Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 354-AE-21351
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Hill Rise
- Town
- Newhaven
- Salary
- £49,387 - £56,515 pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 27/08/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Clinical Specialist/Lead Practitioner
NHS AfC: Band 7
Come and join us
We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.
At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.
We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.
We recognise that tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We welcome this, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isn’t based on your real experience.
Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we’ll explore your examples further at interview, so it’s important your application genuinely represents what you bring. You can read more about using AI in applications and interviews on our recruitment process page.
We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.
Job overview
Lead Practitioner / Clinical Lead - Qualified Nurse/OT/Social Worker/Practitioner Psychologist/ Systemic Psychotherapist
We are looking for a qualified and experienced Mental Health Practitioner (Mental Health Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, Psychological Practitioner/Systemic Psychotherapist) to join the Multiple Admissions Pathway for Lewes, Wealden and Eastbourne areas.
We are looking for a clinical specialist / lead practitioner who has a keen interest in working with people with complex mental health difficulties to support recovery and reduce hospital admissions, using an open dialogue-informed approach.
We will support you to develop the skills needed to work using open dialogue, and approach where we are highly responsive to clients' needs and facilitate a network of care.
Main duties of the job
Provide clinical leadership within the MAP team, ensuring high standards of practice.
Provide clinical supervision, reflective practice and professional support to the team.
Lead on complex clinical decision-making and provide expert advice regarding risk assessment and management.
Support clinicians managing high-risk presentations and facilitate multidisciplinary discussions where appropriate.
Undertake specialist mental health assessments within community, hospital and emergency settings.
Promote psychologically informed, trauma-informed and least restrictive approaches to care.
Coordinate decision making in a crisis
Lead on complex care decisions including when the client's community Care Coordinator / Lead Professional is unavailable.
Liaise with other services (including emergency support and care services) as required.
Participate in setting quality standards and offering a consistent approach to clients.
Maintain an accurate and timely reporting system.
Provide verbal and written observations.
To support the team with other specialist assessments, as required
To participate in open dialogue informed network meetings, and co-facilitate when appropriate to do so.
Working for our organisation
The NHS is changing and with more emphasis on community-based care there's never been a better time to join us. Over the next three years,
community mental health services are going to be undergoing a real transformation and you could be part of these exciting developments. Our
community mental health teams will become part of a much more integrated network of services and our mental health clinicians will be central in driving the changes, in close partnership with our primary and third sector colleagues.
We recognise that working in mental health can be stressful so we prioritise staff welfare, providing regular supervision, reflective practice,
mentoring, and any other support that our clinicians need to ensure their wellbeing.
We look forward to hearing from you. Please contact Dr Sally McGuire, Principal Psychologist (Lead for MAP Lewes, Wealden and Eastbourne) to
learn more about the role.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
As part of the MAP team, you will work closely with the three neighbourhood mental health teams in East Sussex and enhance the care delivered to those in crisis with complex needs and a history of multiple admissions. The MAP team uses an open dialogue informed approach to support clients and aims to reduce inpatient admissions.
You will be joining a warm, friendly team who are dedicated to transforming care and supporting best practice for service users and their families.
The team has reflective practice weekly and high level of training and staff support.
Excellent communication skills are needed in the role with regards to communicating with all stakeholders including service users, carers, third
sector providers, internal and external agencies and services.
Experience of supporting service users with mental health problems is important (and we encourage applicants with lived experience). An
inclusive and positive attitude is essential. If your current role includes duty work, that will be an advantage in your application. We will provide a robust induction and the wellbeing of our team is always thought about. Supervision, appraisal and training are all highly valued and prioritised.
Usual working hours are Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm.
It is essential that applicants can travel independently across the locality and have access to a suitable vehicle for business purposes.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Registered professional with qualification appropriate to the role
- Completion of mentorship course / ENB / professional equivalent
- Evidence of continuous professional development
Desirable criteria
- Significant post qualifying experience in the relevant care group
- Experience of working alongside people with complex health problems in the designated care group
- Experience of supervising staff
- Experience of providing a range of clinical interventions to people in the designated care group with a variety of health problems
- Experience of working consultatively with professionals
- Experience of working consultatively with professionals
- Experience of partnership working within and across various statutory and non statutory teams and agencies
- Experience of working within the CPA process
- Understanding of clinical governance
- Previous experience of working in the community
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Sally McGuire
- Job title
- Team Lead for MAP West
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07471 031 798
List jobs with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Nursing and Midwifery