Closing date: 16 July 2026

Job summary
This exciting 1-year secondment and maternity cover opportunity involves working as a clinical specialist health visitor for perinatal mental health for 4 days a week. The sole focus of this role will be on specialist clinical perinatal mental health duties with some elements of health visiting work.

The PNMH Clinical Specialist Health Visitor supports universal services through the delivery of training, supervision and specialist advice in areas associated with perinatal and maternal mental health. The role supports the assessment and identification of perinatal mental health and parent infant relationship needs within universal services, helping practitioners to appropriately support families and refer to relevant services where needed, whilst continuing to work collaboratively with specialist teams involved in a family's care.

This includes supporting the delivery of Emotional Wellbeing Visits, Newborn Behavioural Observations, audit activity, and training in relation to the baby brain, infant mental health, and parental mental health. The post holder will provide clinical expertise to staff, parents, and partner agencies within Bright Start services.

The post holder will also support the Perinatal Mental Health and Parent Infant Relationship workstream as part of the Best Start in Life Family Hubs programme.

We are interested in your aspirations and supporting your career development, so please do make contact if interested.

Main duties of the job

• 1. To demonstrate a commitment to best practice in all aspects of peri infant and maternal mental health and work with Bright Start teams and other partners to embed the best practice in Islington, and Whittington Health as a whole.
• 2. To demonstrate and develop evidence-based knowledge, attitudes and skills to be able to be an expert resource for Bright Start teams, in perinatal mental health and maternal mental health but also in response to the changing needs within primary care, including all the six High Impact Areas.
• 3. To assess local need and to plan, coordinate and deliver training programmes and workshops to Bright Start staff, and others as appropriate, to promote best practice standards in all aspects of perinatal and maternal mental health including understanding of the baby brain, attachment theory, post-natal depression and anxiety.
• 4. To participate in planning, carrying out and evaluating audits, research projects and/or innovations following agreed policy and protocol focusing on , emotional wellbeing visits, new born observations and social and emotional assessments made at the mandated contacts.
• 5. To support the key stakeholder services such as CAMHS, Mental health services and public health to deliver the PNMH strategy within the Bright Start Strategy and Best Start Local Plan with key stake holders.
• 6. To deliver PNMH training and workshops across Islington.
• 7. To be responsible for the delivery of Healthy Child programme

About us
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

Person Specification

SKILLS and ABILITY
Essential

• Excellent communication skills: IT, written and oral
• Willingness to lead and support management of change.
• High levels of clinical skills, with the ability to identify, respond to and evaluate health needs, including the delivery of public health programmes.
• Evidence of application of high levels of knowledge and skills relating to peri infant and maternal mental health in practice

Knowledge and EXPERIENCE
Essential

• Knowledge of current legislation and national guidance relating to peri infant and maternal mental health.
• Ability to apply research to practice.
• Understanding of the safeguarding process and child protection procedures, clinical governance arrangements and the ability to make decisions in these areas.
• Ability to manage other members of staff and delegate work appropriately and safely.

EDUCATION/Qualifications
Essential

• Health Visiting professional qualification, with entry onto the 3rd part of the NMC Registered
• Trained and certified in: Evidence maybe required. Perinatal mental health NBO EWV

Desirable

• Educated to master level or equivalent
• Evidence of additional qualifications/training such as IHV PNMH Champion
• Trained and delivering on Solihull/Journey to Parenthood

PERSONAL QUALITIES
Essential

• Ability to set personal and team objectives and manage time, priorities and stressful situations.
• Ability to work as part of an integrated team working across boundaries.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Commitment to the development of excellent services, which focus on improved outcomes for children.
• Awareness of Equal Opportunities and valuing diversity.

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 (Opens in a new tab).

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 (Opens in a new tab).

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

Employer details
Whittington Hospital NHS Trust
Bright start Islington- all localities. Bingfield Primary Care Centre
8 Bingfield Street
Islington
N1 0AL
United Kingdom

Employer contact details
Health Visitor Locality Manager
Pooja Shah
pooja.shah2@nhs.net
07785954454