Senior Mental Health Practitioner
The closing date is 21 June 2026.
The Emergency Response Coordinator is responsible for providing senior clinical leadership and advice within the Emergency Response Service, which offers a crisis response to patients 24/7. As a specialist practitioner the role entails providing clinical leadership and day-to-day coordination of clinical practice to support the effective delivery of care across the Crisis Network.
As a coordinator for the team, the post holder will work flexibly to support the safe running of the service, providing supervision for lower-banded members with an expectation of face‑to‑face and telephone assessments.
The role requires working closely with police, ambulance, local authorities and other local partnership agencies to ensure effective outcomes following crisis assessment. The coordinator must co‑ordinate support, refer and liaise with professionals, agencies and other parties involved in the service user’s support to deliver the crisis support package.
Main duties of the job
- Flexibly work shifts covering a twenty‑four hour period to meet service need.
- Allocate safe distribution of workload and provide coordination of the shift.
- Provide and oversee the clinical management and support of team members.
- Provide clinical supervision for lower-banded members of the team.
- Provide and oversee the management and care of service users.
- Produce accurate and timely documentation and maintain records for all service users in line with professional code of conduct and Trust policy.
- Undertake specialist assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of care in the community for service users with severe or complex mental health conditions or experiencing episodes of acute psychological distress.
About us
Valuing you. Recognising your dedication. At EPUT, we look after you.
- Receive supervision and support to help you fulfil your potential.
- Join an inclusive EPUT community and connect with others through engagement events and equality champion networks.
- We provide mental health and well‑being services, occupational health advice, and counselling to help you.
- We run recognition awards to recognise staff’s hard work and dedication.
- 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years’ service.
- Excellent pension of up to 14.5% of your pensionable pay.
- Staff discounts including Blue Light Card and NHS discount offers.
- £8K relocation package if you move to Essex.
- Season ticket loans are interest‑free to cover travel via tram, rail, or bus.
Work that wraps around your needs
- Flexible working: available from day one for most roles.
- Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed.
Job responsibilities
- Oversee or contribute to the assessment process, providing observation and ongoing assessment, and accurate and timely feedback.
- Conduct risk assessment of the individual and potential hazards in the service user’s environment.
- Attend multi‑disciplinary meetings (referral, review, business).
- Report and document incidents as required.
- Conduct and oversee physical health care checks and act upon findings.
- Administer medications, assess side effects, review concordance and clinical effectiveness of medication regime in line with Trust policy; ensure safe transportation and storage of medicines.
- Provide education around prescribed medication, side effects, compliance aids.
- Provide education and support to develop service users’ understanding of mental illness and training packages for staff.
- Please see full Job Description and Person Specification attached.
Person Specification
- Professional health or social care qualification (e.g. Social Work, Occupational Therapy, RMN, RNLD) and registration with relevant governing body; qualification at degree level or equivalent.
- Experience in managing and resolving conflicts between professionals and teams; in-depth knowledge of crisis working.
- Extensive experience in leadership roles; in-depth knowledge of wider policy and service issues relating to mental health.
- Experience working in community settings in a senior practitioner role; with service users with complex care needs requiring higher levels of expertise.
- Understanding and knowledge of Crisis Care Concordat and associated strategy; knowledge of Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults procedures.
- Experience working closely with senior medical, nursing, social and clinical staff; developing partnerships with statutory agencies at a management level.
- Extensive knowledge and experience of organisational development.
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively through formal presentations.
- Negotiation skills in managing conflict across a range of situations, including the resolution of complaints involving hostility and aggression.
- Proven ability to work with distressed service users and carers; demonstrate a can‑do approach that is practical, decisive, and has a positive outcome.
- Ability to embrace and champion change.
- Experience managing budgets.
- Skills in motivating staff; experience in social care management.
- Experience in service user and carer initiatives and engagement.
- Ability to empathise with clients, carers and families and colleagues; effective communication.
- Knowledge of relevant legislation; skills in analysing service, organisational and staffing issues.
- Keyboard and computer literacy skills; driver’s licence; ability to work full internal rotation (12‑hour shifts).
- Ability to work under pressure; contain and manage stress.
- Ability to sustain prolonged concentration for data analysis, reporting, etc.; manage unpredictable work patterns and changing deadlines.
- Ability to handle exposure to highly distressing situations; contain emotional impact of working with mental health problems.
- Evidence of user focus in developing, organising, delivering and evaluating care.
- Excellent communication skills and ability to write high‑level reports to varied audiences.
- Ability to support colleagues to achieve targets and ensure diversity is respected and equality of opportunity is maintained.
- Degree in management.
- Demonstrate ability to develop services through representation at the national level.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and will require a submission for Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
