Band 6 Mental Health Practitioner

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services); Bulford; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent public service organization in Bulford is seeking a Band 6 Mental Health Practitioner to provide high-quality mental health services to military personnel. The successful candidate will need relevant qualifications and experience in mental health. The role offers a competitive salary ranging from £37,338 to £44,962 per year, along with benefits such as free parking and professional registration fee reimbursements.

Benefits

Free parking

Professional Registration fees reimbursed

Qualifications

• At least 18 months post-qualification experience.
• Ability to manage own caseload and time.
• Knowledge of Community Mental Health Framework.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality mental health service to patients.
• Carry out assessments and manage mental health risks.
• Deliver evidence-based interventions for mental health problems.

Skills

Experience with mental health problems

Risk assessment and crisis management

Effective communication

Flexibility and adaptability

Education

Mental Health Nursing or Occupational Therapy qualification

Registered with NMC, HCPC or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office

Medical record systems

Job description

Overview

Band 6 Mental Health Practitioner — Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services).

The closing date is 20 October 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 adhering to the highest standards of professional practice. Your experience of assessing and managing risk will help to keep our serving military personnel safe while your clinical skills and knowledge will support timely and efficient service delivery. Experience of working with military populations would be welcome but is not a prerequisite for application. Your commitment and enthusiasm are more important!

We are seeking to recruit a full-time mental health practitioner for 37.5 hours per week to join the Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) at Healthcare Facility, Kandy Road, Bulford.

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. While there are similarities with NHS roles, 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.

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) and Defence Mental Health Network (DMHN) for assessment and treatment of mental health problems and implementing changes as required.

You will need to be experienced, enthusiastic and committed to service delivery and improvement. You should be able to cope well under pressure, be flexible and assertive, and have the ability to communicate at all levels. You will work as part of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) whilst also operating autonomously. The post holder will provide flexible and individualised care packages to meet the mental health needs of military personnel with mental health problems.

Employee benefits include:

• Free parking
• Professional Registration fees reimbursed

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently attracts.

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 for us.

Our civil servants are a central part of this Whole Force, developing strategy, making policy, supporting ministerial decision-making and Parliamentary processes. With over 2,000 different roles across 650 sites worldwide, now 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 diverse 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, recognising 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’s 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 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 NICE and the National Treatment Agency (NTA), which can include individual, group and tele-therapy.
• Carrying out comprehensive mental health assessments and making decisions about ways to positively manage risk.
• Devising 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 with the ability to work under pressure and plan 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.

Selection Process

The sift will be completed within 10 working days of the vacancy closing date. Interviews will be held on a date to be confirmed.

At application stage you will be assessed against the following:

• CV: demonstrate that you have the required skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications and memberships in the CV section of the application form.
• Provide information on how you meet the criteria set out in the Job Description. Include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlined in the ad.
• To be eligible, qualifications and memberships detailed must be held in full prior to submitting your application.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application; all examples and statements must be truthful and taken from your own experience. Plagiarism may lead to withdrawal of applications. See candidate guidance for more information: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/

At interview you will be assessed against the following:

• NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework: HWB7 Interventions & Treatment; NHS IK1 Information Processing
• Case study: A case study will be provided to successful applicants 10 minutes prior to their interview.

There will be no reimbursement for travel expenses for the interview.

Further Information

All employees joining the MOD Civil Service will be subject to a 6-month probation period unless otherwise advised, effective from the employment start date.

Successful candidates must meet security requirements before appointment (baseline personnel security standard, BPSS).

Requests to work flexibly and/or part time will be considered, taking into account business needs. Salary is pro-rata for part-time hours.

Due to immigration rules, MOD will not sponsor a visa for this role. This role is not open to applicants needing sponsorship under the points-based system.

This vacancy is part of the A Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

The Civil Service embraces diversity and equality of opportunity, including a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria. For additional recruitment assistance, contact [e-mail].

Access to the NHS pension scheme is available to the successful candidate. If found successful, you will be required to provide evidence of immunity to Hepatitis B. Vaccination evidence alone is not sufficient; serology levels will be required.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement; office-based staff are expected to spend at least 60% of working time in the office, subject to capacity and adjustments. Details may be discussed with the Vacancy Holder.

The post does not offer relocation expenses. Non-Standard moves may be eligible for a package, subject to eligibility.

The MOD requires candidates to declare any outside interests. Declarations will be discussed after the interview and before a formal offer. This is to manage potential conflicts of interest from day one.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

The MOD is committed to a safe and healthy working environment and a smoke-free policy applies to all Defence personnel and contractors. Applicants should be aware of this policy at all Defence establishments.

Person Specification

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 reference the essential criteria where applicable; insufficient information may lead to not shortlisted.
• Please use double spacing where possible.

Behaviour Statement

• Have you been dismissed for gross misconduct related to bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation in the past five years? If yes, provide Yes or No as appropriate.

Experience

• Experience of working with people with mental health problems.
• Knowledge of mental health practice from previous experience.
• Knowledge of Community Mental Health Framework (CMHF) or care programme approach.
• Understanding and contribution to the Clinical Governance Agenda.
• Risk assessment and crisis management experience.
• Experience delivering NICE-recommended psychological interventions.
• Ability to run clinical and psycho-education groups.
• Experience supervising staff or receiving supervision.
• Postgraduate qualifications in an evidence-based psychological therapy.
• At least 18 months post-qualification experience.

Qualifications

• Training in Mental Health Nursing, Mental Health Social Work or Occupational Therapy (Mental Health Experience).
• Evidence of CPD and a professional portfolio.
• OR Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) qualification plus sufficient post-qualification experience for Senior PWP designation.
• Current registration with BPS or BABCP.

Registrations and Memberships

• Registered with NMC, HCPC or equivalent; OR registered with Social Work England, SSSC, SCW or NISCC.
• Please provide registration details; failure to provide a valid registration number may affect progression.

Knowledge, Skills and Competencies

• Ability to carry out comprehensive mental health assessments and manage risk.
• Risk assessment and risk management skills.
• Ability to devise care packages for common mental disorders in adults.
• Effective communication with clients and professionals, orally and in writing.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage own caseload and time.
• Prioritising work and using team resources effectively.
• Flexible and responsive to service needs.
• Computer literacy including email, Microsoft Office and medical record systems.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975; a Disclosure will be carried out.

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services) - £37,338 to £44,962 per year, pro-rata for part-time. Pay award pending.