Senior Mental Health Practitioner - South-West Essex MHST

NELFT NHS Foundation Trust; Basildon; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health service provider is seeking a qualified practitioner for a Mental Health Support Team in Basildon. The successful candidate will deliver evidence-based interventions, conduct assessments, and support children's emotional wellbeing. Candidates must have relevant qualifications, extensive clinical experience, and be registered with a professional body. The position offers flexible working arrangements to promote work-life balance.

Benefits

Commitment to equality and diversity

Health and wellbeing support

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Qualified Education Mental Health Practitioner/Children's Wellbeing Practitioner required.
• Extensive clinical experience working with children and young people with emotional wellbeing and mental health needs.
• Must be fully registered with a relevant professional body (BPS or BABCP).

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality mental health support to school children.
• Conduct comprehensive assessments and make referrals when needed.
• Act as an autonomous, registered practitioner and support the NHS Long-Term Plan.

Job description

Overview

This job is with NELFT, a provider of mental health and educational services across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. NELFT is committed to equality, diversity and staff wellbeing and aims for continuous development and high-quality patient care.

Find out more about NELFT careers in the video linked in the original posting.

Job overview

At NELFT, we are the largest provider of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in England. Our MHSTs deliver evidence-based individual and group interventions within educational settings for children and young people aged 4 to 18 with mild to moderate mental health difficulties, and promote whole-school approaches to positive mental health.

Integrated, Holistic Support

MHSTs work alongside school-based services (counsellors, nurses, educational psychologists, and voluntary sector partners) to strengthen support for children and young people. For those with more complex needs, we provide a link to CAMHS services for timely access to care.

Who we\'re looking for

We seek a passionate and experienced practitioner who is:

• A qualified Education Mental Health Practitioner/Children\'s Wellbeing Practitioner
• A candidate who has completed further training or is willing to complete the SWP postgraduate diploma

You must be fully registered with a relevant professional body (BPS or BABCP) and have extensive clinical experience working with children and young people with emotional wellbeing and mental health needs.

Main duties

As a valued member of the MHST, you\'ll deliver high-quality mental health support to children and young people across schools and colleges in SW Essex. Your responsibilities include:

Clinical Delivery & Support

• Delivering evidence-based interventions in schools
• Conducting comprehensive assessments, including risk assessments, care planning and reviews
• Making referrals to specialist services and external agencies when needed
• Provision of high-quality clinical supervision
• Working with schools to support the Whole School Approach

Professional Practice

• Acting as an autonomous, registered practitioner, accountable for your own clinical decisions in line with your professional code of conduct and NELFT policies
• Supporting the transformation of children\'s and young people\'s mental health as part of the NHS Long-Term Plan

Quality & Outcomes

• Routinely measuring clinical outcomes using ROMs to guide and improve practice
• Ensuring all care is delivered via NICE-compliant pathways

Teamwork & Leadership

• Providing leadership, promoting initiative, creativity and motivation
• Communicating complex clinical information effectively to enable collaborative working
• Contributing to a positive team culture while working independently and with other professionals and agencies

Working for our organisation

Our Values 2025 - 2030

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used, the application may be rejected as part of the assessment process. Applicants may seek appropriate support for applications for declared disabilities.

Getting started with NELFT

NELFT emphasises welcoming induction for new starters. Induction runs for up to two weeks and includes mandatory training, systems training and equipment allocation. It includes opportunities to meet the executive team and attend drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing. Induction is held at the head office in Rainham, Essex. A probationary period applies to this post.

NELFT is committed to a workforce that reflects local communities and prioritises applications from residents in local boroughs and surrounding areas.

Detailed job description and location

Join the South-West Essex MHST, covering Basildon, Thurrock, Brentwood and Billericay. We deliver early intervention and prevention-focused mental health support across a wide area.

We value collaboration, compassion and continuous learning and offer flexible working arrangements in line with Trust policies.

Professional Development & Training

We actively encourage CPD and support staff development. Successful candidates will either:

• Have completed (or be willing to complete) the Senior Wellbeing Practitioner (SWP) course or
• Have completed the CBT recruit to train or the systemic family therapy course

For full details, refer to the job description and person specification attached.

Certificates of Sponsorship

We are a registered sponsor organisation but sponsorship may not be available for all roles. Check UKVI eligibility. When calculating basic salary for sponsorship, the High-Cost Area Supplement is not included to ensure fairness within the Trust.

Use of AI in recruitment

Please see the attached document regarding acceptable AI usage in recruitment.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Successful completion of graduate training (e.g. nursing, social work, occupational therapy) or completion of a low-intensity EMHP/CWP qualification
• Eligibility for registration as a full member of the appropriate professional body (e.g. HCPC, NMC, BABCP, BPS)
• Attended/willing to attend SWP course or CYPIAPT Supervisor training

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of working with moderate presentations and neurodivergence
• At least 1 year as a registered practitioner delivering low-intensity CBT-informed interventions

Desirable criteria

• 2 years post-qualification experience in children\'s mental health services

Travel

Essential criteria

• Ability to travel efficiently throughout the area

Benefits

We offer a holistic benefits package to support employees in and out of work. Highlights include:

• Commitment to equality, diversity and staff networks
• Flexibility and work-life balance initiatives recognised by Working Families as a top family-friendly employer
• Health and wellbeing support, including access to employee assistance programmes and wellbeing ambassadors
• Further details about wellbeing and benefits are available in the posted materials

We welcome flexible working arrangements to suit staff and patients. Discuss options such as job share or part-time patterns.

Armed Forces & equal opportunities

We recognise the Armed Forces community and have signed the Armed Forces Covenant with Gold Award recognition. We offer guaranteed interview schemes for veterans, reservists and military spouses, and provide extra leave for Reservists.

We are an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from all sections of the community. We are Disability Confident and can provide application formats upon request via recruitment team ([e-mail]).

Correspondence & safeguarding

You should regularly check emails for post-related correspondence. We may share application information with NHS Counter Fraud Authority and other organisations for fraud prevention. Third-party verification of qualifications may also occur.

Documents to download

• Senior wellbeing practitioner JD (PDF, 451.8KB)
• NELFT (PDF, 38.4KB)
• Candidate Recruitment Pack (PDF, 671.2KB)
• Acceptable Use of AI in Recruitment (PDF, 3.9MB)