Senior Community Mental Health Practitioner
At a glance
- Band
- Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Pattern
- Full-time
- Hours / week
- 37.5
- Posted
- 03/09/2026
- Closes
- 20/09/2026
Sponsorship verdict
This advert explicitly states that sponsorship is not offered.
The source advert contains explicit wording ruling out sponsorship for this specific role. Consider other live roles at the same band from sponsorship-friendly trusts.
Role summary
This role is for an experienced Community Mental Health Practitioner to join a multi-disciplinary Core Community Mental Health Service. You will deliver specialist mental health interventions, manage a defined caseload, and provide evidence-based, recovery-focused treatments to service users with severe and enduring mental health difficulties. The position involves acting as a shift lead, coordinating service delivery, and providing clinical advice to junior staff, while working collaboratively with other agencies and contributing to service development.
Essential criteria
- Significant post-registration experience of working with people with complex mental ill health within the community, including those who may abuse drugs and/or alcohol.
- Significant experience as a Key Worker/ or Home Treatment/Crisis worker.
- Experience of working collaboratively with patients and their families/carers.
- Previous experience of working at a level relevant to the role, post registration experience in acute mental health.
- Completing complex mental health assessments in a variety of different settings in the community and signposting to relevant services.
- Relapse prevention and Recovery Principles.
- Experience of working with people in high levels of distress.
- Extensive post-qualifying experience of practicing low intensity CBT interventions with people with a range of mental health problems in a community mental health setting.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of providing clinical supervision, mentoring, and teaching to students and other health professionals.
- Experience of working in an acute inpatient unit.
- Experience of working with older adults .
- Experience of working with people with an offending background.
- Experience of conducting basic physical health screening.
- Previous experience of working in a community mental health setting.
- Evidence of developing and contributing to service development.
- Experience of change in health care.
- Collaborative working with peer support organisations
- Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.
- Experience working with a psychologist or MH professional.
- Experience of managing or supervising junior staff.
- Managing a caseload of clients with a range of mental health presentation.
- One of the following:
- RMN/Dip HE/BSc Mental Health Nursing NMC Registration.
- RGN/Dip HE/BSc Registered Nurse NMC Registration.
- Occupational Therapy Degree HCPC Registration.
- Social Work Degree HCPC Registration.
- Paramedic Science Degree/BSc/Dip HE HCPC Registration Registered.
- Post qualification experience/training in mental health and related issues.
- Clinical Supervision training.
- Evidence of completion of statutory and mandatory training.
- Mentorship qualification or equivalent experience.
- Non-medical prescriber or willingness to work towards this where appropriate.
- Leadership qualifications (Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, Mental health nurse, psychological wellbeing practitioner).
- Specific skills
- IT skills.
- Ability to prioritise workload.
- Risk assessment and formulation skills, including safety planning.
- Robust and positive approach towards risk assessment.
- Ability to work effectively under pressure.
- Ability to prioritise and reprioritise work to meet clinical demand.
- Ability to identify and refer on for unmet need. Working effectively with patients who may have a variety of communication difficulties.
- Triaging referrals based on clinical urgency.
- 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.
- Staff appraisal skills.
- Committed to developing new ideas and improving patient care.
- Physical healthcare skills.
- Additional Requirements & Behavioural Attributes
- To participate in on- call structure. Ability to work flexible hours.
- Able to work alone and unsupervised following induction period.
- Reflective, curious and creative in approach to patient care.
- Responsible and self-motivated, tact, diplomacy and self-confident.
- Able to manage difficult and distressing situations effectively.
- Flexible and adaptable, ability to learn new skills and develop role.
- Display values of being kind, respectful, inclusive, ambitious, responsible and collaborative. commitment to the aims and values of the NHS combined with high personal integrity.
- Committed to developing and improving mental health services.
- Ability to frequently travel independently and in a timely manner between Livewell Southwest sites and community locations including areas not served by public transport.
- Evidence of post registration development.
- Clinical Risk Assessment.
- Safeguarding Adults and Children.
- Clinical Governance.
- Care program approach & person-centered framework.
- Psychological models of care and treatment.
- Sound working knowledge of Mental Health Act (1983), Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (2005).
- Understanding of National guidelines and initiatives related to provision of mental health services.
- Understanding of the provision of mental health care and recovery services in the community.
- Specialist knowledge of mental disorders and their impact on physical health.
- CBT sk
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 2d ago · Closes in 16d
Plenty of time to prepare a strong application.
Full advert · preview
Job summary
37.5 hours per week.
We
are seeking to recruit an experienced Community Mental Health Practitioner
(MHP) to work as part of the new multi-disciplinary Core Community Mental
Health Service delivering specialist mental health interventions.
You
will be joining the Community Mental Health Services at an exciting time
influencing how Community Mental Health Care will be delivered and leading
local services in providing outstanding care in the community for Service
Users.
As
a Community Mental Health Practitioner you will have the opportunity to provide
a range of evidence based, recovery focussed interventions on both an
individual and group basis to service users and their carers. Additionally you
will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with and provide consultation
to the wider support networks.
"please note that this role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route, please refer to the Direct Gov website for more information with regards to eligibility"
All Livewell Southwest staff are expected to able and willing to work across a 7 day service.
Job Share(s) Considered
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
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