Senior Mental Health Practitioner

Greater Manchester Mental Health; Manchester; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health organization is seeking Senior Mental Health Practitioners to provide essential crisis support via phone. The role involves assessment, care planning, and working collaboratively with a multi-disciplinary team. Ideal candidates will have professional qualifications and experience in managing complex mental health cases. This position is based in Manchester, offering competitive benefits and an opportunity to make a meaningful impact within the community.

Benefits

Onsite Gym and Classes

Free Parking

27 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Cycle to work scheme

Wellbeing programme

Qualifications

• Professional registration with NMC / Social Work England.
• Experience in managing complex mental health cases.
• Knowledge of mental health legislation and safeguarding procedures.

Responsibilities

• Provide mental health assessments and care planning.
• Support callers experiencing mental health crises.
• Work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary team.

Skills

Assessment skills

Interpersonal skills

Crisis intervention

Communication skills

Education

Relevant core professional qualification in mental health

Job description

Job overview

Our newly created GMMH NHS 111 service is at the heart of our urgent care offer in Greater Manchester, providing compassionate, expert support to people, often in crisis and when they need it most. Whether it’s guiding someone through a mental health crisis or helping them access the right care quickly, you’ll be part of a team that truly changes lives. This is more than a job – it’s a chance to make every call count, offering reassurance and practical help to those who need it most. You’ll work alongside dedicated professionals in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where patient care and wellbeing are always the top priority.

A Fantastic Place to Work, Central Park, Manchester - Our service is based at Central Park, Monsall (M40 5BP), a modern hub designed to support both staff and service users. With excellent transport links, secure on-site car parking, and a range of facilities to make your working day easier, it’s a space where you can thrive. From comfortable breakout areas to well-equipped workstations, everything is set up to help you deliver the best care possible. Joining NHS 111 means joining a forward-thinking team committed to innovation, professional development, and creating a positive, supportive workplace. If you’re passionate about making a difference and want to be part of something truly impactful, this is the place for you.

Main duties of the job

The post involves working with people of all ages (Children and Young People, Adults or Older People) experiencing a mental health crisis via the telephone receiving calls from NHS 111 where the caller has selected the mental health option.

This service is provided in collaboration with Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust. Working as part of the wider multi-disciplinary team, Senior Mental Health Practitioners will provide complex mental health assessment and care planning via the phone, as well as information, support, signposting, and advice. The post holder will provide compassionate and professional support to callers (including carers) and will support and assist individuals to cope more effectively with their mental health issues by assisting then with key aspects of their care plans, (if in place), supporting them in managing distress and challenges / difficulties which they might be struggling to deal with.

The post holder will take calls from the first responders with any call where the caller may require urgent assessment, or any call in which the appropriate response is unclear. The post holder will work with the assistant practitioners identifying frequent attenders, liaising with the teams that they are open to I order to formulate care plans in line with their current treatment that will offer structure and steer to the Mental health call handlers.

Working for our organisation

Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) Foundation Trust employs over 7000 members of staff, who deliver services from more than 122 locations.

We provide inpatient and community-based mental health care for people living in Bolton, the city of Manchester, Salford,Tributt and the borough of Wigan, and a wide range of specialist mental health and substance misuse services across Greater Manchester, the north west of England and beyond.

Greater Manchester is one of the world's most innovative, original and exciting places to live and work. From the beauty of the surrounding countryside to the heart of the vibrant inner city with great shopping, entertainment and dining options.

Wherever you go you will experience a great northern welcome with people famed for their warmth, humour and generosity.

Our people enjoy their work, have opportunities to learn and develop their skills and are encouraged to generate new ideas that improve care for our service users.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

See attached detailed job description and person specification

Staff benefits

• Onsite Gym and Classes
• Free Parking
• Pay Enhancements – 36% additional for Evenings (8pm onwards) and Saturdays and 72 % additional for Sundays and Bank holidays.
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays rising to 29 after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years
• Excellent pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrifice car scheme
• Wellbeing programme

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Relevant core professional qualification in mental health.
• Evidence of current professional registration with NMC / Social Work England and
• Experience of assessment, formulation and managing complex cases and risk withd professional development.

Desirable criteria

• Training in one or more additional areas of practice.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience in either community or inpatient settings which meet the core competencies of the post.
• Experience of assessment, formulation and managing complex cases and risk within a mental health service
• Experience of working collaboratively with service users and their families / carers

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups, across the whole life span and presenting with the full range of severity.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the patient group and mental health, including the Mental Health Act and issues of capacity and consent.
• Detailed knowledge of safeguarding procedures, responsibilities and application. in practice
• Clinical Risk Assessment and Management and its application in practice.

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of referral systems and general bed management procedures

Skills and Abilities

Essential criteria

• Have sound assessment skills and ability to articulate outcomes to CYP, older people, families, other clinicians.
• Demonstrable commitment to the focus on quality, promotes high standards to consistently improve patient outcomes.
• High level mental health assessment and risk assessment and formulation skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills enabling good working relationships with others across professional boundaries.

Desirable criteria

• experience of working within a multicultural framework.

Other Requirements

Essential criteria

• Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies.
• Candidates require an enhanced DBS check.

The Trust mandates all post holders who require a DBS for their role to subscribe to the DBS Update Service. You will be required to enrol for this service for a fee of £16 per year and maintain registration throughout your employment with GMMH.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for posts at Greater Manchester Mental Health who have direct experience of mental health, learning disability or drug and alcohol services either as a service user or a carer.

The Trust is also committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We are aspiring to ensure our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve, and we are strongly committed to removing barriers to employment for candidates from under-represented groups, for example BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ communities. If you would like to have an informal chat about the recruitment process for this role or would value some additional support, we’d love to hear from you.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when writing job applications

A candidate may utilise the help of AI when writing job application.The assessment of an application is made on its entirety and most times AI-generated content does not fully grasp the context and requirements of the job one applies for thus producing inaccurate and misleading information, especially in the supporting statement section of an application that can lack real life examples of one’s achievements, success and challenges.

We have added a disclaimer to our application process advising that the use of AI is monitored. GMMH reserves the right to follow up with a candidate at the interview on specific responses and those examples used in the supporting statement to explore it further.

Sponsorship

We are proud to be an approved sponsor for the Skilled Worker visa. Applications from individuals who require sponsorship will be considered alongside all other applications. Please be aware that not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible roles and salary requirements on the UK Government’s website – click.

If you are offered a role with us and you require sponsorship, we will check your eligibility in line with the information on the above website. Your offer of employment could be withdrawn if the role is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not otherwise able to evidence your right to work in the UK.

The Home Office introduces new changes from 22 / 07 / 2025 that impact the health and care sector, you may wish to familiarise with it .

Do you have experience outside the NHS?

We want to attract and retain people with diverse skills and experience, to deliver inclusive healthcare services to our communities.

We will consider relevant experience outside the NHS to calculate your salary on appointment.