Specialist Eating Disorders Dietitian

Transformation Unit; Colchester; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days holiday

NHS pension

Staff discounts

Season ticket loans

Flexible working

Job sharing

Job summary

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust in Colchester is seeking a Main area Specialist Eating Disorder Dietitian for a 12-month fixed-term maternity leave cover. The role supports community eating disorder pathways, offering specialist nutrition input and MDT collaboration.

The post involves managing complex cases with adolescents and adults, flexible working, and potential cross-site coverage. Salary is competitive with NHS terms and pro rata for 37.5 hours per week.

Qualifications

• Specialist input for adults with eating disorders in the community and FREED pathway.
• Experience in managing complex dietetic cases within MDT settings.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Eating Disorders Nutrition and Dietetics service for the north team of the Community Adult Eating Disorder Service.
• Provide specialist dietetic assessment, diagnosis and treatment plans for adults with complex needs within the community (including FREED).
• Offer expert nutritional advice to health and social care professionals, clients and carers.
• Assess, plan, implement and evaluate specialised dietetic interventions in community and inpatient settings.
• Develop and deliver individual treatment programmes using evidence-based practice.
• Prioritise caseloads to meet service demand.
• Support development of the Eating Disorders Dietetic Service in line with best practice.

Skills

Specialist Dietitian

Eating Disorders

Nutrition Assessment

MDT Collaboration

Education

Dietetics (BSc/MSc)

HCPC Registration

Advanced Masters training

BDTA membership

Tools

FREED pathway

Job description

Main area Specialist Eating Disorder Dietitian Grade Band 7 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (Maternity Leave cover) Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week Job ref 364-B-484-A

Employer Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Northgate Centre Town Colchester Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 22/11/2026 23:59

Band 7

Please be aware that, due to current allocation constraints, Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are being prioritised for registered roles at this time.

Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk.

We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.

You’ll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive.

The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.

We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years.

We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.

We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.

Join us and you’ll do the best work of your life – and make a difference to other people’s lives. What we do together, matters.

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated Specialist Dietitian who has an interest in working in a Community Adult Eating Disorder Service, on a 12-month Fixed Term Contract covering maternity leave. This role is part of the current transformation programme across mental health services within Essex.We are a Trust wide service and the postholder will be expected to work in other locations in the Trust as required. Remote working will be considered for this post.

The post holder will provide specialist dietetic input to adults with eating disorders in the community, including in the FREED pathway. It will involve working with service users and multidisciplinary team members to identify and address the complex psychological and social factors that affect the dietary treatment, thus enabling long term/permanent lifestyle changes.

Managing severely underweight patients with Anorexia Nervosa that are at risk of refeeding syndrome whilst in an Acute setting will require collaborative liaison work with the acute trusts.

You will be expected to work collaboratively with key partner organisations, service users, carers, clinicians and other practitioners within the multi-disciplinary team in delivering services; working flexibly where appropriate and operationally required.

Main duties of the job

• To lead the EPUT Eating Disorders Nutrition and Dietetics provision for the north team of the Community Adult Eating Disorder Service.
• To provide specialist dietetic assessment, diagnosis and treatment programmes to individual service users with a variety of complex dietetic needs within the community (including FREED) eating disorders pathway.
• To provide expert nutritional advice, signposting, guidance and information to health and social care professionals, clients, carers, relatives or other non-professional contacts to ensure care is delivered in accordance with evidence-based practice.
• To assess, plan, implement and evaluate specialised dietetic interventions for people with Eating Disorders in community and inpatient settings.
• Formulate and deliver individual treatment programmes based on specialist knowledge, evidence-based practise, national and local guidelines using profession-specific clinical skills and techniques (e.g. 1:1, group activities, patient education, carer education).
• To manage complex and challenging caseloads and be able to appropriately prioritise by need.
• To provide complex dietary support with a challenging patient population.
• To be instrumental in developing the Eating Disorders Dietetic Service in line with the Service vision and best evidence-based practice.

Working for our organisation

To learn more about working within our Services at EPUT, please view our recruitment videos, where members of the team share their experiences and insights into their roles and what it is like working within our Psychological Services, here at EPUT.

Valuing you. Recognising your dedication. At EPUT, we look after you.

• Receive supervision and support to help you fulfil your potential.
• Join an inclusive EPUT community and connect with others through engagement events and equality or champion networks.
• If you need help, we provide mental health and wellbeing services, occupational health advice and counselling.
• We run recognition awards to recognise staff's hard work and dedication.
• 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years’ service.
• Excellent pension of up to14.5% of your pensionable pay.
• Staff discounts include Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and staff benefits.
• Season ticket loans are interest-free to cover the cost of travelling to and from work via tram, rail, or bus.

Work that wraps around your needs

• Flexible working: available from day one for most roles.
• Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for a detailed list of responsibilities.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

• BSc. or MSc. in Dietetics OR BSc. in relevant science & Post Graduate Diploma or MSc. in Dietetics
• Registration via Healthcare Professions Council
• Evidence of Advanced / Masters level post graduate training e.g. MSC/PG Cert level
• Registered member of the British Dietetic Association

Experience

• Substantial post qualification clinical dietetic experience in an acute hospital or community setting.
• Significant experience of working with people with Eating Disorders.
• Experience of supervision of students and assistants. Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team.
• Experience of delivering MDT Eating Disorder dietetic training both internally and externally
• Experience of running groups

Please be aware that, due to current allocation constraints, Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are being prioritised for registered roles at this time. Important note: please ensure that as part of your application, you include professional references with business contact information covering your last three years of employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.

As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post; the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [e-mail] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Important Notice: Recently the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) which amended on 22 July 2021 and come into force on 11 November 2021 that anyone directly employed to work in a Care Home or who are required as part of their role to be deployed to a CQC registered care home are required to have had both their COVID vaccinations, unless they are exempt. This is therefore a requirement of this role and will form part of our pre‑employment checks.

Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.