Go back Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
Liaison and Diversion Specialist Practitioner/ Team Leader
The closing date is 07 May 2026
The Liaison & Diversion service is not a mental health team. It operates as an All Age (from age of criminal responsibility - 10yrs), all Vulnerability model based on the National Liaison & Diversion operating model produced by NHS England.
The Liaison and Diversion Team Leader/Specialist Practitioner is someone with a clinical qualification and experience and knowledge of Liaison and Diversion and/or with specialist knowledge and experience of working with groups likely to be disadvantaged by their involvement in the justice system. The successful candidate will work closely with the Team Manager providing day‑to‑day supervision and support to the Liaison & Diversion Staff. Be a professionally registered practitioner to work within the Criminal Justice Pathway, providing support to practitioners in the triage assessment of people with multiple and often complex health, non‑acute mental health and social needs/vulnerabilities.
The Liaison & Diversion service will provide triage, identify unmet needs and vulnerabilities, and offer liaison, onward referral and guidance for persons who have come to the attention of the Criminal Justice Agencies whilst providing information to key criminal justice decision makers.
Main duties of the job
Specialist Liaison and Diversion Practitioner, a professionally registered practitioner to work within the Criminal Justice Pathway, assisting practitioners to provide a triage of non‑acute Mental Health, Learning Disability, Complex Health and social needs, liaison, referral and guidance for persons who have come to the attention of the Criminal Justice Agencies.
The Liaison & Diversion is not a mental health service; the team operates an All Age (from age of criminal responsibility - 10yrs), all Vulnerability model based on the National Liaison & Diversion operating model produced by NHS England.
The Liaison and Diversion Specialist Practitioner (SP) is someone with a registered qualification and experience and knowledge of Liaison and Diversion and/or with specialist knowledge and experience of working with groups likely to be disadvantaged by their involvement in the justice system.
The SP will assist the Practitioners to triage those individuals identified via a screening process who require further input in respect of different populations, for example, people with a learning disability, non‑acute mental health and social care presentation or children and young people.
The SP will be able to gather pertinent information from a variety of sources including service users, carers, their families and other service providers.
About us
LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.
Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under‑represented groups. If you would like to discuss your application, please ask.
We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.
LSCFT supports flexible working; we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi‑time.
The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.
Explore our full wellbeing offer here: Keeping our workforce well
Job responsibilities
For further information or an informal discussion about the post please contact: Deborah Hutchins, Deborah.hutchins@lscft.nhs.uk
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN) or Registered Nurse, Learning Disability, Social Worker, Registered Nurse (RGN), Occupational Therapist, or Speech Language and Communication Therapist
* 2 years post‑qualification experience with demonstrable evidence of leading and managing a team
* Evidence of continuing professional development
Knowledge
* Knowledge of the Trust’s information sharing protocols
* Be compliant and competent with regards to Information Governance including the Data Protection Act
* Knowledge and understanding of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE)
Experience
* 2 years post‑qualifying experience within the field of specialism, or 2 years relevant experience of providing care in a community, criminal justice or secure setting
* Able to take responsibility for decision making in unpredictable work contexts
* Demonstrate leadership skills within mental health, learning disability or liaison and diversion services
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
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