Specialist Mental Health Practitioner (Urgent Care) - CFHD
The closing date is 17 November 2026

Job summary
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced and passionate Specialist Mental Health Practitioner to join the Urgent Care Pathway within Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) during a period of service development and expansion.

CFHD is an integrated childrens service providing health and wellbeing support to children, young people and families across Devon. The Urgent Care Pathway includes Crisis, Assertive Outreach, Learning Disability and Autism Programme, and Youth Justice service, delivering seven-day support to children and young people with complex and high-risk mental health needs.

We are seeking highly skilled clinicians with significant experience of working with children and young people presenting with mental health difficulties, including risk and crisis presentations. You will provide expert clinical assessment, formulation and intervention, while also offering clinical leadership, consultation and support across the wider system.

This post will be based in North Devon but will have countywide responsibilities and require travel across Devon.

As senior members of the Urgent Care Pathway, you will work closely with operational, clinical and medical leaders to support service development, quality improvement, and the implementation of innovative models of care.

The roles include participation in an extended-hours, seven-day rota, providing senior clinical leadership and support for complex decision-making.

Main duties of the job

• To provide and receive highly complex and sensitive information with children, young people, carers and families and adjust the communication style to meet specific needs and overcome barriers to understanding.
• To form and maintain good working relationships with others, effectively communicating with supervisees, clinicians, colleagues, managers and professionals in a multi-disciplinary team and across a range of agencies.
• To form and maintain good supervisory relationships with others, supporting reflective practice and evidence-based care.
• To receive complex sensitive information
• To manage and respond to high levels of distress, trauma and emotion with empathy, compassion, reassurance, persuasion, resilience and sensitivity.
• To co-ordinate and liaise with other professionals offering services to children and young people and organise, chair or attend a range of professional meetings as required.
• To be able to lead clinical meetings, empowering all staff to have a voice and ensuring accurate record keeping of meeting minutes.
• To be able to present complex information in a range of formats in a professional, clear and organised manner to a range of audiences.
• Work effectively with operational, professional and clinical leadership colleagues to support clinicians in devising and implementing evidence-based care to suit the individual needs of children and young people and their parents/carers.

A full list of duties is available on the job description.

About us
At Children and Family Health Devon, we are dedicated to improving the physical and mental health of children and young people across Devon and Torbay. We aim to create an environment where children and young people can thrive and are committed to reducing health inequalities and providing specialised support, empowering them to lead healthy, fulfilling lives.

Our children and young people say
We would like the people who work for Children and Family Health Devon to be understanding, patient and respectful. They should be trustworthy and make us feel safe and comfortable. It is important that they use their skills and experience to listen carefully in a non-patronising and non-judgemental way. When staff are positive and friendly, they help to create an environment that is informal and without pressure.

Who we are
We are an alliance of NHS organisations led by Devon Partnership Trust. We are a group of professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, nurses and many other professions.

Join us in beautiful Devon
With access to moors, sea and cities, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy Devon. Whether you enjoy spending time in the cultural hub of Exeter, exploring the Jurassic coastline or discovering the world surfing reserve in North Devon there really is something for everyone.

Details
Date posted: 04 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
Reference number: C9369-26-0588-2

Person Specification
Essential

• An Enhanced DBS Check will be required for this role.
• Ability to travel across Devon
• Evidence of personal resilience and aptitude for dealing with challenging, potentially distressing and highly emotional clinical work.
• There will be a requirement to work extended hours which may vary depending on agreed job plan. The Crisis service operates between the hours of 9am and 10pm, 7 days per week.
• Professional knowledge acquired through degree supplemented by specialist training or equivalent experience to Masters level with a relevant core professional training e.g. Psychological profession, Nursing, Clinical Psychology, Social Work, Occupational Therapy
• Training in an evidence-based therapeutic approach.
• Professional registration/accreditation with a recognised body, e.g. NMC, HCPC, Social Work England, UKCP, BABCP
• Training in supervision and/or leadership skills or willing to work towards.
• Evidence of Continuous Professional Development
• Experience of working collaboratively with service users and their families/carers, including using goal-based care and routine outcome measures in practice.
• Experience of working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team and across agencies
• Experience of working with children and young peoples mental health needs, families and parents/carers, maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems and verbal abuse
• Experience of undertaking specialist mental health assessment and therapeutic interventions for in the area of childrens mental health, with the ability to work with complex needs and undertake risk assessments
• Experience of safeguarding children and young people and ensuring the safety of children in partnership with other agencies as appropriate.
• Experience that evidences an ability to tend to diversity and work in a way that promotes anti-discriminatory practice
• Experience of initiating, attending and contributing to multi-professional and inter-agency meetings.
• Experience of providing professional teaching and training for other professionals.

Desirable

• Experience in providing effective clinical supervision, teaching, training and assessing in clinical practice.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. Apply through our website.

Employer details
Employer name: Devon Partnership NHS Trust
Address: Children & Family Health Devon, Springfield Court, Fishleigh Road, Roundswell Business Park, BARNSTAPLE, Devon, EX31 3UD, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.dpt.nhs.uk/

For questions about the job, contact:
Operational Manager Candice Locke candicelocke@nhs.net

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