Senior Mental Health Practitioner - South-East Essex

NELFT North East London Foundation Trust; Southend-on-Sea; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health provider in Southend-on-Sea is looking for a Senior Mental Health Practitioner to join their team. The role entails delivering evidence-based interventions for children experiencing mental health difficulties within educational settings. The successful candidate must be a qualified health care professional with significant experience in children's mental health services. This position offers a supportive work environment focused on professional development and collaborative working. Join us to make a positive impact in the community.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Supportive team environment

Continual Professional Development opportunities

Qualifications

• Graduate health care professional or qualified EMHP/CWP.
• Registered with appropriate professional body.
• Extensive clinical experience with CYP.

Responsibilities

• Deliver interventions within MHSTs in schools and colleges.
• Initiate referrals to specialist services.
• Conduct assessments and deliver early interventions.

Skills

Knowledge of psychological interventions

Experience with children and young people

Delivery of evidence-based interventions

Education

Relevant health care qualification (e.g., nurse, social worker)

CYP PT CBT or SFP course

PgDip level in psychological interventions

Job description

Go back NELFT North East London Foundation Trust

Senior Mental Health Practitioner - South-East Essex MHST

The closing date is 30 January 2026

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. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children.

The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development and work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture.

Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, inthis video

NELFT is the largest provider of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in England. Our Southend, Essex and Thurrock services cover 144 schools currently. We currently cover 48% of secondary and primary school within those areas.

The MHST deliver evidence-based individual and group interventions in educational settings for children experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties aged 4 to 18 years old. The teams also have a strong focus on whole school approaches to improve mental health outcomes for children and young people.

The MHSTs build on the support already in place from school counsellors, nurses, educational psychologists and the voluntary sector to support those with mild to moderate mental health issues in school and will help children and young people with more severe needs to access the right support and provide a link to the CAMHS services.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be responsible for delivering interventions within MHSTs in and round schools and colleges whilst receiving clinical supervision.

Act as an autonomous, registered (where appropriate) practitioner who is legally and professionally accountable for own unsupervised actions guided by the professional code of conduct and Trust guidelines and protocols.

Initiate referrals to other health professional specialist services and agencies.

To provide expert emotional wellbeing and mental health support as part of plans to transform CYPs mental health through the NHS Long- Term Plan.

To undertake school based and community-based assessments, risk assessments, care plans and to deliver a range of early interventions to CYP with a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Responsible, and accountable, for service delivery to clients/patients, via NICE compliant pathways and in accordance with the crisis care concordat.

Provide leadership and to promote initiative, creativity and motivation in the MHSTs.

To routinely measure clinical outcomes and deliver evidence-based interventions.

To communicate complex patient related information facilitating positive outcomes and ensuring collaborative working.

To support peers and team leader and be an effective team member whilst working on their own initiative. They will have a commitment to collaborative working and actively support and liaise with other health and social care professionals and agencies.

About us

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 to strive to provide the best care by the best people.

Base

The South EastEssex MHST have a nominal base of Skyline Plaza inSouthend on Sea . As agile workers the successful applicant will be required to travel to various NELFT offices and educational settings across the MHST's.

Job responsibilities

The South-East Essex Mental Health Support Team (MHST) covers a large geographical area incorporating the districts of Castle Point and Rochford, Canvey, and Southend. We are an early intervention and prevention evidence-based service and as a team we are supportive and passionate in what we deliver. We are a friendly team of professionals who come from multidisciplinary backgrounds. We recognise the needs for a healthy work life balance, and we will consider flexible working applications in line with the trust policies and process. We encourage Continual Professional Development (CPD) and are keen to support our staff to grow and progress. Finally, we are a welcoming, compassionate and considerate team, that work incredibly hard to support one another to improve the mental health of our community.

The post-holder will be a graduate qualified health care professional (e.g. nurse, social worker, occupational therapist), or have completed Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP)/Children Wellbeing Practitioner (CWP) qualification and will be fully registered with the appropriate professional or regulatory body (e.g. HCPC, NMC, BPS, BABCP). They will have extensive clinical experience working with Children and Young People (CYP) with emotional wellbeing and mental health difficulties.

Please review the person specification and job description for full details.

Certificates of Sponsorship

Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unableto offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibilityunder the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basicsalary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is notincluded to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.

Use of AI Please see attached document regarding acceptable uyse of AI during the recruitment process

Person Specification

Knowledge

• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of psychological interventions including low-intensity CBT interventions.

Other

• To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area

Qualifications

• Appropriate qualification to be an senior CYPMHS clinician Currently undertaking or completed the CYP PT CBT or SFP course.
• OR Qualified and registered RMN/RGN, Health Visitor and completed further training/experience at minimum PgDip level in delivering evidence-based psychological interventions.

Experience

• Experience of the delivery of CBT- or systemically-informed therapeutic interventions to children, young people, or their families, including as a trainee.
• Experience of working with moderate presentations and neurodivergence
• Experience of delivering CBT- informed supervision. supervising CYPMHS clinicians and trainees
• 2 years post qualification experience in children’s mental health services

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.

NELFT North East London Foundation Trust

Full-time,Part-time,Job share,Flexible working