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Job summary

Main area
Mental Health
Grade
Band 6
Contract
Fixed term: 12 months (The post is for a 1 year  fixed period (– September 2025 to September 2026) on a full-time basis, although there may be an opportunity to extend this when the fixed one year finishes.)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
395-RR095-25
Employer
NELFT NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Mellmead House
Town
Wanstead
Salary
£38,682 - £46,580 Per annum plus HCAS per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
14/10/2025 23:59

Employer heading

NELFT NHS Foundation Trust logo

Specialist Practitioner

Band 6

Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.

Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video

Job overview

An exciting secondment opportunity has arisen for a B6 Social Worker, OT or CPN to join the NELFT Rough Sleepers Mental Health Team.  This service became operational from March 2020 supporting Rough Sleepers with mental health difficulties who may have difficulties engaging with mental health services through the usual pathways.    The team works across the four NELFT boroughs, and a vacancy has arisen for the practitioner based in the Redbridge area.   

 The post-holder must be able to work autonomously and as part of the team The successful candidate will have good experience and knowledge of Safeguarding procedures and practice.  The Mental health and Mental Capacity Act and of relevant housing Legislation.

The successful post holder will require excellent written and verbal communication skills to be able to advocate for their clients and/or represent mental health services at multi-agency meetings and work alongside and support community partners working in this field.  The post is for a 1 year  fixed period (– September 2025 to September 2026) on a full-time basis, although there may be an opportunity to extend this when the fixed one year finishes.    

For any queries, please contact Julia Jones, Rough Sleepers Mental Health Team Clinical Lead Sarah [email protected]   or [email protected] Service Manager

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate should have experience of working as a B6 mental health practitioner . There should be a particular interest in working with rough sleepers or homelessness and the successful candidate should have the skills to assess the housing needs of clients with mental health difficulties. Knowledge of local mental health and housing Legislation and of pathways and voluntary organisations is also required.

The successful candidate will be responsible for caseload whilst being able to work flexibly to meet the needs of their service users, relatives, carers and the service in community settings.

The post also requires adhering to KPI’s and IT requirements under RIO.

Our Values 2025 - 2030

Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.

They are:
We are kind.
We are respectful.
We work together with our communities.

 These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.

Working for our organisation

 

Starting with NELFT  

NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment.  As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

Probationary Period 

This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

High-Cost Area Supplement

This post also attracts payment for High-Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,714 and a maximum payment of £5,941) pro rata for part time staff.

Certificates of Sponsorship

Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles.  Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points based system

 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.

Please note: The post may close before the scheduled closing date depending on the volume of applications.

Use of 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.

 

 

 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy
  • RMN. Registration with relevant professional body
  • Teaching qualification or other specific job related post-registration qualification (eg Mentoring and Enabling Learning in Practice, ENB-998 or equivalent)
  • Evidence of CPD

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Working with adults who have complex mental health needs
  • Working with adults dual diagnosis
  • Working in an acute environment
  • To have experience in working/liaising with multi-disciplinary teams, internal and external agencies in the provision of care
  • To have experience of assessing, planning and initiate care
  • Ability to work under pressure, quickly and effectively, making timely clinical decisions in conjunction with the MDT
  • Ability to work both independently and as part of the team

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Understanding the Care Act and its application
  • Understanding of contemporary evidence based ‘best practice
  • Understanding of the mental capacity act
  • Understanding of Community Treatment Order (CTO) and social circumstances report
  • Awareness of The 1983 Mental Health Act, related legal guidance and ethical practice
Desirable criteria
  • Understanding of NICE CQC and DoH guidance

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Basic awareness of IT and IT skills
  • Well-developed interpersonal skills, especially the ability to engage with service users and significant others in busy/high pressure environments
  • Robust assessment of mental health presentation and risk profiling
  • Ability to facilitate positive MDT working relationships across all service areas
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality where appropriate
  • Ability to work closely with the families, friends and significant others of service users in assessing need and planning intervention
  • Understanding of and commitment to the principles of equal opportunities in service delivery
  • Ability to formulate clear and concise clinical records and be able to disseminate information appropriately and to relevant agencies

Others

Essential criteria
  • To be aware and demonstrate the Trust Values
  • To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area
  • To be flexible, supportive and if required to take a new role within NELFT appropriate to knowledge, education and skills, as required
Desirable criteria
  • Access to car and full UK driving licence

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Employers for CarersApprenticeships logoAge positiveDisability confident employerHappy to Talk Flexible WorkingDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - GoldEmployers Network for Equality & InclusionTop 10 Employer 2023

Applicant requirements

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.

Application numbers

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to ensure consideration.

If you require any additional support during the application process please contact [email protected]. We are happy to make reasonable adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment journey.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Julia Jones
Job title
Team Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Additional information

Team Clinical Lead Sarah [email protected]   or [email protected] Service Manager

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