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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, and Essex. 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
Band 8a - MHST Senior Supervisor and Locality Lead (Substantive Post)
We are looking for a Clinical/ Counselling/Educational Psychologist or BABCP accredited CBT therapist to join one of our localities namely: Maidstone MHST, Dartford MHST or Thanet MHST. The successful candidate will work closely with other Clinical Leads and Operational colleagues to support clinical delivery across the chosen locality area and service as a whole.
The post holder will oversee the clinical offer in the area, including relationships and partner working in schools. This post will see the applicant overseeing and supporting both CBT group skills supervision and individual supervision for trainees and qualified staff. *(see JD for further detail)
Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are a new government initiative to help increase children and young people's access to support for emotional wellbeing and mental health. MHSTs are part of the national Children and Young People's Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP‑IAPT) programme.
MHSTs are a resource in addition to the already existing support in any particular education setting. MHSTs have three main functions:
* Targeted Intervention
* Whole‑School Approach
* Consultation and Liaison
Our local MHST services are called Emotional Wellbeing Teams Kent and Emotional Support teams Medway. To find out more about us please see our website: https://www.nelft.nhs.uk/kent-and-medway-mental-health-support-teams
Main duties of the job
This post is to support the clinical development and service delivery of the MHSTs in Kent & Medway.
The post holder will be responsible for supporting the delivery of evidence‑based CBT interventions in schools/colleges and providing supervision to practitioners in the team.
They will also be responsible for supporting schools to develop a whole‑school approach to emotional wellbeing and mental health using a range of different evidence‑based and theoretical approaches (e.g. systemic and attachment theory).
Working for our organisation
From April 2026, this role will sit within Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. The successful candidate will be supported throughout this change, with clear communication and further details provided during the process. If employment with NELFT begins prior to April 2026, arrangements will be managed in line with TUPE.
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.
* We are kind.
* We are respectful.
* 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. 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).
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder will hold the responsibility of overseeing the day‑to‑day clinical delivery of the MHST programme in the designated area. To effectively ensure this, the post holder will require:
* Substantial experience working therapeutically with children and families with mental health needs.
* In‑depth knowledge and experience of evidence‑based practice with children and families (including CBT).
* Experience of providing supervision (including of CBT‑informed practice).
* Clinical experience and in‑depth understanding of effective use of routine outcome measures.
* Enthusiasm for, and knowledge of early intervention and prevention including low‑intensity support for emotional wellbeing and mental health difficulties in an education context.
* Knowledge of evidence‑based interventions for low mood, self‑harm, anxiety and common behaviour difficulties in young children in education settings.
* Knowledge and understanding of whole‑school approaches to emotional wellbeing and mental health.
* Experience of providing consultation in education settings.
* Experience of service development and multi‑disciplinary and multi‑agency working.
*Please note - 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.
If you are an overseas qualified nurse and wanting to start your journey to becoming a UK based registered nurse with the NMC, you can check whether you are eligible to be supported through our Capital Nurse consortium. Please visit: https://www.capitalnurselondon.co.uk/how-to-apply/. Whilst NELFT is happy to welcome overseas nurses we are unable to consider your application directly. You should submit your interest and apply through the Capital Nurse London group.
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.
We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Please apply as soon as possible as some posts close early to limit the number of applications.
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
Experience
Essential criteria
* Experience of work in mental health and educational settings
Desirable criteria
* Experience of clinical leadership
Qualification and Professional Registration
Essential criteria
* Post graduate qualification in MH
* Has correct professional registration as outlined in JD
Desirable criteria
* CYP IAPT Supervision course Low intensity
Knowledge
Essential criteria
* Able to demonstrate knowledge of CYP Mental Health services and appropriate clinical delivery within these.
Desirable criteria
* Knowledge of MHST programme and EMHP training
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 efforts to 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.
Supporting our Armed Forces
We recognise the valuable contribution that the Armed Forces community make to our organisation. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and achieved Gold Award under the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme. We have supportive policies, guaranteed interview schemes for veterans, reservists and military spouses and give additional leave to our Reservists so that they can attend their annual camp.
Equal opportunities employer
We are committed to equal opportunities and diversity and positively encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of any protected characteristic.
We are a Disability Confident employer and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with disabilities. If you require this application in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape please contact the recruitment team on 0300 300 1530 or email recruitment@nelft.nhs.uk.
Correspondence with us
You are advised to regularly check your emails (including any junk mail/spam folders) for correspondence related to this post.
As part of our recruitment process, we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS. We also use third‑party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same.
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
* Senior Supervisor and Clinical Lead B8a JD and PS (PDF, 459.5KB)
* Candidate Recruitment Pack (PDF, 671.2KB)
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