Job summary
- Main area
- Dietitian
- Grade
- Band 6 - Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 350-MHC8122304
- Employer
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Eleanor House, Rathbone Hospital Site
- Town
- Liverpool
- Salary
- £39,959 - £56,515 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 12/07/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 17/07/2026
Employer heading
Dietitian
Band 6 - Band 7
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Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.
Using AI to support your application
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be a helpful tool when preparing your application, supporting you to organise and structure your application and present your experiences clearly. However, we want to hear about your experiences and achievements. Please ensure everything you submit is truthful, accurate, and reflects your own work and experience. Your authentic story is the best way to help us understand who you are and what you can bring to the role. If content appears to be copied or misrepresented, it may impact the outcome of your application. We encourage you to use AI responsibly as a support tool, not a substitute for your own voice.
For tips and guidance, please refer to our applicant guidance.
Your experiences matter, let them shine.
Applications that appear mostly or fully generated by AI, without clear personal examples linked to the person specification, may be rejected.
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Job overview
We are excited to offer an opportunity for a skilled dietitian to join our collaborative team, leading nutritional support, specialist interventions and pathway optimisation across the Mental Health Care Division.
This exciting post is based across inpatient mental health services. You will manage a diverse caseload of patients requiring weight management support, including those with co-morbidities and patients requiring nutritional support. You will also support colleagues with their caseloads, provide supervision and develop confidence and competence as a team leader.
You will deliver daily ward-based clinics to assess and review patients, attend MDT meetings to communicate treatment plans and monitoring requirements and work closely with a range of health professionals. You will also deliver nutritional screening training, support audit activity and contribute to the Nutrition and Hydration Strategy.
Evidence-based practice and working within the British Dietetic Association Professional Code of Conduct are essential.
The role may be considered as a Band 6 to Band 7 development post, offering experienced Band 6 practitioners the opportunity to progress once competencies are achieved. Competencies are expected within 3–6 months of commencement.
Main duties of the job
To provide specialist evidence based clinical care (and expertise and team leadership) to ensure an effective dietetic service which aims to maximise the nutritional status of service users within in-patient areas of the Mental Health Care Division.
Working for our organisation
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Flexible and adaptable, comfortable working in a dynamic health care environment.
Provide care, advice, and guidance in the treatment of others, when dealing with complex highly specialist conditions.
Responsible for the delivery of identified training.
Work in partnership with the other services/stakeholder partnership agencies to enable patients/clients to be treated in the appropriate setting. This may include procurement and enteral feed contract reviews.
Ensure that the team provides a high-quality service to its patients/clients by providing caseload and clinical supervision.
Ensure that team work proactively in order to deliver anticipatory and maintenance care, providing a responsive service to patients with both planned and unplanned care needs.
Develop partnerships and joint working with service users and stakeholders to improve patient/client care.
Work in partnership with other organisations to support the effective and co-ordinated provision of health and social care services.
Participate in the development of caseload management across the local health economy.
Provide leadership and mentoring to those staff developing into a caseload management role.
Challenge professional and organisational boundaries to ensure that the role is focused on meeting the needs of service users.
Act as an advocate and champion for patients/clients in a variety of forums and professional groups and challenge attitudes and behaviour.
Act as a role model to others ensuring that patients receive the most effective care possible
Contribute to the development of policy and services to reflect the needs of the target population.
Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for a full list of duties and responsibilities.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- BSc Nutrition and Dietetics or relevant degree with post graduate diploma in dietetics
- Health Professions Council registration for dietetics
Desirable criteria
- Full member of British Dietetic Association (BDA)
- Teaching qualification
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Code of conduct and professional ethics
- Aware of current DOH initiatives
Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant demonstrable experience in adult dietetics.
Desirable criteria
- Wide range of experience in NHS
- Working with hospital or commercial caterers
- Experience of working in mental health setting
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to organise effectively and communicate complex information verbally and in writing
- Highly developed communication and clinical skills to enable engagement with patients with challenging behavioural problems e.g. eating disorders
- Highly developed motivational skills to meet the challenge of changing the lifestyles of patients who are mentally ill coupled with pharmacologically induced problems
- Ability to facilitate and lead discussions in professional/ multi -agency meetings
- Evidence of professional development
- Information Technology skills (word processing, e -mail, dietary analysis, internet searching, recording clinical notes etc)
- Presentation skills with the ability to present to large groups
- Ability to respond to unpredictable work patterns and frequent interruptions
- Competence at boundary setting, assertiveness and interpersonal skills
- Proficient at time management, working to deadlines and good organisational skills
- Ability to work in a physically and emotionally demanding environment
- Ability to analyse work commitments to reflect service priorities
- Ability to analyse blood test results to inform clinical treatment
- Knowledge and understanding to be able to manage complex dietary situations
Desirable criteria
- Accurate anthropometric skills
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Natalie Sutton
- Job title
- Modern Matron - Physical Health
- Email address
- [email protected]
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