Mood and Anxiety Pathway Lead (CYPMHS/CAMHS)

NELFT NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; Broadstairs; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in Broadstairs seeks an innovative health professional to join its team in delivering evidence-based mental health interventions for children. You will assess needs, manage referrals, and promote emotional wellbeing in children and families. The ideal candidate will hold a relevant graduate qualification and have clinical experience delivering psychological care. This role offers a supportive working environment and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Flexible working opportunities

Employee assistance programme

Proactive health and wellbeing support

Qualifications

• Must have clinical experience working with children and young people with emotional wellbeing and mental health difficulties.
• Ability to deliver evidence-based psychological interventions as defined by the CYP-IAPT programme.
• Competency in conducting mental health assessments.

Responsibilities

• Manage referrals within the Mood and Anxiety Pathway and conduct mental health assessments.
• Promote mental health of children and families through clinical interventions.
• Develop care plans for patients with complex needs.

Skills

Clinical experience with children and young people

Evidence-based psychological interventions

Assessment and care plan development

Strong communication skills

Education

Graduate qualification in health professions (Nurse, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, etc.)

Job description

Responsibilities

• Be responsible for managing the referrals within the Mood and Anxiety Pathway and undertake mental health assessments, routinely measure clinical outcomes and deliver evidence‑based clinical interventions in line with the CY‑IAPT programme within CYPMHS.
• Promote the mental and emotional health of children, young people and families in the community through clinical interventions in the care pathway.
• Undertake initial school‑based and community‑based assessments and deliver a range of early interventions to children and young people with a range of emotional and psychological difficulties where appropriate.
• Assess and develop plans of care to meet the complex needs of patients with a variety of conditions.

Working for our organisation – Our Values 2025‑2030 Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co‑produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT. They are:

We are kind. We are respectful. We work together with our communities.

These three values help us strive to provide the best care by the best people.

Starting with NELFT, the Trust places a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend a number of drop‑in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. At NELFT, we are committed to building a workforce that reflects and supports the diverse communities we serve. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen local employment and deliver high‑quality, person‑centred care, we will prioritise applications from individuals living in our local boroughs and surrounding areas.

What difficulties can be referred to the service?

• Mood and anxiety disorders
• Behavioural and conduct disorders
• Emerging personality and attachment disorders
• Psychotic disorders
• Deliberate self‑harm and suicidal ideation
• Substance misuse with co‑existing mental health needs (dual diagnosis)
• Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) – with co‑occurring mental health needs
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – with co‑occurring mental health needs
• Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Prolonged bereavement problems

The aim of our service is to respond earlier to children and young people’s needs in order to help prevent, reduce or delay the need for more specialist interventions. This transformation of children and young people’s mental health services has a clinical focus, integrated with local authorities to deliver a long‑term collaborative approach to planning and delivering services. CYPMHS focuses on emotional well‑being as well as mental health and includes access to self‑help tools and services based in schools and the community. CAMHS Tier II and Tier III services no longer exist, replaced with an integrated CYPMHS. Training and support is available to other professionals and agencies.

We are creating a modern service that fits with children’s lives in a way that best suits them. Key new features include a Children’s Single Point of Access (SPA) into the service, clear early signposting, and the use of digital channels such as Big White Wall to access support and services. The locality team have care pathways. Each care pathway is clinically led, with care pathway leads operationally managing all YPWS practitioners working in that care pathway. With the support of the team manager, care pathway leads are responsible for assessment, treatment and systematic outcome measurement in that care pathway. Care pathway leads and practitioners ensure that a high‑quality, timely, accessible and evidence‑based service is available to all children and young people who need it. This means establishing and maintaining excellent working relationships with wider social, health and voluntary services.

If working in our CYPMHS team in Tunbridge Wells is for you and you are excited by a modern approach, then we would very much like to hear from you.

Certificates of Sponsorship and AI Policy

Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points‑based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High‑Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust. Use of AI – please see the attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.

Benefits

We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:

• A long‑standing and award‑winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long‑term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
• A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work‑life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our efforts to support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
• Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
• Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.

As a flexible‑working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part‑time hours or another flexible pattern. Supporting our Armed Forces – we recognise the valuable contribution that the Armed Forces community makes to our organisation. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and achieved Gold Award under the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme. We have supportive policies, guaranteed interview schemes for veterans, reservists and military spouses and give additional leave to our reservists so that they can attend their annual camp.

You will be a highly motivated and innovative individual with clinical experience working with children and young people with emotional wellbeing and mental health difficulties.

Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas. The Trust has award‑winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT. Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video.

Come and work for NELFT’s Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service (CYPMHS) in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and be part of one of the UK’s most innovative healthcare Trusts.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a graduate‑qualified health professional (e.g. Nurse, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, BABCP Accredited CBT Therapist, Systemic Family Therapist, Clinical Psychologist) to join our dynamic multi‑disciplinary team. Driven by the principles underpinning the national CYP‑IAPT programme (Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) the service provides the latest in evidence‑based NICE‑compliant psychological interventions to children, young people and their families experiencing emotional wellbeing and mental health difficulties.