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 three 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

NELFT is the largest provider of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in England. Our Southend, Essex and Thurrock services cover 144 schools currently. We currently cover 48% of secondary and primary school within Southend, Essex and Thurrock. 

The MHST deliver evidence-based individual and group interventions in educational settings for children experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties aged 4 to 18 years old. The teams also have a strong focus on whole school approaches to improve mental health outcomes for children and young people.

The senior clinician/supervisor will be responsible for the caseload management &

supervision of the Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) which are training roles. The post holder will also work with and support other senior colleagues in developing the MHSTs and facilitate wider service transformation within the local child mental health system – this will be done in conjunction with local service leads and managers.

The post-holder will also be responsible for liaising directly with schools, developing and co-producing materials for delivery/presentation in schools, and supporting the development and embedding of the MHSTs in schools. In addition to this, the post-holder will have a small caseload and be actively involved in delivering universal and targeted group interventions in schools.

Main duties of the job

Oversee the formulation, treatment and management plans for schools, parents, Children and Young People (CYP) being supported by the EMHPs using a range of specialist psychological interventions appropriate to the service, individual and group. 

Undertake accurate assessment of risk to self and others.

Through case management and supervision, escalate cases where the level of need becomes beyond scope, or more severe ensuring adherence to other relevant elements of service delivery.

Provide a range of information and support to schools for evidence based psychological treatments, primarily guided self-help. This work may be face-to-face, by telephone or via other media.

Provide joint specialist mental health assessments and interventions for schools, parents, CYP with the EMHP supervisees. 

Travel across the county for supervision, clinical work and training all travel to be in line with trust policies and procedures relating to expenses and Vehicle registration and insurance.

Provide reports and communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients.

Effectively communicate with colleagues, peers, senior managers and clinical leads within the Trust.

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).

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

The Mid Essex Mental Health Support Team (MHST) covers a large geographical area incorporating the districts of Braintree, Chelmsford and Maldon. We are an early intervention and prevention evidence-based service and as a team we are supportive and passionate in what we deliver. We are a friendly team of professionals who come from multidisciplinary backgrounds. We recognise the needs for a healthy work life balance, and we will consider flexible working applications in line with the trust policies and process. We encourage Continual Professional Development (CPD) and are keen to support our staff to grow and progress. 

The senior clinician/supervisor will also be required to complete supervisor training at the designated HEI. This training will is funded as part of the MHST programme and it is a fundamental requirement for the post holder to successfully complete the training to do their role.

Please see person specification and job description for full details.

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

Successful completion of a graduate training ( nursing, social work, occupational therapy) and eligible for registration as a full member of the appropriate professional body NMC, HCPC, BABCP AFT, ACP Further professional knowledge will have been gained through accredited courses workshops, study and in house training programmes ( CYP- IAPT training)

Experience

Essential criteria

At least 2 years experience of working with evidence based approaches to low mood, anxiety and behaviour problems with children and young people Experience of undertaking delegated leadership tasks and managing trainee staff effectively

Desirable criteria

Experience working with or in educational settings

Knowledge

Essential criteria

High level knowledge of the theory and practice of psychological interventions including low -intensity CBT interventions. Knowledge of the relevant clinical research literature and ability to apply it to field of parent support/child mental health/staff wellbeing

Desirable criteria

Knowledge of Systmone

Skills

Essential criteria

Ability to form excellent working relationships with colleagues and work flexibly with others in multidisciplinary and multi-agency settings Effectively manage a clinical caseload, complete outcomes measure routinely, update clinical records in line with team, service and Trust requirements

Other

Essential criteria

To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area Confident speaking with a range of audiences in different settings including education settings

Benefits

We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:

A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff. A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity. Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors. Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.