Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust
I&A Nurse Consultant

The closing date is 22 November 2026

Job summary
We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Nurse Consultant in Mental Health to provide expert clinical and professional leadership within our Intensive and Assertive Team.

This new Trust-wide service will deliver care to service users with complex psychosis, who have experienced challenges engaging with traditional services, who require a flexible, intensive approach to care.

The postholder will work at a senior nurse consultant level of advanced practice, providing expert assessment, formulation, clinical decision-making and leadership for people with highly complex mental health needs. The role will include responsibilities as a Non-Medical Approved Clinician (AC) and senior oversight of people subject to Community Treatment Orders (CTOs), in accordance with the Mental Health Act and the individual's scope of practice.

The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate capability across the four pillars of the NHSE Multi-professional framework for consultant level practice: clinical practice, leadership and management, education, and research/evidence-based practice.

Main duties of the job
Key responsibilities

• Provide expert autonomous clinical practice for people with complex and enduring mental health needs who present with uncertain risk.
• Undertake advanced assessment, formulation, risk assessment and complex clinical decision-making, and delivering evidence-based interventions.
• Practise as a Non-Medical Approved Clinician.
• Prescribe, optimise and monitor medication, including initiating evidence-based pharmacological interventions within an agreed scope of practice.
• Provide senior clinical oversight of the care and treatment of people subject to CTOs.
• Act as an expert practitioner and professional resource within their field of practice.
• Provide visible clinical and professional leadership across the multidisciplinary team.
• Promote recovery-focused, trauma-informed and least-restrictive practice.
• Provide expert consultation, supervision, coaching and education to nursing and multidisciplinary colleagues.
• Lead and contribute to clinical governance, quality improvement, service development and patient safety.
• Use research, audit, evaluation and evidence to develop clinical practice and improve outcomes.
• Contribute to the development of advanced practice and nursing leadership across community mental health services.
• Act as a strategic clinical representative of the Trust, in liaison with statutory and voluntary agencies.

About us
At Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, inclusion is at the heart of how we work. We are committed to creating a fair, transparent and accessible recruitment process where every candidate has the opportunity to succeed.

We actively encourage applications from people from all backgrounds, particularly those currently underrepresented in our workforce, including those from the global majority. We recognise that not everyone has equal access to opportunities and are working to address this.

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and ensuring all candidates receive a positive and equitable experience.

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Details
Date posted: 09 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8c
Salary: £79,504 to £91,609 a year gross per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
Reference number: 246-WSN8417773
Job locations: Flexible locations across the Norfolk and Suffolk, Norwich/Ipswich/Bury St Edmunds, NR6 5BE, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
Essential requirements
Applicants will be expected to demonstrate:
Clinical practice

• Registered Mental Health Nurse with current NMC registration, and Approved Clinician status.
• A minimum of eight years' post-registration experience, including significant experience within relevant specialist mental health practice, including working with the Intensive and Assertive cohort.
• Advanced clinical expertise in intensive, assertive and/or complex community mental health care.
• Advanced assessment, formulation, risk management and autonomous clinical decision-making capability.
• Demonstrate knowledge, skills and experience in application of the Mental Health Act 1983 and associated legislation, including the application and management of CTOs.

Leadership and management

• Evidence of senior clinical leadership and the ability to influence practice across professional and organisational boundaries.
• Ability to provide clinical leadership in complex, high-risk situations.
• Experience of quality improvement, clinical governance, patient safety and service development.
• Ability to role model high professional standards and provide leadership for advanced nursing practice.

Education

• Supporting the professional development of others through supervision, teaching, coaching or mentorship, and develop a culture of learning and development in the team.
• Translate specialist knowledge into learning and development for the wider multidisciplinary workforce.
• Commitment to developing clinical capability and advanced practice within the service.

Research and evidence-based practice

• Demonstrable ability to critically evaluate and apply evidence to clinical practice.
• Experience of audit, quality improvement, service evaluation and/or research.
• Ability to interpret and apply evidence and outcome information to influence service delivery, improvement and clinical standards.

Professional expectations
The successful candidate will demonstrate expert practice, professional autonomy, highly developed critical thinking, complex decision-making, clinical leadership and the ability to work across organisational and professional boundaries.

The role would particularly suit an experienced consultant mental health nurse who wishes to maintain a significant clinical presence while providing expert leadership, developing advanced practice and strengthening the quality and safety of intensive community mental health care.

Please find attached our Job Description and Person Specification for more detail on your Key Accountabilities, then if you feel you have what it takes to make a difference in your local communities, click APPLY!

Person Specification
Qualifications

• Essential: RMN; Master's Degree in Advanced Nursing Practice; Non-Medical Approved Clinician status; Non-Medical prescribing

Experience

• Essential: Minimum of 8 years post-registration experience; Experience working with I&A cohort

Skills

• Essential: Ability to manage CTOs; Proven leadership skills through experience of leading a team

Knowledge

• Essential: Prescribing and managing medication for complex psychosis; Expert knowledge and understanding of current issues in speciality.

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. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

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. Guidance can be found here: Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see the NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust
Address: Flexible locations across the Norfolk and Suffolk, Norwich/Ipswich/Bury St Edmunds, NR6 5BE, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.nsft.nhs.uk/Pages/Home.aspx

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Director of Nursing, Nicky Shaw, nicky.shaw@nsft.nhs.uk

Supporting documents: Privacy notice - Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust's privacy notice.