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
NELFT’s Kent & Medway All Age Eating Disorders Service specialises in the assessment, diagnosis and NICE concordant treatment of young people and adults with Eating Disorders (Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder & Otherwise Specified Feeding & Eating Disorders). Additional pathways have been added to the Service with transformation monies including an Enhanced Care pathway and First Episode Rapid Early Intervention in Eating Disorders (FREED) and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a multidisciplinary all age specialist Community Eating Disorder team. The team is committed to delivering the highest quality service to enable service users live the life they want. This opportunity gives the successful candidate the chance to influence the success of this innovative Eating Disorder service
We are looking for applicants who have enthusiasm for working in specialist mental health services, who are adaptable; enjoy variety, can working independently as well as understanding the importance of team working. You will form part of our patient focused service, providing a high quality, accurate and timely service.
Main duties of the job
The All-Age Eating Disorder Service is based across the County of Kent at George Turle House, Canterbury, and The Courtyard, Maidstone, with Specialist support offered to the Kent and Medway Adolescent Hospital in Staplehurst. Geographically, we support the County of Kent and Medway, so the ability to travel is essential.
You will need to be passionate about delivering high quality care to complex mental health service users and be innovative in your approach to helping us in developing new pathways within the NHS transformation agenda.
Prospective post holders are encouraged to find out more about this exciting role.
The successful applicant will support the team with duty and routine assessments, triages for patients where binge eating disorder or bulimia may be indicated at the point of referral. You will also support in the delivery of guided self help programmes, and CBT based interventions such as CBT-T and our First Stage of Treatment Programme.
Working for our organisation
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:
1. We are kind.
2. We are respectful.
3. We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period.
Starting with Us
NELFT places great importance on new starters being properly welcomed into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks, including mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process, new starters will also have the opportunity to meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend several drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing, and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
There will also be an exciting opportunity to take a lead role in the delivery in a new innovative digital pathway for patients diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder, and Bulimia.
The post holder will be expected to attend and participate in MDT team meetings as well as CPA meetings of cases on their case load. You will also be expected to manage an active caseload, prepare and attend regular individual and group supervisions and maintain high levels of data quality.
As the service is exclusively an outpatient service, the post holder will not hold an inpatient case load.
The post holders will support their peers and team leader and be an effective team member whilst working on their own initiative. They will have a commitment to collaborative working and actively supporting and liaising with other health and social professionals and agencies.
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. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.
Use of AI
Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
4. A graduate certificate (Level 6) or postgraduate certificate (Level 7) delivering the national curriculum for Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners (Adult Specialist Mental Health)
Experience
Essential criteria
5. Experience of working with people with mental health needs gained through a graduate certificate or postgraduate certificate training with significant supervised practice
6. Experience running groups/activities
7. Experience of analysing and communicating complex information verbally and in writing
Knowledge
Essential criteria
8. An awareness of NHS priorities
Skills
Essential criteria
9. Able to establish and maintain empathic, supportive relationships with people in significant distress or who are cognitively impaired, their families and carers
10. Able to receive, understand and communicate confidential client information of a sensitive and often complex nature, including discussing care with family members within boundaries of confidentiality
11. Able to communicate in a sensitive and reassuring manner, with empathy, and where appropriate reassurance.
12. Able to assist in assessment and observation activities related to individual’s health and wellbeing, arriving at judgments about how to respond within the care plan
13. Able to assist in planning and delivering psychologically informed interventions to meet people’s health and wellbeing needs
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:
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.