Senior mental health practitioner

Main area Community Mental Health - Adults Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent: 22.5 hrs per week Hours

• Part time
• Flexible working

Site Central Adult CMHT, Haymills House Town Stowmarket Salary £39,959 - £48,117 gross per annum (pro rata) Salary period Yearly Closing 22/06/2026 23:59

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people’s and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.

Job overview

We currently have a substantive Band 6 Community Mental Health Practitioner post within Central Adult Community Mental Health Team open to applications from Registered Mental Health Nurses, Social Workers and Occupational Therapists. The team is based in Stowmarket and covers a large area of central Suffolk. We are a recovery focussed, multi‑disciplinary team providing an effective, supportive, and professional service for our service users and carers.

You will be a qualified professional with experience of supporting people and their families, preferably in the community. You will demonstrate a strong understanding of your role as a Care Coordinator/Assessor and join our dedicated multidisciplinary team working closely with a range of partners to provide appropriate community interventions for those individuals referred to the team.

Every individual makes a valuable contribution in the team. We are proud of our staff, and we are looking for people to join us in continuing to develop what the service of Central CMHT looks like.

Main duties of the job

You can expect a manageable case load and a supportive management team to ensure you’re able to work independently but support is never far away if needed.

The typical job roles and responsibilities will include:

• Working with other multi‑disciplinary professionals within the team.
• Undertake initial assessments.
• Liaise with statutory and voluntary sectors.
• Contribute to meetings both within the service and in wider networks.
• Effective personal planning and organisation of daily workload.
• Flexible working and manage own working time effectively and accordingly to service demands.
• Managing and providing a high quality of care.
• Managing a case load of patients that have a range of mental health needs.
• Initiate, create and maintain therapeutic relationships with patients and carers, ensuring practice is patient centred.
• Participating in the duty rota.
• Practicing in line with policy, guidance and legislation.
• Carrying out risk assessment, crisis and safety planning.
• Working closely with the ACS mental health team to support our patients, meeting both their mental health needs and their Care Act needs.
• Supporting patients in being discharged back to primary care.

Working for our organization

Benefits included with this role are:

• a comprehensive in house & external training programmes
• career progression
• starting annual leave of 27 days per annum increasing to 33 days pa based on length of service (plus paid bank holidays)
• NHS discounts and many more
• Relocation packages.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post will involve you working autonomously in the community. You will engage with people, and using effective communication, often in difficult and stressful circumstances. You will be undertaking initial assessments, introducing services, making referrals to appropriate agencies, and monitoring and supporting situations to achieve positive outcomes for our service users and carers. You will be supported within your practice via a helpful team.

Valid Driving Licence for the UK is required for this role.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health or Learning Disability Nurse, Occupational Therapist or Social Worker with the relevant professional registration.
• Ongoing professional development working towards degree level (if professional registration is following a diploma level course).
• Higher degree or post graduate certificate in area of clinical / therapeutic practice.

Experience

• Experience in the delivery of clinical interventions.
• Experience in working in team delivering person centred treatment packages.
• Experience in delivering group based interventions.

Skills

• Competent and effective documentation and record keeping.
• Prevention and Management of Suicide training.
• Safeguarding training.

Knowledge

• Up to date knowledge of legal and ethical frameworks including Mental Health Act.

Other

• Ability and willingness to travel independently to meet the needs and requirements of the service.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post may be 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.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

Equal opportunities

As a part of the Disability Confident Employer Guaranteed Interview Scheme we interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job vacancy (outlined in the Person Specification). We encourage you to indicate your eligibility through TRAC jobs when applying.

Apart from its legal duties in relation to equality and diversity, the Trust recognises and actively promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.