Band 6 Senior Practitioner – Veterans Service Team: Sponsorship Available

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

Are you passionate about ensuring our ex-British Armed Forces – Navy, Army and RAF service personnel have access to excellent mental health care? The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the Nation that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly ensuring they are not at a disadvantage due to their Veteran status. A Veteran is an individual who has served one or more days in the military, and it is this group of people that Op COURAGE works with on a holistic level.

Op COURAGE offers support to Veterans within the geographical patch (Birmingham, Black Country, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin) experiencing mental health crisis who require support in engaging with their local primary and secondary services. We do not aim to replace already existing services (e.g crisis teams, CMHT, GP management) but works to build links with these services and advocate for Veterans who may have faced difficulty in engaging or accessing the appropriate support.

Are you skilled in engaging, assessing, helping to support clients who may struggle to engage, present with complex difficulties, and manage dynamic risks? This is an exciting opportunity for a Mental health nurse to join the “bigger-picture” development of NHS Veteran mental healthcare through the Op COURAGE urgent care pathway.

Main duties of the job

  • Be responsible for Veterans on the caseload with identified, complex needs.
  • Liaise with local services, including secondary mental health and primary care services and support engagement with these services to ensure care is being provided.
  • This is a community-based service, providing a high intensity support package of care to Veterans in times of crisis, across a large geographical area (West Midlands, including Birmingham, Black Country, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.
  • The post holder will work within the wider veterans service caseload providing co-ordination of assessment, planning, and implementation of care to veterans and carers within the defined West Midlands Region.
  • Provide professional advice and support to the veteran and their families, as well as other agencies including crisis teams and the police.
  • working within the Veteran’s care pathway, alongside non urgent pathway (previously known TILS and CTS).
  • Appointments are made using a combination of communications; in person, digital and telephone.
  • This role works to enhance already existing services such as CMHTs, crisis services and charitable organisations rather than replace them – the aim is to improve veteran-service engagement and ensure that Veterans are able to fairly access the appropriate support they require, and are not at a disadvantage due to their Veteran status.

Person Specification

Qualification

Essential

  • Curent unrestricted registration with HCPC/NMC
  • Experience of supervising qualified staff
  • Ability to work autonomously skilled in the assessment of complex patient material including crisis intervention and risk management
  • Experience of working as a care coordinator for those with complex needs (working knowledge of MHA/MCA)

Skills

Essential

  • Excellent written skills
  • Effective organisational and delegation skills
  • Ability to demonstrate and apply understanding of policies and procedures
  • Knowledge/Understanding of Armed Forces and the mental health needs of veterans and their families
  • Audit/evaluation skills

Experience

Essential

  • Experience in a Community Mental health care setting
  • Experience of undertaking formulation, risk assessment and positive risk management
  • Experience of staff supervision
  • Evidence of continuing professional development

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).

Closing Date: 23 August 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.