Senior Mental Health Practitioner

Job summary
We are delighted to be recruiting a Mental Health Professional within the Central Norfolk Youth Service the youth service currently works with young people aged 14 - 25, however we are in the process of change and future youth service will be working with those 18 - 25 and our current CAMHs service will in the future be working with young people up to 18. This role then whilst initially hosted in the youth service will focus on young people between the ages of 14 - 18 with the expectation that they will move to the CAMHs service in 2027 as the planned age change takes effect.

We are looking for professionals with either a Nursing, Social Work (with additional Mental Health Training) or Occupational Therapy qualification - who will provide mental health assessment and intervention to the people we support. It is a role that is about building relationships, inspiring others, and working as part of a vibrant and skilled team.

If you're inspired to offer support through difficult times, and to help young people and families to thrive, then you may be the right person for our team.

We are open to accommodate a variety of working patterns including part time applicants.

Main duties of the job
This is currently an exciting time for our team, as we develop our service to meet the needs of our young people in Norfolk.

In CFYP we support young people (aged 4-25 years) who are experiencing moderate to severe mental health difficulties. We have enthusiastic and skilled staff who provide the support that is needed - and they are motivated to make a real difference to young people, their families and carers.

Whilst experience working with children and young people would make you perfectly suited to this role, we are really open to welcoming people from clinical backgrounds who have experience in other areas of mental health. We understand that you will be able to bring with you a wealth of skills and experience to the team and would welcome fresh ways of thinking.

In this role you will be responsible for assessing the mental health of young people, and collaborating with them to plan their recovery. Going forwards this could involve providing interventions to the young people you support, or helping them to find other services inside and outside of our team.

We will want to hear your voice throughout your work with us, so it's also crucial that you help us with developing our service by contributing to project groups, and by helping other members of the team to grow through supervision and peer-mentoring.

About us
Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you'll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We're an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Job responsibilities
Please find attached our Job Description and Person Specification for more detail on your Key Accountabilities, then if you feel you have what it takes to make a difference in your local communities, click APPLY!

Some of the benefits you can expect:

• NHS pension
• a comprehensive in house & external training programmes
• career progression
• starting annual leave of 27 days per annum increasing to 33 days pa based on length of service (plus paid bank holidays)
• staff physio service
• NHS discounts and many more.

Please visit our Facebook and Twitter page @NSFTjobs

Interviews are yet to be confirmed, and candidates may only be given a minimum of 3 days notice. You will be contacted via email and invited to book a time. These emails may go to your SPAM, so please keep checking all your emails if applying.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Registered Mental Health or Learning Disability Nurse, Occupational Therapist OR Social Worker with the relevant professional registration
• Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisor training (NMC registrants) or Practice Educator (AHP & Social Worker Registrants)
• Ongoing professional development working towards degree level (if professional registration is following a diploma level course)

Desirable

• Recognised Leadership/Management training
• Higher degree or post graduate certificate in area of clinical / therapeutic practice

Experience
Essential

• Able to demonstrate an appropriate level of knowledge of mental health practice from previous experience
• Demonstrate effective risk assessment and risk management experience
• Experience of managing a caseload and the provision of Mental Health Care services to people with mental health care needs

Desirable

• Experience in delivering group based interventions
• Experience in supporting service development and quality improvement initiatives
• Experience working in the specific area

Skills
Essential

• Excellent communication and engagement skills
• Conflict resolution and Breakaway training (or requirement to undertake within first 12 weeks)
• Competent assessment skills

Desirable

• Able to time manage and reflect on clinical practice
• Prevention and Management of Suicide training

Knowledge
Essential

• The ability to use clinical assessment tools and outcome measures effectively and collaboratively
• An understanding of the policies and guidelines both local and national e.g. National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines (Government initiative)
• Up to date knowledge of legal and ethical frameworks including Mental Health Act.
• Have the ability to discuss, identify and escalate safeguarding issues in a sensitive way to protect those who are vulnerable
• Ensure care is values-based, nonjudgemental and equitable, and supports the principles of equality, diversity and inclusivity being met.

Desirable

• Developing knowledge of local wider systems and networks

Other
Essential

• Ability and willingness to travel independently to meet the needs and requirements of the service

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.