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Job overview

Are you looking for the opportunity to work creatively and collaboratively with service users? Do you enjoy being part of a multidisciplinary team? Would you like to join a service that encourages innovation and research? If so, we invite you to apply for this Senior Practitioner Psychologist post in our Assertive Outreach Services. 

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust has six Assertive Outreach Teams (AOTs), forming part of our Integrated Community Care and Recovery (ICCR) service. This post is based at West AOT, in Handsworth, Birmingham. The post holder will join the specialist team there providing flexible, trauma-informed, and holistic support to people with psychosis or bipolar disorder who have been reluctant to engage with mainstream mental health services. They will also be warmly welcomed into a well-established and supportive team of psychologists working in Assertive Outreach and our Steps to Recovery inpatient and community rehabilitation services. 

Individuals at Band 8a or with suitable experience and eligible for this banding will be considered.

Main duties of the job

AOTs use a well-coordinated, team-based approach. The post holder will have opportunities to develop skills in specialist assessment, shared formulation, and application of evidence-based psychological interventions to help service users achieve their recovery goals. 

Experience of working in multidisciplinary teams and with clients from culturally and socially diverse communities who have a range of mental health needs is desirable, as is the motivation to support positive risk taking so that service users can lead as autonomous and valued a life as possible. We also support multidisciplinary team members to build their knowledge, skills, and confidence by delivering a programme of training, supervision, and reflective practice, to which the post holder would contribute. 

Our psychological service has a reputation for clinical excellence and innovation in Assertive Outreach and rehabilitation and we are actively involved in service development, evaluation, and research. We have access to a comprehensive CPD programme and external training, including leadership development, and provide strong professional supervision, offering a range of clinical models and accreditation opportunities. 

If you share our recovery-focused commitment to keep service users at the heart of what we do and would like to develop your clinical and leadership skills we would love to hear from you. Please contact us for further information about the post or to arrange an informal visit (details below). 

Working for our organisation

Welcome to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.  Our 4000 clinical and support staff help us to improve mental health wellbeing and meet the needs of the 70,000 people we serve each year.  We provide a range of mental healthcare services across Birmingham and Solihull, as well as specialised services nationally. We also offer medical, nursing and psychology training and are proud of our international reputation for both research and innovation.

Our population is culturally diverse, characterised in places by high levels of deprivation which create an increasing demand for our services and a necessity for us to make sure everyone can access the help they need. We are a team of compassionate, inclusive and committed people working together to provide excellent care to support our community.  If you are looking for a place to belong, where you can make a real difference to people’s lives, join our team where our warm welcome is waiting for you.

Our Trust is committed to treating individuals fairly and ensuring they have the same opportunities to fulfil their potential, even if this means doing things differently for different people sometimes. We are working hard to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity within Birmingham and Solihull and that our services meet the needs of all diverse service users and carers.

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. As part of our safe recruitment practice pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. As part of the selection process you may be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, however all cases of criminal record history are dealt with on a case by case basis.

Please note, if applicable for your role you will be required to cover the cost of your DBS certificate. This will be deducted from your salary over 3 months. You will also be required to sign up to the DBS Update Service before commencement with the Trust.

All successful applicants will be required to complete the Trust’s induction programme. The Fundamental (Statutory and Mandatory) training will be in an e-learning format. You will be required to complete training modules online (approx. 9-14 hours depending on post) by the end of your first week with us.

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process we may contact you via email to advise you of the interview details. Please ensure you access your email account from which you applied regularly once the position has closed.

If applicable to your role, the Trust will require you to sign up for the DBS Update Service. The subscription will cost you £13 a year but the Trust will reimburse this. You will be contractually obliged to maintain your subscription.

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the United Kingdom (UK) are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply can self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here Browse: Work in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 1. It is vital that you provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form. Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Not everyone needs a ‘Skilled Worker’ visa. If you are applying for a vacancy in health or adult social care, check if you’re eligible to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa instead. It’s cheaper to apply for and you do not need to pay the annual immigration health surcharge.