NELFT North East London Foundation Trust
PCN CYPMH Registered Practitioner
The closing date is 20 November 2026

Job summary
Looking for your next challenge? We're recruiting a Mental Health Practitioner to join our Primary Care Network (PCN) service. Enjoy varied clinical work, strong team support, professional development opportunities, and the chance to make a lasting difference.

Main duties of the job
Job overview
We are looking for an experienced Childrens Mental Health Practitioner to join our COLNE VALLEY PCN for 12 months fixed term. (This contract is reveiwed yearly)

As part of the NHS long term plan, local areas were asked to realign community mental health services with primary care networks, creating new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care.

PCN's aim to:

• Have a key co-ordinating role at the heart of the GP practices and are a fully integrated member of the multi-disciplinary team with regards to response and management pathways
• Provide a combined consultation, advice, triage and liaison function in accordance with agreed protocols
• Support children and young people with mild to moderate mental health problems through evidence-based interventions.

PCN's (Primary Care Networks) are a new service designed to support children and young people. The Mental Health Senior Practitioner will be responsible for the assessment and caseload management within the GP PCN. They will triage cases, complete a full assessment and manage their workstream. There will manage a caseload of CYP with mild to moderate MH needs. The post holder will work closely with operation manager and Clinical & Strategic Lead, to ensure effective delivery of the PCN initiative in Essex.

About us
NELFT NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and community services for over 4.9 million people living in the London Boroughs of Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, and across Essex.

We work to ensure our patients, their friends and family, feel confident that their health needs are well met. With an excellent reputation for research and development, our skilled health professionals are at the cutting edge of evidence-based innovation, opening up the possibilities for better ways of working and delivery of care.

Details
Date posted: 06 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,397 to £56,515 a year
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: PHX-3EL-002487
Job locations: SET-CAMHS, Colchester, Essex, CO3 3WG, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
Main duties of the job
This CYP MH Practitioner post is to support the development and delivery of the PCN service in Essex. The post holder will be responsible for supporting the delivery of evidence-based low intensity interventions in GP services, supporting liaison between professionals. Working in partnership with GP's to support children, young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties and their families in the management of presenting difficulties.

The post holder will have experience working with children and young people within this framework to support mild to moderate mental health needs. This will include the delivery of individual interventions and group support. The post holder will have experience in managing a clinical caseload and delivering therapeutic and low intensity interventions, as well as experience of case load management to meet service targets and manage waiting list demands.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.

Essential Qualifications

• Professional qualification in a relevant mental health, psychological, counselling, social care, nursing, or allied health profession.
• Training in safeguarding children and vulnerable young people.

Desirable Qualifications

• Postgraduate training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
• Training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) informed approaches.
• Training in Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, or Brief Therapeutic Interventions.
• Qualification or experience in delivering psychoeducation and parenting interventions.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Ability to undertake comprehensive mental health assessments and formulate care plans.
• Excellent caseload management skills, including prioritisation of referrals, management of waiting lists, and achievement of service targets.
• Strong risk assessment and risk management skills, including assessment of self-harm, suicidal ideation, safeguarding concerns, and escalation processes.
• Ability to develop collaborative therapeutic relationships with children, young people, families, and partner agencies.
• Experience of multi-agency and multidisciplinary working within health, education, social care, and voluntary sector services.
• Ability to maintain accurate and timely clinical records using electronic patient record systems.

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Experience delivering CBT-based interventions for anxiety, low mood, and emotional wellbeing difficulties.
• Understanding of trauma-informed practice.
• Experience of outcome monitoring and routine clinical evaluation.
• Knowledge of NHS pathways, Primary Care Networks (PCNs), and community mental health services.

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. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.

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 on 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 – Fringe (Basildon, Thurrock, Brentwood, Harlow and Dartford only)
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £1,346 to a maximum of £2,270 p.a. pro rata for part time).

Working for Us
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 and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award-winning equality and diversity initiatives, along with staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest significantly in your development because when you feel valued and supported, we can deliver the highest quality care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been recognised in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and hold a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Through our staff networks and training opportunities, we strive to foster a just and compassionate culture at NELFT.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential: Please refer to JD
Desirable: Please refer to JD

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.

Employer details
Employer name: NELFT North East London Foundation Trust
Address: SET-CAMHS, Colchester, Essex, CO3 3WG, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.nelft.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Manager Samantha Morgan, nem-tr.recruitment@nhs.net

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