Location: Exeter, EX2 4NU, Barnstaple, EX31 3UD, Dartington, TQ9 6JE&Torquay, TQ2 7BA
Salary: £47810.00 to £54710.00
Date posted: 4th July 2025
Closing date: 20th July 2025
Specialist Mental Health Practitioner - Duty Worker
Job Description:
We are excited to be recruiting a fixed-term Band 7 Specialist Mental Health Practitioner to strengthen our countywide Duty offer within Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD).
This one-year pilot post offers an excellent opportunity for experienced mental health professionals to take on a clinical leadership role within our Duty system. As a senior member of the team, you will play a critical role in supporting locality mental health teams, holding oversight of urgent and unallocated concerns, and leading on clinical risk management and decision-making.
The post is countywide and will support children and young people experiencing emotional distress, relational difficulties, and emerging or ongoing mental health needs. You will work closely with multidisciplinary teams, external agencies, and families to ensure that children and young people receive timely, safe, and effective mental health support. Elements of the role can be undertaken remotely, and we welcome flexible working arrangements.
As a Duty SMHP, you will be responsible for triaging incoming contacts, supporting clinical decision-making for complex cases, and offering advice and guidance to both internal and external professionals. You will also provide supervision and support to junior colleagues and play a key part in developing and shaping this evolving service.
Main duties of the job
- Lead the clinical triage of urgent referrals and queries
- Undertake and support comprehensive mental health risk assessments
- Provide senior clinical input and oversight for unallocated or high-risk presentations
- Offer consultation, advice and support to junior staff and external professionals
- Contribute to service development and provide reflective feedback on process and system improvements
- Maintain accurate and timely clinical documentation in accordance with professional and service standards
- Model compassionate leadership, promoting inclusive and anti-discriminatory practice
Supervise junior clinicians, supporting their development and ensuring safe, evidence-based care
We Offer:
- High-quality clinical supervision and ongoing professional development opportunities
- A collaborative and supportive multidisciplinary environment
- A leadership role in an innovative and responsive pilot service with potential for long-term impact
If you are a highly skilled and compassionate mental health professional with strong assessment and leadership skills, and are looking to play a senior role in shaping an essential service within CFHD, we would love to hear from you.
About us
Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) comprises an Alliance of NHS organisations working together to improve health outcomes for children and young people in Devon.
CFHD provides integrated care and treatment for children and young people across physical and mental health which are provided by Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust and Devon Partnership Trust. We are working closely with other organisations and providers to ensure we deliver locality and county-wide based integrated access to all of our services.
CFHD works closely with our local universities of Plymouth, Exeter & the Peninsula Medical School where we support students in clinical training placements and in addition support our own staff to undertake post graduate training.
Our integrated care and treatment has been developed and refined in partnership with children, young people and their families/carers.
Our children and young people say
We would like the people who work for Children and Family Health Devon to be understanding, patient and respectful. They should be trustworthy and make us feel safe and comfortable. It is important that they use their skills and experience to listen carefully in a non-patronising and non-judgemental way. When staff are positive and friendly, they help to create an environment that is informal and without pressure.
Our vision is to be a successful, vibrant, partnership that benefits the communities we serve.
Contact information:
Operations Manager
Tracey Brennan-Osment
