Job overview

The post holder will lead and inspire the team to deliver a high-quality and effective service for service users and carers.

Working in partnership with the Team Manager and other senior practitioners, they will ensure excellent clinical access and compliance with waiting time standards for early intervention services are maintained within the team. 

Effective caseload management and clinical supervision will be supported by robust and efficient individual and team supervision processes, all within the overarching framework of Personal Wellbeing Plans, under the "Your Team, Your Conversation, Your Plan" approach.

The role may require working extended hours and deputising for the Team Manager when necessary.

NOTE: This post is open to newly qualified social workers. In line with AWP Trust policy, all newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) will be recruited initially at Band 5 level, regardless of the advertised role banding. All NQSWs are expected to successfully complete their ASYE within two years of employment, unless there are exceptional circumstances—in which case it may be extended for a further two years.

If you have been appointed to an advertised Band 6 role, this will be an automatic progression following confirmation of your successful ASYE completion. If you have been appointed to a Band 5 post, you will then be eligible to apply for a subsequent Band 6 vacancy upon successful ASYE completion.

Main duties of the job

• To lead and inspire the team to deliver a high-quality and effective recovery service for service users and carers.

• To provide clinical leadership to ensure that, where appropriate, the service works effectively alongside other services to manage safety and prevent hospital admissions for service users with the most complex and acute needs.

• To undertake and support the specialist, ongoing assessment of physiological and/or psychological functioning for service users with the most complex health and wellbeing needs.

• To be responsible for, both individually and within the team, the development, delivery, and review of comprehensive and complex treatment programmes using appropriate frameworks in line with evidence-based practice—including strategies to manage safety for service users with complex needs and their carers.

Working for our organisation

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust)—a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We deliver services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire, and parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach—for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees provide better care.

AWP is committed to supporting and fostering a positive, research-informed environment and culture, which benefits everyone who works for the organisation and enhances the care we provide.

At AWP, we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. We value the unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives, and knowledge that individuals bring to AWP—because diversity makes us stronger.