Community Mental Health Nurse

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust; Ashford; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust is seeking a Band 6 Community Mental Health Nurse to deliver specialist, recovery-focused care to adults with complex needs. You will lead a community rehabilitation team, assess needs, coordinate care programmes, and work across health and social care to improve outcomes.

You will guide junior staff, supervise students, and contribute to quality improvement initiatives while upholding our values. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Qualifications

• Knowledge and application of risk assessment and risk management within community mental health settings.
• Ability to undertake and support physical health monitoring and interventions for service users with Serious Mental Illness (SMI).
• Evidence of leadership, mentoring, supervision or supporting junior staff and students.
• Knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act, NMC Code and relevant mental health legislation.
• Excellent communication and partnership working skills with service users, carers and professionals.
• Excellent communication skills, including a high standard of written and spoken English, with the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively to service users, carers, colleagues and partner agencies.

Responsibilities

• Holistic Assessment & Care Delivery: Conduct mental and physical health assessments, co-produce recovery-focused care plans, and deliver evidence-based interventions tailored to individual needs.
• Proactive Physical Healthcare: Carry out routine physical health monitoring, lifestyle promotion, and early identification of physical deterioration for individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI).
• Caseload & Risk Management: Autonomously manage a community caseload while continuously evaluating risk, adapting interventions, and maintaining safety within community settings.
• Clinical Leadership & Mentorship: Act as a role model by supervising, mentoring, and supporting registered and non-registered colleagues, preceptees, and nursing students.
• Service Improvement: Contribute to clinical audits, quality improvement projects, and the implementation of evidence-based practices to enhance care quality and patient experience.
• Collaborative Working: Build strong working relationships with multidisciplinary team members, primary care providers, local authority social care partners, and service users' families to ensure seamless, coordinated support.

Skills

Risk assessment & management

Physical health monitoring

Caseload management

Mental capacity act knowledge

Communication & partnership

English communication proficiency

Education

RMN or RNLD qualified

Edward Jenner Programme or equivalent

Job description

Join Kent and Medway NHS Social Care Partnership Trust (rated 'Good' by the CQC) as a Band 6 Community Mental Health Nurse. In this pivotal role within our Community Rehabilitation Team, you will deliver specialist, recovery-focused nursing care to adults with complex and enduring mental health needs. Managing a dedicated community caseload, you will empower service users to build independence, improve their quality of life, and achieve meaningful recovery outcomes.

As a clinical leader within the service, you will champion integrated physical and mental health care, guide junior staff and students, and actively drive quality improvements. We offer a progressive, supportive environment where you can develop your specialist clinical expertise and leadership skills while guided by our trust values--caring, inclusive, curious, and confident.

Please note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Main duties of the job

Holistic Assessment & Care Delivery: Conduct mental and physical health assessments, co-produce recovery-focused care plans, and deliver evidence-based interventions tailored to individual needs.

Proactive Physical Healthcare: Carry out routine physical health monitoring, lifestyle promotion, and early identification of physical deterioration for individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI).

Caseload & Risk Management: Autonomously manage a community caseload while continuously evaluating risk, adapting interventions, and maintaining safety within community settings.

Clinical Leadership & Mentorship: Act as a role model by supervising, mentoring, and supporting registered and non-registered colleagues, preceptees, and nursing students.

Service Improvement: Contribute to clinical audits, quality improvement projects, and the implementation of evidence-based practices to enhance care quality and patient experience.

Collaborative Working: Build strong working relationships with multidisciplinary team members, primary care providers, local authority social care partners, and service users' families to ensure seamless, coordinated support.

About us

We are Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway and are rated 'Good' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Our teams support children, young people and adults with a wide range of mental health needs. We also provide specialist services, including all-age eating disorder services and neurodevelopmental assessments for children and young people, such as autism and ADHD.

Because we work across the whole county and across hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the people we serve.

Our vision is simple: we are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It's why we're passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. Everything we do is guided by our values: caring, inclusive, curious and confident.

Join us if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's working well together.

Take a look at our Community Nursing Video

Job responsibilities

Key Working Relationships

Internal Team: Community Rehabilitation MDT (Doctors, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Social Workers, Support Workers, Peer Support Practitioners) and Operational Team Leads.

External Partners: Primary Care Services, physical healthcare teams, Local Authority social care, commissioners, and local community stakeholders.

Core Focus: Service users, their families, and carers.

The post holder must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Please refer to the attached job description for the full details on the responsibilities and person specification

Person Specification

Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge and application of risk assessment and risk management within community mental health settings
• Ability to undertake and support physical health monitoring and interventions for service users with Serious Mental Illness (SMI).
• Evidence of leadership, mentoring, supervision or supporting junior staff and students.
• Knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act, NMC Code and relevant mental health legislation.
• Excellent communication and partnership working skills with service users, carers and professionals.
• Excellent communication skills, including a high standard of written and spoken English, with the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively to service users, carers, colleagues and partner agencies.

Training, Qualifications and Registration

• RMN or RNLD qualified
• 2 years post-registration experience.
• Practice Assessor.
• Completed Edward Jenner Programme or equivalent
• Evidence of CPD.

Experience

• Minimum 2 years post registration experience, including experience at Band 5 level
• Experience of assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating care for people with complex mental health needs
• Experience of managing a caseload and working autonomously within a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience of leading quality improvement projects, audits or service development initiatives
• Experience supporting students, preceptees or newly qualified nurses
• Community Mental Health or Community Rehabilitation experience

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.