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 three 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 5 -Mental Health Nurse
We are looking for a Band 5 Mental health Nurse to join the well established and innovative Lifespan Eating Disorder Service in North East London NHS Foundation Trust. There will be strong links and close working with the existing Eating Disorder team, with management and the clinical lead coming from the existing service. This is a great opportunity to join our highly skilled, dedicated and friendly team.
The post holder is expected to work well within a team setting however should be able to deliver an autonomous service as part of the role, operating within recognised professional guidelines and the overall framework of North East London NHS Foundation Trust eating disorder service policies and procedures.
The successful applicant will have opportunities to develop their assessment and clinical skills and manage a caseload under direct supervision of a Clinical Nurse Specialist. Assessments will include: mental health, physical health checks and monitoring, social care, quality of life, domains of strengths and weaknesses.
This post provides a unique opportunity to work in a specialist community service and develop your nursing skills to meet the particular needs of this client group.
Main duties of the job
Clinical Skills
Perform and interpret specific investigations, such as blood pressure and ECGs (under supervision), in order to manage the patient’s clinical risk effectively.
Ensure all patients have individualised care plans and that these are reviewed at appropriate intervals.
Support the development of clinical practice and procedures that best support the well being of adults with eating disorders in the community
Work with colleagues to ensure that specialist, professional, skilled clinical care is provided for patients and that this is adapted to meet their individual needs.
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:
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.
Starting with NELFT
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focusing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period.
High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15%of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,714 and a maximum payment of £5,941 - per annum, pro rata for part time
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We are seeking an individual who has an interest in working in eating disorders and is passionate about delivering good quality, patient-led care. The successful applicant will ideally have an interest in working with adults with eating disorders and their families. We will support candidates to develop skills in delivering evidence-based treatment.
The applicant will work alongside colleagues within the MDT to offer nursing interventions to adults and their supporters with eating disorders and comorbid presentations. In addition, our team has pioneered the integration of Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) for eating disorders within the UK, you would have access to specialist supervision. Supervision will be offered by a senior member of the team from the same discipline where possible. There will be access to regular individual and group supervision including safeguarding supervision.
As a service we have strong research links with University College London and Imperial College London. We have been the proud hosts of eight specialist eating disorder conferences and the successful applicant would have the opportunity to be involved in future conferences. The Trust has strong links with the UCL, UEL and Royal Holloway Clinical Psychology courses and several Counselling Psychology and Family Therapy courses and the post holder will be expected to supervise trainees when appropriate.
We appreciate that eating disorders can be a rewarding and challenging field to work in, even for those with experience, therefore, as well as excellent supervision and reflective practice sessions, we provide the opportunity to develop skills through joint working, access to internal training, CPD and external training courses. As an expanding service there is opportunity for progression within the team and input into service development.
We recognise that working within the NHS can be highly pressurised and there is a priority within the team to ensure that team members are supported to have a good work/life balance with flexibility around family friendly hours where possible.
Please refer to the attached Job Description & Person Specification for further details on this vacancy.
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 for non-registered roles. This ensures fairness and consistency within our organisation, as some of our sites fall under outer, fringe and none
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.
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.
Person specification
Assessment Criteria
Essential criteria
1. Demonstration of Trust Values
2. Relevant NMC registration
3. Evidence of Professional Development
4. Able to deliver core service requirements
5. To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area
Desirable criteria
6. Community Nursing Experience
Knowledge
Essential criteria
7. Knowledge of eating disorders
8. Knowledge of physical health
9. Knowledge of general mental health
10. Knowledge of clinical governance
11. An awareness of NHS Plan, NSF and clinical governance priorities
Desirable criteria
12. Knowledge of research methodology
13. Knowledge of guideline development
Skills
Essential criteria
14. Basic awareness of IT and IT skills
15. Good interpersonal and organisation skills
16. Excellent verbal and written communication skills
17. Ability to undertake mentorship/preceptorship
Desirable criteria
18. Ability to innovate and motivate
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:
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.