making sure the patient and the team stay safe. You support your DCOM and deputise when they’re away. Selection includes a development day, and there’s an induction to help you settle in.
Where it can lead: Deputy Care Operations Manager.
Deputy Care Operations Manager
As well as working on the road, you manage and develop your team, from recruitment and training to appraisals, with greater responsibility for our patients. It takes strong people skills and plenty of patience, and it’s very rewarding.
Where it can lead: Excellence Manager or ACOM.
Excellence Manager and ACOM
Excellence Managers drive the high standards we aim for, through observation and by making sure we follow the law, our policies and our values. Area Care Operations Managers lead patient care across a geographical area, inspire their teams and look for ways to improve care.
Where it can lead: These roles usually follow DCOM. Development days and management apprenticeships help you prepare.
Control Room
Our 24/7 control room is the hub of everything we do. Taking a booking is about much more than the booking – it’s about matching the right vehicle and crew to each patient’s needs, with a robust risk assessment, so everyone stays safe. It takes a calm head and a logical approach.
Where it can lead: Control Team Leader, then Deputy Control Operations Manager and beyond.
Support teams
Quality, HR and Recruitment, Training, and Finance and IT keep patients and staff safe and the business on a sound footing. Business Development and Implementation help us grow – including setting up new hubs when we start new contracts.
Where it can lead: Colleagues from Operations and the Control Room can move across into our support teams.
Ways to grow
More than one route up
Moving from MHTA to Team Leader and beyond is one route – but it isn’t the only one. You could take an apprenticeship, become a specialist, mentor others or join a project.
Apprenticeships
We offer a range of nationally recognised apprenticeships, from frontline care through to team leadership and management. You learn and gain a qualification while you work – talk to your line manager or the Training team about which one is right for you.
Become a specialist
Specialist roles let you become the go-to person in an area, support colleagues and suggest improvements for patients with specific needs. If you’re passionate about one of these areas, we’ll give you time in your role to develop it.
Safeguarding Support Officer
Learn national and local safeguarding policies, and guide colleagues who are worried about a patient so concerns are reported properly.
Learning Disability Champion
Learn about different learning disabilities, including autism, and share regular updates on how we can better support these patients.
Dementia Friend
Learn about dementia in its different forms and share good practice, so we make a positive difference to people living with dementia in our care.
Mental Health First Aider
A listening ear for colleagues experiencing mental health issues or emotional distress, who can point them to the right help.
Mentoring, projects and reviews
Mentoring
Experienced colleagues can train as mentors, sharing their own career path and offering guidance, motivation and support. You can ask for a mentor too.
Secondments and projects
As a growing business, there are often chances to act up into a more senior role for a set time, or to join a project. You build new skills and see how other teams and hubs work.
Development days
Interactive sessions run during the year to help you discover your strengths, followed by feedback and a development plan. They’re for anyone who wants to grow – not just people applying for promotion.
Appraisals and reviews
An annual appraisal and shorter quarterly reviews give you one-to-one time with your manager to talk about your wellbeing, your goals, the training you’d like and where you want to go next.
Got a skill we could use?
As we grow, we introduce new roles. If you have skills in areas such as IT, web design, marketing, British Sign Language or other languages, let us know – we like to build on the talent we already have.
Our behaviours
CARE – how we work together
Our behaviours define our culture. Everyone shows CARE, and we talk about it in reviews and appraisals.
C
Considerate
Fairness, kindness and support – developing yourself and others, and thinking “us” not “me”.
A
Accountability
Making it happen – with integrity, energy and a focus on finding solutions and improving.
R
Respect
Trust, honesty and reliability – working together and doing what you say you’ll do.
E
Empathy
Putting yourself in the shoes of others, particularly our patients, and treating everyone with fairness and dignity.
Our leaders also show SECURE behaviours: safety focused, emotionally intelligent, commercial, unifying, rational and effective. Want to grow? Start practising them in your day-to-day work.
In their words
What our people say
“One of the most challenging jobs I have ever done. But easily the most rewarding.”
Team Leader, Sussex
“I love the variety in the role from one day to the next. Each day there are new learning opportunities that keep you on your toes.”
Deputy Control Operations Manager
“Work hard and be kind and amazing things will happen.”
Deputy Care Operations Manager
Ready to take the first step?
Your career here could go further than you think. See our current vacancies, or apply using our short online form.
Patient first · Respect · Openness · Unity · Determination
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