Band 6 Community Mental Health Practitioner

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services); Oxford; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 43,000; Full time

Job summary

A public sector health organization in Oxford is seeking a Band 6 Community Mental Health Practitioner to provide high-quality mental health services. The role involves working in a multi-disciplinary team, delivering evidence-based interventions, and managing patient care needs. Candidates should possess a qualification in mental health nursing or related fields, along with experience in managing mental health issues. A commitment to service improvement and effective communication skills are essential. This position offers a competitive salary range of £35,392 to £42,618 per year.

Benefits

Free parking

Access to gym

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in delivering NICE recommended psychological interventions.
• At least 18 months post-qualification experience.
• Ability to run clinical and psycho-education groups.

Responsibilities

• Provide a rapid, timely and high-quality mental health service to referred patients.
• Deliver up-to-date, evidence-based interventions for mental health problems.
• Function as a member of the MDT while working autonomously.

Skills

Experience of working with people with mental health problems

Skills in effective risk assessment and risk management

Ability to communicate effectively

Education

Training in Mental Health Nursing, Mental Health Social Work, or Occupational therapy

Current registration with British Psychological Society (BPS) or British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)

Job description

Band 6 Community Mental Health Practitioner

Closing date: 24 November 2025.

Are you an experienced mental health professional looking for a new challenge? Would you like to add military mental healthcare to your career portfolio? We are looking for someone with vision, substantial clinical experience and drive who can adapt to a new organisational culture whilst still adhering to the highest standards of professional practice. Experience of assessing and managing risk will help to keep our serving military personnel safe whilst your clinical skills and knowledge will support timely and efficient service delivery. Experience of working with military populations would be welcome but it is by no means a pre‑requisite for application. Your commitment and enthusiasm are more important!

We are seeking to recruit a mental health practitioner for 37.5 hours per week to join a Military Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) and Defence Mental Health Network (DMHN). DCMHs are multi‑disciplinary teams comprising military and civilian staff: psychiatrists, mental health nurses, social workers, mental health practitioners and psychologists. The job is challenging and varied. Whilst there are similarities with NHS roles, to make the most of this opportunity you will need to be willing to embrace a different organisational culture, take on significant responsibility for risk management and apply your clinical skills in new and interesting ways.

Employee Benefits

• Free parking
• Access to gym
• Learning and development opportunities

Main Duties of the Job

As the successful post holder, you will provide a rapid, timely and high‑quality mental health service to all patients referred to the Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) for assessment and treatment of mental health problems and implementing changes as and when vital. You will need to be experienced, enthusiastic and committed to service delivery and improvement. Being able to cope well under pressure, be flexible and assertive and have the ability to communicate at all levels. Functioning as a member of the MDT, whilst working autonomously.

The post holder will provide flexible and individualised care packages to meet the mental health (MH) needs of military personnel with mental health problems.

About Us

Our success depends on our people, our Whole Force regular and reservist military, civil servants and contractors, all working as one, working together seamlessly to deliver.

Our civil servants are a central part of this Whole Force, developing strategy, making policy, supporting ministerial decision‑making and Parliamentary processes. In fact, with over 2,000 different roles working across 650 sites around the world, now really is an excellent time to join one of the largest, most exciting departments in government.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to attracting and retaining people from across the full range of backgrounds and enabling flexible ways of working as the norm. We offer maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks full pay followed by 13 weeks of statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid, and paternity leave of 2 weeks full pay.

In return, you can expect a department that helps you learn and develop that recognises your expertise and contribution, both as an individual and part of a team.

If you’ve ever wanted to do more, see more, go further or be better, we have roles in more professions and vocations than ever before. Let us see where your future will take you, together.

Job Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities of the role include but are not limited to:

• Receiving, appraising, and advising on the direct referrals for mental health problems from relevant General Practitioners/Medical Officers (GP/MO).
• Providing initial assessment and formulation of the mental health and treatment needs for referred patients, planning, implementing, and evaluating care with a high level of autonomy.
• Delivering up to date, evidence‑based interventions for mental health problems based on guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Treatment Agency (NTA), which can include individual, group and tele‑therapy.
• Ability to carry out comprehensive mental health assessments and make decisions about ways to positively manage risk.
• Ability to devise creative and effective care packages of support for adult mental health, communicating effectively with clients/patients and professionals, both orally and in writing.
• Effective time management skills with the ability to work under pressure, planning own workload.
• Ability to work flexibly in response to the developing needs of the service.

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for role requirements in further detail.

Qualifications

• Training in Mental Health Nursing, Mental Health Social Work or Occupational therapy (Mental Health Experience).
• Evidence of CPD and professional portfolio in support of above registration.
• OR
• Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) qualification plus sufficient post‑qualification experience working as a qualified PWP to confer eligibility for Senior PWP designation.
• Current registration with British Psychological Society (BPS) or British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP).

Registrations and Memberships

• Registered with one of the following regulatory bodies: NMC, HCPC.
• Registered with Social Work England (SSSC), the CCW or NISCC.
• Please provide your registration numbers.

Provide a CV

• Please copy and paste your full CV as your response to this question – you will not be able to upload your CV as an attachment.
• Please ensure to refer to the essential criteria where applicable as your application may be rejected should you be insufficiently informed to shortlist be included.
• Please use double spacing where possible.

Experience

• Experience of working with people with mental health problems.
• Able to demonstrate an appropriate level of knowledge of mental health practice from previous experience.
• Knowledge of Community Mental Health Framework (CMHF) formerly care programme approach.
• Understanding and contribution to the Clinical Governance Agenda.
• Previous experience in similar role – risk assessment experience.
• Crisis resolution and risk management experience.
• Experience in delivering National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended psychological interventions.
• Ability to run clinical and psycho‑education groups.
• Experience of supervising staff or receiving supervision.
• Post‑graduate qualifications in an evidence‑based psychological therapy.
• Have at least 18 months post‑qualification experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Competencies

• Ability to carry out comprehensive mental health assessments and make decisions about ways to positively manage risk.
• Skills in effective risk assessment and risk management.
• Ability to devise creative and effective care packages for common mental disorders in adult mental health.
• Ability to communicate effectively with clients/patients and professionals, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to work under pressure, managing own caseload and time.
• Effectively prioritising own workload and using team resources effectively.
• Responding flexibly and appropriately to unforeseen circumstances and the developing needs of the service.
• Computer literate including competent use of email/internet, Microsoft office software and medical record systems.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services)

£35,392 to £42,618 a year (pro‑rata for part time).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact [e-mail].

This vacancy is part of the A Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The post does NOT offer relocation expenses. The Ministry of Defence does not sponsor a visa for this role.

If you are found successful for this position, you will be required to provide evidence of your immunity to hepatitis B. Evidence of vaccination is not proof of immunity; serology levels will be required. Failure to provide sufficient evidence may result in the offer of employment being withdrawn.