Job overview
The purpose of this post is to work as part of a multi-disciplinary Early Intervention Team providing care co-ordination and intervention to those identified as having an at risk mental state or being in the early phase of a psychotic illness. To support the assessment of needs and delivery of interventions in line with currently identified best practice within early intervention work. To play an active role in service development supporting the team as we move towards implementing the early intervention team in psychosis access and waiting time standard.
Main duties of the job
To act as a Care Coordinator in the Early Intervention Team under the supervision of a clinical supervisor and line manager.
Working for our organisation
We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.
Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We’re really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we’re a great place to work.
All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.
If you come and work for us we will offer a range of benefits and opportunities, including:
* Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
* Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance
* Access to Continued Professional Development
* Involvement in improvement and research activities
* Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service
* Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical
• To support the assessment of the needs of service users by utilising research validated assessment tools.
• To employ an assertive outreach approach as and when necessary.
• To liaise with all appropriate statutory and non-statutory agencies as required in relation to the service users’ needs
• To implement and manage co working strategies as necessary.
• To support the delivery of interventions in line with the psychosocial approach of the overall service.
• To ensure carer assessments are carried out and identified areas of need are addressed.
• Engage in family work where needed.
• To support the risk assessment process through development of and application of skills in identification of risk, implementation of and evaluation of risk management plans.
• To be accountable for ensuring that within the resources at your disposal all service users receive a high quality service.
• To maintain accurate up to date records of all clients seen by the service, including appropriate CPA documentation, ensuring that the confidentiality of clients is respected.
• To support the process in organising a response to the care needs of other care coordinators service users in their absence.
• Keep an accurate diary of appointments, expense claims and all activities undertaken, and make records available for audit purposes.
• To participate in clinical and management supervision.
Educational
• To contribute to the learning environment for any students or workers on placement with the team.
• To support colleagues in areas of professional development relevant to the improvement of the teams service delivery.
• To provide a mentoring role to students.
• To contribute to training programmes in a variety of settings.
Service Development and Implementation
Identify areas of unmet need to support service developments. To support the service in implementing the early intervention in psychosis access and waiting time standard: 50% of people experiencing a first episode of psychosis to be treated with a NICE approved care package within two weeks of referral with a suspected first episode of psychosis.
This job description is not exhaustive, but is intended to give an overall picture of the role. Other duties within the general scope of the post may be required from time to time. The duties of the post and job description can be reviewed through the agreed process.
General Duties of all post holders
• To undertake any other reasonable duty, which is appropriate to the band, when requested by Senior Staff.
• To be familiar with and comply with all Trust and departmental policies, procedures, protocols and guidelines.
• To be aware of and work towards the Trusts strategic goals.
Standards of Business Conduct
• The post holder will be required to comply with the organisations standing order and standing financial instructions and at all times, deal honestly with the organisation with colleagues and all those who have dealing with the organisation including patients, relative and suppliers.
• The post holder must ensure that their behaviour and interests inside and outside work do not conflict with their Trust position, duties and/or responsibilities.
• The post holder must comply with and support the development of the performance standards within the service/department to ensure the service is responsive to and meets the needs of its customers.
• The post holder will be required to develop and maintain good working relationships with all patients, service users, staff, contractors and where appropriate, members of the public.
• The Trust aims to maintain the good will and confidence of its own staff, patients, service users, NHS contractors and the general public. To assist in achieving this objective it is essential that at all times, the post holder carries out their duties in a courteous, sympathetic and professional manager.
• All post holders who are members of a professional body must comply with standards of professional practice / conduct. It is the post holders’ responsibilities to ensure they are both familiar with and adhere to these requirements and maintain their professional membership to the relevant body.
Equality and Diversity and Equal Opportunities
• The post holder must carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies, avoiding unlawful discriminatory behaviour and actions when dealing with colleagues, service users, members of the public and all other stakeholders.
• The post holder must promote awareness of and respect for equality and diversity in accordance with Trust policies and procedures.
• The post holder is responsible for treating all staff, patients, service users, NHS contractors and the general public with dignity and respect at all times.
Safeguarding
• Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.
• All staff have a responsibility to promote the welfare of any child, young person or vulnerable adult they come into contact with and in cases where there are safeguarding concerns, to act upon them and protect the individual from harm.
• All staff should refer any safeguarding issues to their manager and escalate accordingly in line with the Trust Child and Adult Safeguarding Policies.
• All staff should familiarise themselves with the NICE Guidelines “when to suspect child maltreatment 2009.”
Professional and Personal Development
• The post holder must ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities by attending the Trust Mandatory Training and Induction Programme.
• The post holder will be involved in a formal IPDR/KSF review with their manager at least every 12 months. Once performance / training objectives have been set, the staff member’s progress will be reviewed on a regular basis, so that new objectives can be agreed and set, in order to maintain progress in the service delivery.
• The post holder will be expected to take responsibility for their own professional development and will be supported by the Trust to achieve development opportunities as appropriate.
Confidentiality and Information Governance
• Confidentiality is of prime importance. In the normal course of duties, the post holder will have access to confidential documents and information relating to patients, service users, staff and contractors, as well as information of a commercially sensitive nature. Such information should not be communicated to anyone outside or inside the NHS unless done in the normal course of carrying out the duties of the post. Disciplinary action will be considered where a breach of confidence has been established.
• All information obtained or held during the post-holders period of employment that relates to the business of the Trust and its service users and employees will remain the property of the Trust. Information may be subject to disclosure under legislation at the Trust’s discretion and in line with national rules on exemption.
• The post holder must maintain high standards of quality in corporate and clinical record keeping ensuring information is always recorded accurately, appropriately and kept up to date. The post holder must only access information, whether paper, electronic or in other media, which is authorised to them as part of their duties.
• The post holder must work to the requirements of data protection laws as applicable to the UK, which includes the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
Health and Safety at Work
• The post holder is required to take reasonable care of the health and safety of themselves and other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work and to co-operate with the Trust in adhering to statutory and departmental safety regulations.
• The post holder is responsible for ensuring that they do not intentionally or recklessly misuse or interfere with anything provided in the interests of health safety or welfare e.g. misuse of equipment.
• The post holder is required to contribute to the control of risk and must report immediately, using the Trust Incident reporting system, any incident, accident or near miss involving patients, service users, carers, staff, contractors or members of the public.
• All Trust sites have been designated a no smoking area. The post holder is therefore advised smoking is not permitted within the hospital premises or grounds or whilst representing the Trust in the course of their duty. While the Trust will not discriminate against employing smokers, all prospective employees should be aware of this policy.
Infection Control
• Infection Prevention and Control is the responsibility of all Trust staff.
• All staff members have a responsibility to protect service users, visitors and employees against the risk of acquiring health care associated infections by consistently observing Trust Infection Prevention and Control Policies and procedures and best practice guidance in order to maintain high standards of Infection Prevention and Control.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential criteria
* R.M.N. / DipSW / SROT
Experience
Essential criteria
* Experience working with clients with serious mental illness within an Early Intervention Psychosis Team
* Experience of teamwork and effective communication at all levels.
* Ability to work independently in a community setting.
Desirable criteria
* Experience in the use of psychosis-specific semi-structured interviews (e.g. PANSS; CAARMS; PSYRATS).
Knowledge
Essential criteria
* Knowledge and skill in assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of the care of clients with serious mental illness within an early Intervention in psychosis team under the supervision of a senior clinical practitioner.
* Knowledge of legislation that underpins the care of those with serious mental illness.
Desirable criteria
* Knowledge of NICE guidance applicable to those with psychosis and schizophrenia.
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria
* Able to work within workload deadlines and prioritise workload
* To organise, plan and implement own work, under the supervision or a senior clinical practitioner.
Work related circumstances
Essential criteria
* Flexibility in working hours required to meet client need
* Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
* Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
* Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.
📝 Application support - We also offer virtual application support sessions each month, where you will learn some hints and tips to support you in completing your application form. To secure your place, and to find out more visit the on our website.
🌍 Sponsorship Information - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the
📬 After You Apply - Once your application is submitted, you’ll receive updates via email. Shortlisting is based on how well you meet the criteria outlined in the person specification. Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview, and invitations will be sent by email.
✅ If You're Offered the Role - If successful, the hiring manager will contact you directly with a verbal offer. They will then notify the Recruitment Team and submit the necessary paperwork. You’ll receive a formal conditional offer via email
🔍 Pre-Employment Checks - To confirm your suitability for the role, we will carry out pre-employment checks in line with. These include:
* Identity verification
* Right to work check
* Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role)
* Professional registration and/or qualification check
* Occupational health assessment
* Employment history and reference validation
All applicants external to Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust will be required to provide their to cover the most recent three years employment. This information will used to validate employment history and references.
If you require sponsorship, we will assess your eligibility based on current If the role is not eligible and you cannot demonstrate your right to work, your conditional offer may be withdrawn.
🚀 Once Checks Are Complete -
The Recruitment Team will coordinate with you and the hiring manager to confirm a start date. You’ll be booked onto a Trust Welcome Session and receive your Pennine Care NHS Terms and Conditions.
📣 Additional Information -
We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the communities we serve. We actively encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds to help us grow, innovate, and improve.
If you wish to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.
If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact us on 0161 716 3181 as early as possible so we can support you.
Please note:
* We do not accept unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Hiring managers should not be contacted directly.
* We may close vacancies early if we receive a high volume of applications. To ensure your application is considered, please apply as soon as possible.