Community Learning Disability Support Practitioner

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

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a senior psychological professional to take on the position of professional lead for Clinical Health Psychological Services (CHPS). The successful candidate will manage, lead, co-ordinate and take overall responsibility for the work of Psychological Professionals in CHPS, which is Trust wide but sits under the B&D Directorate. This will include day operational management, guidance and support to the Psychological Professionals within the Clinical Health Psychological Service including management and clinical supervision, monitoring and maintaining high standards of service delivery and clinical leadership.

Main duties of the job

To participate fully in the work of the Directorate / Senior Management Team and take direction as requested and attend, participate in, Integrated Care Director (ICD) or other meetings as required including effectively communicating service related information.

To analyse situations, some of which will be highly complex, requiring interpretation and comparison of a range of options to make decisions and raise these concerns with the Deputy Director of Psychological Professions, Assistant Integrated Care Director or Deputy Assistant Director, making appropriate referrals as necessary complex clinical, safeguarding and service response decisions.

To take responsibility for the analysis and reporting on key performance and efficiency targets, taking appropriate action in collaboration with the Assistant Integrated Care Director and corporate services where necessary.
To ensure maximum use of clinical resources, including the monitoring and evaluation of activity and performance within the pathway.

To manage, lead, co-ordinate and take overall responsibility for the work of Psychological Professionals in the Clinical Health Psychological Service Teams within the assigned directorate. To include day to day operational management, guidance and support to the Psychological Professionals within the Clinical Health Psychological Service including management and clinical supervision, monitoring and maintaining high standards of service delivery and clinical leadership.

Working for our organisation

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. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff). 

High Cost Area Supplement - London

This post attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,551 and a maximum payment of £5,735 per annum pro rata).

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. 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

PLEASE SEE ATTACHED JD
To lead on the delivery of high quality, responsive and accessible psychological provision to individual adult Service Users and their families, who are receiving care in the Clinical Health Psychological Service of the assigned borough (although this will be Trust wide).

Leading on the provision of expert advice, consultation and support to colleagues in the Clinical Health Psychological Service and other professionals who are referring Service Users to the service. To include providing a psychological perspective to care planning for Service Users who are complex and/or present with risk.

To provide the necessary leadership and infrastructure to support evidence-based practice.

To participate in dialogue with other Psychological Professional leads regarding best practice in order to promote the provision of high quality, evidence based practice which promotes anti-discriminatory practice, cultural competence and equality of opportunity.

To work in collaboration within a variety of forums to ensure consistency and quality of clinical standards, to support service development and Trust initiatives.

To ensure there are robust systems for clinical supervision, appraisal and career development for Psychological Professionals working within the Clinical Health Psychological Service of the assigned borough (Trust wide).

To participate in and contribute to organisational decision-making processes.

To ensure that the Trusts Values are embedded in processes and practice, providing feedback and appropriate interventions where there are inconsistencies.

To act as a change agent in communicating to others the vision of change as an opportunity; and to contribute to innovative change programmes to continuously improve the delivery of high quality clinical care and service user satisfaction as directed by the Assistant Integrated Care Director, and Deputy Director of Psychological Professions in a way which engages and inspires others, through the use of Quality Improvement.

To communicate effectively with all individuals and groups, and act as a positive role model

To communicate with other Psychological Professional Leads in Clinical Health Psychological Service, the Deputy Director of Psychological Professions and the Assistant Integrated Care Director, interpreting and cascading national and local policies, ensuring systematic governance of psychological practice within the Trust and working with senior colleagues to maintain systems for effective professional and managerial supervision and support.

To provide cover for Assistant Integrated Care Director roles and service managers when required.

Person specification

Qualification

Essential criteria

Doctorate level qualification in clinical psychology or counselling psychology / advanced qualification in Psychotherapy Currently active registration with appropriate UK Statutory body (eg HCPC, BABCP,BACP,UKCP)

Desirable criteria

Specialist qualification and training in a NICE endorsed psychological therapy)(eg CBT,)

Experience

Essential criteria

Proven extensive experience of working with people with a range of physical health conditions, as well as complex mental illness and complex emotional needs in a clinical health psychological setting Thorough knowledge of evidence based clinical practice in CHPS

Desirable criteria

Extensive knowledge and experience of Human Resources practice, policies and procedures including organisational development/change. Proven management and leadership experience of managing clinical health psychological services

Management/supervision

Essential criteria

Experience of providing staff supervision and appraisal to both qualified and non-professionally aligned staff Expert knowledge of psychological approaches to physical health conditions as well as serious mental illness and complex emotional needs and of evidence based psychological treatments

Desirable criteria

Specific managerial experience working within CHPS

NHS working experience

Essential criteria

An awareness of NHS priorities, and specific specialist understanding of NHS priorities for CHPS Working in specialist NHS areas. Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, complex, high technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professionals colleagues both within and outside the NHS. To include the preparation of highly complex clinical reports and assessments.

Desirable criteria

Training and experience in NHS leadership courses

Risk/ formulation experience

Essential criteria

Extensive knowledge and experience with working with safeguarding issues, issues concerning risk and highly complex mental health problems Extensive knowledge and experience with managing waiting lists, clinical harm reviews, high level risk reporting

Desirable criteria

Specialist training and/or membership of NHS risk management groups

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:

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. 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. 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. 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.

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