Band 6 Perinatal Specialist Practitioner

Are you passionate about people, purpose, and progress? We're seeking an enthusiastic and skilled RMN, Social Worker or OT to join our remarkable Community Perinatal Mental Health Team, where compassion, innovation, and inclusivity are at the heart of everything we do. We are a dynamic and multidisciplinary team providing specialist perinatal mental health support to women, birthing people, partners, and families. Our work is rooted in empathy, collaboration, and holistic care—and we're proud to serve a richly diverse community.

We strongly believe that diverse teams create stronger services, and we actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences. Your perspective matters, and we're committed to creating a team where every voice is valued.

You'll bring strong mental health experience, ideally in adult care.

In return, we offer flexible working arrangements, perinatal training, opportunities for personal and professional development, and a supportive, forward-thinking workplace where you can make a lasting impact.

The Specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health Team is a multi-disciplinary service supporting women and birthing parents who experience moderate to severe mental health difficulties, or who are at high risk of relapse during pregnancy and the postnatal period.

We provide:

Specialist assessment, treatment, and psychological interventions to address mental ill health.

Support to strengthen the parent–infant relationship, recognising that a baby's wellbeing and development are closely linked to their parent's mental health.

Multi-agency training, consultation, and advice for professionals working with families in the perinatal period.

Our team works across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, following a shared-care ethos. We collaborate closely with primary care, maternity services, adult mental health teams, early years' services, and independent sector organisations to ensure families have access to specialist support, risk assessment, and care planning.

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

To undertake roles and responsibilities identified in the job description and key local information documents.

This post is open to newly qualified social workers. In line with trust policy, all newly qualified social workers will be recruited initially at Band 5 level, regardless of advertised role banding. All NQSWs are expected to successfully complete their ASYE within 2 years of employment, unless there are exceptional circumstances in which case it may be agreed to extend this for a further 2 years.

On successful completion of the ASYE, for which you will be given full support of an experienced Social Worker as well as Divisional Social Work Lead, and peer support from other ASYE candidates, you will then be eligible to progress to a Band 6 position.

If you have been appointed to an advertised Band 6 role this will be an automatic progression, following confirmation of your successful completion. If you have been appointed to a Band 5 you will then be eligible to apply for a subsequent Band 6 vacancy.