Senior Mental Health Practitioner
At a glance
- Band
- Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Pattern
- Part-time, Job share, Flexible working
- Hours / week
- 33
- Posted
- 07/09/2026
- Closes
- 27/09/2026
Sponsorship verdict
This contract type is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.
NHS Trusts cannot issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for part-time, bank, locum, zero-hours, job-share or short fixed-term (under 12 months) contracts under current Home Office rules. This applies even when the wider Trust holds a Skilled Worker licence.
Role summary
This role is for a Band 6 Senior Mental Health Practitioner within the First Response Service, a 24/7 crisis and assessment service in Plymouth. You will act as a shift lead, coordinating service delivery, prioritising workload, and providing clinical advice to junior staff. The position involves conducting crisis assessments, participating in multi-agency forums, and contributing to training and supervision. It requires working across a 7-day service, including rostered night shifts, to support individuals experiencing mental health challenges.
Key responsibilities
- Serve as shift lead, coordinating service delivery and prioritising workload.
- Provide clinical advice to junior staff and consult with other services.
- Participate in multi-agency forums and risk management, and contribute to training and supervision.
- Chair Risk Management and Professionals meetings as needed.
- Help develop training programs for staff and the local induction program, including student mentoring.
- Lead investigations for complaints, complex cases, and internal reviews with management support.
Essential criteria
- Assessing, formulating and working with people presenting in heightened state of distress
- Communicating (oral and written) complex/highly technical and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the organisation
- Clinical risk assessment and contingency planning
- Able to meet the service needs for mobility across the geographical area covered
- Able to demonstrate commitment to high quality care and service provision.
- Understanding about how a persons physical health can affect their mental state.
- Specialist knowledge of mental disorders and their impact on physical health.
- Understanding of National guidelines and initiatives related to provision of mental health services in an acute general hospital.
- Understanding of services and their role in the provision of mental health care in the community.
- General understanding of Continuing Healthcare and the assessment process for this.
- Sound working knowledge of Mental Health Act (1983), Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (2005).
- Protection of Vulnerable Adults Policies and Procedures.
- Mental health care/treatment relevant to service
- Working with people presenting in mental health crisis
- Multi-agency working/working across service interfaces
- Working within a multicultural framework.
- Suitable Candidates will show a clear willingness to develop skills in the areas of both functional mental health problems and older peoples/complex care mental health needs.
- Evidenced based clinical interventions relevant to the service
- Relevant specialist clinical courses/training
- Models of care and treatment relevant to working with people in mental health crisis
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Sound knowledge of relevant legislative frameworks (i.e. Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Care Act, Human Rights Act)
- Degree in Healthcare in relevant area supplemented by a post-graduate qualification or specialist training with relevant experience.
- Professional Qualification (e.g. RMN, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist)
- Professional Registration (e.g. NMC, HCPC, Social Work England)
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Mentorship qualification or equivalent experience.
- Works flexibly
- Committed to team working.
- Motivated, reliable and visionary
- Embrace opportunity to work with local community, 3rd sector and other partners.
- Positive approach to older people
- Recognise peoples right to privacy and dignity, treating every person with respect
- Willingness to embrace integrated model and new ways of working.
- Willingness to be flexible in approach and attitude.
- Ability to manage change in a positive manner.
- Recognise peoples right to privacy and dignity, treating every person with respect.
- Time management.
- Ability to manage environmental stress.
- Ability to work in a changing team.
- Articulate with a high level of communication skills.
- Ability to deal with high levels of emotional stress.
- Ability to sustain high levels of concentration.
- Motivated and committed to developing new ideas and improving patient care.
- Ability to function as an autonomous practitioner
Desirable criteria
- Brief psychological interventions/strategies for managing crisis.
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy skills.
- Problem solving skills.
- Solution focussed therapy skills.
- Physical healthcare skills.
- Motivational interviewing skills.
- DBT skills.
- Cognitive assessment skills.
- Teaching, training and/or supervision of clinical staff
- Previous experience of working in a community mental health setting.
- Evidence of developing and contributing to service development.
- Experience of change in health care.
- SystmOne
- Eclipse
- Experience of working in both acute mental health and in complex care and dementia care
- Clinical supervision qualification.
- Medical / non-medical prescribing
- Teaching (clinical practice) qualification/certificate or equivalent experience
- Leadership qualifications.
Useful to know
Agenda for Change 2024/25 pays Band 6 at £37,338 – £44,962 a year, across England.
This advert: £39,959 – £48,117 — outside the standard scale; check for HCAS/London weighting.
Posted 1d ago · Closes in 20d
Plenty of time to prepare a strong application.
Full advert · preview
Livewell Southwest
Senior Mental Health Practitioner
The closing date is 27 September 2026
Job summary
33 hours per week
We are seeking to recruit a B6 Senior Mental Health
Practitioner working with the First Response Service.
The First Response Service is a 24/7 crisis and assessment
service that offers age-appropriate advice, support, and guidance for those
experiencing mental health challenges in Plymouth. While most interactions
occur via telephone, there may be occasions when face-to-face crisis
assessments are necessary.
Please note that Livewell may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline if a high number of applications are submitted. Therefore, we recommend you submit your application at the earliest opportunity.
All Livewell staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7-day service.
Role is shifted to cover the 24/7 service, there will be rostered night shifts.
Main duties of the job
You will serve as shift lead on a rota basis, coordinating
service delivery, prioritising workload, and providing clinical advice to
junior staff.
You will also consult with other services, participate in a
multi-agency forum and risk management, and contribute to training and
supervision.
Additionally, you will chair Risk Management and
Professionals meetings as needed and will have access to support from an
experienced multi-disc
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