Job summary
Berkshire Healthcare is developing an innovative Assertive Outreach service to provide intensive, flexible and compassionate support to people living with severe and enduring mental health conditions who find it difficult to engage with traditional services. To support this, we are looking for a Specialist Staff Nurse.

This is an exciting Band 7 opportunity to join a newly established specialist multidisciplinary team and play a key role in leading and shaping how Assertive Outreach is delivered across Berkshire. Working from either our Reading or Slough hub, you will support individuals with complex needs, helping them remain engaged with services, avoid crisis and admission, and achieve the outcomes that matter most to them.

Location: Prospect House, Reading OR New Horizons, Slough

We have two full time posts available

Main duties of the job
As a Specialist Staff Nurse, you will:

• Manage a protected caseload of individuals with complex mental health needs, significant risk factors and multi-agency involvement.
• Deliver proactive and persistent outreach, including community visits and flexible engagement approaches.
• Develop collaborative care plans focused on recovery, relapse prevention and admission avoidance.
• Work closely with carers, families and partner agencies including housing, social care, primary care, police and voluntary services.
• Act as an expert practitioner within the multidisciplinary team, providing clinical leadership, supervision and specialist advice.
• Contribute to service development, quality improvement and the implementation of innovative approaches to engagement and care.

About us
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working options to support work-life balance
• 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
• Free parking across Trust sites

Job responsibilities
The must haves for this role:

• Current NMC registration.
• Significant experience working with people with severe mental illness in community settings.
• Experience of working within multidisciplinary and multi-agency environments.
• Leadership experience or equivalent management experience, including line management and supervision.

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification. Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role. We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, its important that examples and responses given in your supporting statement genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey.

In addition to explaining how you meet the person specification, you must complete your employment history for at least the last five years. Any experience, skills or responsibilities referenced in your supporting statement should be evidenced within your employment history. Applications that do not include sufficient employment history to support the experience claimed may not be shortlisted.

Were committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Stonewall Proud Employer, Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to contact: martin.gill@berkshire.nhs.uk (CMHS Manager for Reading) or debra.broderick@berkshire.nhs.uk (Head of Service for Slough CMHS) who'll be delighted to help.

Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

Person Specification
Education, qualifications or training
Essential

• Registered Mental Health Nurse
• NMC Registration
• Mentorship Qualification or equivalent experience

Desirable

• Highly specialist knowledge acquired through education to Masters level, training or equivalent experience, in your relevant specialty

Continuous Professional Development
Desirable

• Evidence of highly developed continuous professional development relevant to your area of specialism

Previous Experience
Essential

• Demonstrable experience of working autonomously to deliver high quality and evidence-based nursing care.
• Experience in providing supervision to junior colleagues and students in the completion of routine nursing and clinical skills.
• Uphold the Trust's values of being caring, committed and working as team through demonstrable examples and experience.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential

• Ability to demonstrate highly specialist clinical nursing skills relevant to the role.
• Demonstrable ability to effectively identify risks or deviations from normal and escalate concerns in a timely way.
• Ability to prioritise workload to meet conflicting demands, where there may be a variety of conflicting pressures.
• Advanced use of digital tools and applications including Word, Outlook and patient management systems.
• Ability to maintain written records which are tailored for the situation, such as patient notes, patient reports or presentations.
• Ability to travel between multiple Trust sites and non-Trust locations, including patient homes, some of which may be challenging to access via public transport.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).