Community Mental Health Team Leader

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join us as the Team Leader for the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) – Neighbourhood 2. We are looking for an experienced mental health practitioner — nurse, social worker, or occupational therapist.

The team is made up of a diverse MDT, and we offer regular teaching sessions, dedicated space for reflective practice, and opportunities to become a champion in your chosen areas of interest.

You will be leading the Community Mental Health Team to deliver timely assessments, care planning, and evidence-based health and psychosocial interventions to adults in Lewisham with mental health needs. The successful applicant will also oversee key interfaces with partner agencies including Primary Care, Secondary Care, and MIND, ensuring effective service delivery and coordinated discharge planning.

This post forms part of an exciting new pilot providing 24/7 community mental health support, operating 7 days a week from 8am-8pm, designed to deliver higher-quality care, improved accessibility, and better outcomes for our patients.

Main duties of the job

• To lead and co-ordinate the work of an integrated neighbourhood Community Mental Mental Health Team ensuring the provision of safe, effective, high-quality community services in line with statutory requirements and local policies.
• You will directly supervise a muti-disciplinary, multi-agency team of health, social care and voluntary sector professionals operating from a community-based site.
• You will ensure the efficient and allocation of referrals.
• You will maintain an overview of the safe and effective work of the team ensuring the continuous flow of service-users through the system.
• You will ensure and enhance liaison with GP practices to maximise on new and growing links and collaborative working.
• You will oversee safe working practices and effective agile working directives for the team as a whole.

Person Specification

Education and Qualification

Essential

• Hold a professional qualification
• Membership of a Professional Body
• Evidence of recent continued professional development.
• Mentorship or equivalent.

Desirable

• A commitment to completing quality improvement training.

Experience

Essential

• Significant experience of managing clinical practice in a mental health service
• Experience of implementing and monitoring standards of care.  Mentorship Course (or other relevant teaching/assessment course)
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Experience of providing clinical and managerial supervision
• Experience of working in a multicultural environment and knowledge of methods to develop culturally sensitive practice
• Experience of risk management and safeguarding

Desirable

• Experience of managing non-clinical staff and other professionals
• Experience of staff performance management

Knowledge

Essential

• Specialist clinical knowledge relevant to the service, including evidence based practice.
• Working knowledge of all relevant legislation associated with acute mental health care, including MHA, CPA procedures, Human Rights Act, NSF, Child Protection and NHS Plan.
• Knowledge of key legislation and guidelines in relation to statutory mental health responsibilities, including Safeguarding Adults, Young people and children.
• Ability to provide quality care that is responsive to service user needs, without close supervision.

Desirable

• Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment.
• Knowledge of the theory of psychological models, such as CBT, DBT, or MBT.

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, highly technical and sensitive information to clients, their families and colleagues.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate and to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive and/or challenging behaviour.
• Effective IT skills.
• Good organisational skills.
• Skills in emotional resilience: able to cope in difficult interpersonal situations.
• Self-aware, self-confident and intrinsically motivated to do a good job and to motivate others.

Desirable

• Accredited practitioner skills in at least one model of psychological therapy.
• Accredited nurse prescriber
• Ability to contribute to, monitor and implement changes and improvements to services.
• Specialised clinical skills, e.g. group work, anxiety/anger management, family work skills

Closing Date: 19 July 2026