Senior Mental Health Practitioner

We are looking for a motivated and dynamic Band 6 (or Band 5 practitioner dependent on experience) to join the Core Community Mental Health Team. The successful applicant will help deliver high quality and comprehensive community mental health services across North Devon.

The role involves managing a defined caseload with a focus on providing expert assessment and treatment for individuals with complex mental health difficulties and their carers. This will include liaising with a wide range of statutory and non-statutory agencies and contributing to the safe and effective running of the team.

• 1 x Full time substantive post
• 1 x Nine month full time secondment / fixed term post

This is a really great opportunity to join the team at an interesting and exciting time as we work towards transforming our community service so that we offer the best and most comprehensive care to the people of North Devon. The successful candidate will be joining a dynamic, motivated and skilled service and help the team to build upon the successful work they have achieved.

Devon Partnership Trust will support you to learn the skills you need to thrive in the role. We will offer you the training and development support you need to begin a fulfilling career. In return, you will need to be motivated, flexible and eager to learn.

• Band 5 Salary - £29,970 - £36,483
• Band 6 Salary - £37,338 - £44,962

Main duties of the job

• Ensure that individual's care and treatment is well managed and is provided in line with practice standards and recovery co-ordination.
• Develop and deliver care packages including assessing, planning, intervention and evaluation.
• Ensure that all interventions have clear outcomes and that these are taken into consideration when sourcing the resources to best meet the individual's needs.
• Ensure that all care and treatment is reviewed within the relevant timescales and focus on integration within existing community resources where possible.
• Deliver services using a recovery and strengths approach where the needs of the individual and their carers are held as central and their involvement is proactively encouraged.
• Deliver care in line with evidence based practice and employ engagement and therapeutic skills that are appropriate to the clinical situation presented.
• Enable communication and engagement of individuals and their carers to ensure that they have a voice about the services they receive and how these are developed.
• Ensure that appropriate action is taken to safeguard adults and children.

About us

We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.

We are committed to developing a culture of co-production, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do.

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trust's core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part-time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader.

Job responsibilities

The post holder will deliver high quality comprehensive mental health services. The role involves managing a defined caseload with a focus on providing expert assessment and treatment for people with complex mental health difficulties and their carers. This will include recovery co-ordination (design and co-ordination of treatment packages that are personalised and evaluated in line with payment by results). To provide statutory Adult Social Care, Care Management functions (assessment, care planning and reviewing). The liaison with a wide range of statutory and non-statutory agencies is central to this role.

The post holder will contribute to the clinical leadership of the team, providing supervision for other members and participating in team and service development, and evaluation.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• A professional mental health qualification e.g., RMN, Social Work Degree or equivalent, BSc/Diploma in OT, SROT, Chartered Clinical Psychologist, on the appropriate professional body register and hold current registration with no restrictions.
• Evidence of relevant continuing professional development.
• Post graduate qualification relevant to specialism.
• Training to level 3 in Safeguarding children and young people: roles and competencies for Health Care staff.
• Evidence of leadership/management training within a core service.
• Mentoring students in line with professional requirements.

Experience

• Extensive post registration experience working at band 5 in mental health care working in inpatient or community settings.
• Substantial experience of managing/leading a busy caseload of clients with a range of mental health conditions within a community setting and without supervision.
• Working within a community mental health setting in either the statutory or voluntary sector.
• Experience of clinically supervising junior and unqualified staff and mentoring students.
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency environment.
• Participation in user involvement in services.
• Experience in deputising for more senior staff.
• Evidence of following through specific pieces of work or projects as delegated by ward managers or others.

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.