Mental Health and Work Specialist WorkWell Norfolk (0.4 WTE)

Norfolk Primary Care C.I.C.; Broadland; Remote; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Part time

Job summary

Norfolk Primary Care CIC is recruiting a Mental Health and Work Specialist for WorkWell Norfolk (0.4 WTE). The role is predominantly remote with occasional travel to meet the MDT, and is fixed-term to 31 March 2029.

The post is 15 hours per week across two days, with salary of £22,400 per annum. It involves mental health assessment, brief work-focused interventions, MDT contributions, supervision and training, and close collaboration with Work and Health Coaches to support participants back to

Qualifications

• Registered mental health professional with current practice registration.
• Postgraduate qualification in psychological therapy or BABCP accreditation.
• Experience delivering brief psychological interventions (CBT/informed).

Responsibilities

• Conduct mental health assessments and risk management for participants.
• Deliver brief, work-focused psychological interventions.
• Contribute to MDT discussions and care planning.
• Supervise and train WorkWell staff and colleagues.
• Maintain accurate clinical records and governance compliance.

Skills

Clinical decision making

Risk management

Interpersonal skills

Motivational interviewing

Education

Registered mental health professional

Postgraduate psychological therapy

BABCP accreditation

Tools

SystmOne

EMIS

Job description

Mental Health and Work Specialist WorkWell Norfolk (0.4 WTE)

Unfortunately NPC does not hold a license for Visa Sponsorship and cannot progress any applications for candidates without the right to work in the UK.

Fixedterm to 31 March 2029, aligned to the Norfolk and Suffolk WorkWell contract,with potential to extend subject to recommissioning and funding.

Hours: 15hours per week (0.4 WTE, Part Time), worked across two days, Monday to Friday;working days to be agreed and to include the WorkWell MDT meeting

Salary:£22,400 per annum for 15 hours per

Main duties of the job

WorkWell Norfolk is a service supporting peoplewhose health is affecting their ability to find, return to or remain in work.We are looking for an experienced mental health professional to join ourmultidisciplinary team in a flexible, part-time specialist role.This is a predominantly remote, home-based role (with occasional agreed travel), offering 15 hours per week across two days. You will provide focused mental healthassessment and brief, work-related support for a small number of participants,while helping Work and Health Coaches and colleagues feel confident supportingpeople with mental health needs.The role combinesclinical expertise with consultation, supervision and training. You will work closely with the WorkWell ANP, coaches and wider MDT to help people make progress towards work in a way that is safe, realistic and person-centred. It is an opportunity to shape a developing service without carrying a large ongoing clinical caseload.We welcome applications from suitably experienced registered mental health professionals from a range of backgrounds, including community mental health, primary care,NHS Talking Therapies, psychological therapies and occupational therapy.Relevant experience and clinical competence are more important than having worked in a WorkWell service before.

About us

Norfolk Primary Care (NPC) is a Community Interest Company (CIC) delivering clinical services across the Norfolk & Waveney region. Our membership consists of GP practices within the area. NPC's purpose is to:

Sustain the delivery of PrimaryCare by supporting workforce development and improving patient access.

Strengthen and enhance PrimaryCare by working with, and on behalf of, local practices to drive quality improvement.

Support practices in addressing key challenges such as workload pressures, GP recruitment, best practices sharing, and opportunities for at scale working.

Respond to the evolving landscape of Primary Care by helping ensure services meet the needs of the local population.

Provide benefits to patients, clinicians, administrative teams, and practice organisations across Norfolk.

Work collaboratively within the wider health system to deliver patient care in innovative, solution focused ways

Job responsibilities

1. Key Responsibilities

1.1 Mental Health Assessment and Risk Management

Undertake mental health assessments for participants identified at triage, by Work and Health Coaches or at MDT as needing clinical mental health input, jointly with the participant's Work and Health Coach wherever possible so the participant only tells their story once.

Understanding of mental health recovery, secondary mental health services, and the challenges faced by people with severe or enduring mental health issues

Assess and manage risk where participants express thoughts of suicide or self-harm (which is not an exclusion criterion), agreeing safety plans and advising whether WorkWell is the most appropriate service at that time.

Advise the ANP and SPOA on triaged decisions for referrals with significant mental health need, within the one working day triage standard on working days, with agreed arrangements for clinical cover on non-working days.

Where a participant's needs go beyond a low-intensity offer, arrange a warm handover to the right service (for example NHS Talking Therapies, community mental health or crisis services) and follow up so that support is integrated into their WorkWell plan.

Deliver care for accepted participants in partnership with their GP and/or existing mental health worker, keeping them informed of assessment, risk and outcomes.

Recognise neurodiversity and learning disability and adapt assessment and support accordingly.

1.2 Brief, Work-Focused Interventions

Hold a small, time-limited caseload of participants needing clinical mental health intervention within the WorkWell model of approximately eight weeks.

Deliver evidence-based, low-intensity psychological interventions, one to one or in groups (for example CBT-informed approaches, behavioural activation, anxiety and stress management, sleep and self-management support).

Focus interventions on work: confidence and anxiety about returning, managing symptoms in the workplace, disclosure and conversations with employers.

Contribute the mental health elements of the participant's personalised care plan and SMART goals, embedding Making Every Contact Count (MECC).

Advise participants, coaches and (with consent) employers on reasonable adjustments, phased returns and changes of duties for people with mental health conditions.

Where professionally eligible and assessed as competent, certify fit notes (Med3) for participants under WorkWell care in line with DHSC and DWP guidance, updating the clinical record and informing the GP.

Use outcome measures (including EQ-5D and the Attitudes to Work and Health questionnaire) to review progress and inform discharge.

1.3 MDT Contribution and Case Consultation

Attend the WorkWell MDT, providing the mental health perspective on case discussion, risk, onward referral and discharge decisions.

Offer case consultation to Work and Health Coaches between MDT meetings, helping them continue to support participants with mental health needs within their competence.

Review complex or stalled cases where mental health is a barrier to progress and recommend next steps.

Prioritise limited clinical time with the ANP, balancing direct caseload, consultation, supervision and training so the role has the greatest impact across the six Norfolk neighbourhood areas.

1.4 Supervision, Training and Education

Provide supervision and reflective practice to Work and Health Coaches on the mental health aspects of their work, including the low-level interventions they deliver under supervision of a registered clinician.

Design and deliver training for the WorkWell team on mental health awareness, risk conversations, safety planning and when to elevate.

Support education for employers and system partners on mental health and work, a priority identified by employers in the ICB's engagement survey.

Advise on the content of condition‐specific self‐care resources used by the team.

1.5 Clinical Governance, Records and Partnerships

Work within the WorkWell clinical governance framework so that assessment, intervention and discharge are clinically safe, evidence based and in line with professional standards.

Maintain accurate, contemporaneous clinical records, including updates to the participant's GP record, in line with the relevant professional codes, UK GDPR and NPC information governance policies.

Identify and elevate safeguarding concerns for adults and children, applying the Mental Capacity Act, in line with ICB and NPC policies.

Report incidents and contribute to learning in line with the NPC Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) policy.

Build working relationships and clear referral routes with NHS Talking Therapies (including its employment advisers), Individual Placement and Support services, community mental health and crisis services, and VCFSE mental health providers.

Feedback themes on unmet mental health need and gaps in local provision to the ANP and Clinical Lead to inform service improvement and ICB commissioning.

2. Communication and Stakeholder Engagement

Communicate sensitively and effectively with participants experiencing distress, and with carers and families where appropriate.

Liaise with GPs, mental health services and other professionals about participants' care, risk and outcomes.

Explain mental health need and its impact on work in plain language to non-clinical colleagues and, with consent, employers.

Contribute mental health information to service reports, audits and evaluation as required by the ANP and WorkWell Service Manager.

2.1 Other Responsibilities

Working with the ANP, WorkWell Service Manager and wider team:

Contribute to the development of WorkWell pathways, protocols and risk procedures for participants with mental health needs.

Take part in clinical audit, including the quarterly Clinical Triage Audit where mental health cases are sampled.

Participate in own clinical supervision and maintain professional registration and revalidation.

Work flexibly within contracted hours to meet service need, by agreement.

Undertake other ad hoc duties as requested by the ANP or WorkWell Service Manager.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Current professional registration as a mental health practitioner (for example RMN, Occupational Therapist, Practitioner Psychologist or Social Worker; other relevant registrations may be considered subject to clinical governance approval).
• Relevant Degree or diploma level professional qualification in the relevant discipline
• Post-registration training in brief psychological interventions (e.g. CBT-informed approaches)
• Safeguarding adults and children training at Level 3
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Postgraduate qualification in psychological therapy (e.g. CBT, PWP) or BABCP accreditation
• Clinical supervision qualification or training
• Fit Note and Work and Health e-learning (e-LfH)
• Training in vocational rehabilitation, IPS or employment support
• Suicide prevention or safety planning training (e.g. STORM, ASIST)

Skills and Abilities

• Confident, autonomous clinical decision making and risk management
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including with people in distress
• Ability to teach, supervise and build the confidence of non-clinical colleagues
• Ability to prioritise limited part-time hours across caseload, consultation and training
• Clear, accurate and timely clinical record keeping
• Good IT skills, including clinical systems and Microsoft Office
• Ability to manage own emotions and be resilient in a demanding environment
• Flexible, collaborative approach to working in a new and developing service
• Motivational interviewing or health coaching techniques
• Understanding of the relationship between work and health

Experience

• Relevant post-registration experience in primary care, community or NHS Talking Therapies mental health settings
• Assessing and managing people with common mental health problems, including depression and anxiety
• Suicide and self-harm risk assessment and safety planning
• Delivering brief, evidence-based psychological interventions, one to one and/or in groups
• Working autonomously within a multidisciplinary team and contributing to MDT decisions
• Supervising, teaching or supporting non-clinical or unregistered staff
• Applying safeguarding procedures and the Mental Capacity Act in practice
• Supporting people with mental health conditions to stay in or return to work
• Working with employers, occupational health or employment advisers
• Working with neurodivergent people and people with a learning disability
• Use of GP clinical systems (SystmOne and/or EMIS)
• Knowledge of local mental health services and pathways in Norfolk
• Delivering training to professionals or employers

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.

Part-time,Flexible working,Home or remote working