Job summary

• An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Children and Young People's Mental Health Service in Knowsley.

Main duties of the job

• To hold a caseload of both specialist and generic work dependant on clinical competence and experience.
• Undertake assessments, treatment and consultation work based upon a conceptual framework and employing research-based evidence.
• Provide direct therapeutic interventions dependent on clinical competence and experience in line with the grading of the post, including assessments, formulation and therapeutic input into children, young people and families referred into the service.
• Undertake risk assessments and care plans accordingly, in line with the THRIVE framework.
• To be responsible for the screening of referrals to children and Young People's service.
• To exercise responsibility and autonomy, within supervisory, managerial and accountability structures, for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients.
• To deliver care co-ordination, ensuring effective assessment, care planning and risk management processes are maintained. Involve the views of children, their families, referring agents and other professionals involved in the network of care including organising multi-agency meetings.
• To work jointly and collaboratively with other team members in order to enhance and develop the provision of services to young people and their families.
• Identify and respond appropriately to child protection issues, as described with the guidelines of Local Safeguarding Children's Board and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust safeguarding policies.

About us
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Details
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year pro rata/per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: 350-CC8331803-A
Closing date: 21 October 2026

Job responsibilities

• To engage with using routine outcome measures as clinically appropriate including their use in clinical practice and inputting data into clinical record
• To work collaboratively with children, young people and their families and contribute to the trusts service user participation agenda.
• Work in partnership to deliver a range of mental health interventions. This may involve group work or direct work with children/young people as well as offering specialist mental health-based consultation, and advice around mental health.
• Be responsible and ensure the effective co-ordination of clinical care provided including consideration to safeguarding and clinical risk issues where indicated
• Work with clinical staff to identify children and young people with emerging mental health needs.
• If working within MHST, Providing supervision and caseload management to the new EMHP (dependent on clinical competence and experience)
• Participate in MDT discussion within relevant locality including waiting list management contribution.
• Work in partnership with young people and their families to inform assessment, need and rationale for treatment intervention.
• To work collaboratively with team members and supervisors to ensure safe working practice and positive outcomes for children and young people.
• To follow safeguarding processes as appropriate or required.
• When working within MHSTs the post holder will be expected to lead on engagement and participation events/activities hosted by the team and support delivery of the whole school approach offer by the team.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Must have one of the following: Education Mental Health Practitioner Graduate (EMHP) or Post Graduate Qualification
• Children and Young Persons Wellbeing Practitioner (CYWP) Graduate or Post Graduate Qualification
• Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) Graduate or Post Graduate Qualification
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapies Post Graduate Certificate/Diploma and where applicable hold a professional registration with the relevant accrediting body or be able to evidence ability to undertake this within 12 months of commencing in post. Registration must be maintained throughout employment OR
• Core Professional Qualification in one of the following areas: Nursing, Social Work, Occupational Therapy

Desirable

• Senior CYWP Qualification
• Senior EMHP Qualification
• PWP Supervision Qualification

Knowledge
Essential

• Knowledge and skills in the complete range of approaches within the field as required to meet the needs of different patients and settings
• Level of knowledge of the mental health needs of children and adolescents
• Have experience in providing risk assessments
• Knowledge of legislation and strategic frameworks and their implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the full range of client groups

Desirable

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist therapies in specific difficult to treat groups
• A level knowledge of theory and practice of specialist therapy / interventions
• Knowledge and skills in providing consultation to other professionals and non-professional groups
• Knowledge of research design and methodology consistent with practice to at least Degree level or equivalent
• Level of knowledge and/or training and other psychological therapies

Skills
Essential

• Skilled in the ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing, clinical sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Must demonstrate ability to be self-reflective and to organise own supervision appropriately
• Ability to work within a culturally diverse community in a wide variety of contexts including highly specialist skills for working in settings outside the clinic
• Ability to take full clinical responsibility for patient care and treatment, both as a care co-ordinator and within the context of a multi-disciplinary team
• Interpersonal skills of a high level to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, in order to convey clinically sensitive information to family members of all ages and to a wide range of lay and professional persons, within and outside of the NHS
• Demonstrate the ability to co-ordinate and lead a multi-agency care plan / risk management plan
• Ability to identify and employ as appropriate clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice
• Demonstrate a commitment to respecting and displaying the Trust Values at all times
• Emotional stamina, and resilience to respond constructively in highly stressful situations
• Ability to identify and provide appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours
• A commitment to the continuous improvement of services using feedback from individual clients, families, user surveys and clinical research
• Ability to organise and co-ordinate areas of work that are complex and demanding

Desirable

• Information technology and management skills using word processing, spreadsheets, database and presentation software
• Ability to demonstrate leadership and management skills to multi-disciplinary work

Experience
Essential

• Experience of managing a case-load of children and young people with a range of moderate mental health needs.
• Working within a children community mental health setting
• Experience of delivering evidence-based psychological therapy e.g. CBT
• Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups that reflect the full range of clinical severity including a high degree of professionalism in the face of emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
• Experienced in and the ability to undertake case management and the supervision of students as required
• Experience of providing supervision

Desirable

• Experience of delivering teaching, training
• Experience of mental health assessments and therapeutic interventions with children and young people with mental health problems and their families
• Experience of providing clinical supervision
• Experience in consultation to other professional and non-professional groups

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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Knowsley Resource and Recovery Centre, Whiston, Liverpool, L35 5DR, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.merseycare.nhs.uk/

For questions about the job, contact: Clinical Team Manager, Alana Waring, Alana.waring3@merseycare.nhs.uk, 01513518610

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975. Applicants must have current UK professional registration.