Senior Practitioner – Community: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust is making a significant investment in Adult Community Mental Health Services across Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Bolton and Wigan, creating exciting opportunities for exceptionalMental Health Nurses, Occupational Therapists and Mental Health Social Workersto join us asBand 7 Senior Practitioners.

We are expanding our workforce in line with our safer staffing programme and transforming how community mental health services are delivered. Our ambition is simple: to provide high-quality, personalised, recovery-focused care that improves the lives and outcomes of the people we serve.

As part of this journey, we are looking for experienced clinicians who are passionate about leadership, clinical excellence, innovation and improving outcomes for people with serious mental health needs.

We are redesigning our Community Mental Health Teams through the implementation of our new Adult CMHT operating model and Personalised Care Framework.

This means bigger teams, stronger multidisciplinary working, increased investment, enhanced clinical support and a renewed focus on delivering outstanding care.

We are looking for clinicians who are passionate about improving lives, confident in managing complexity, committed to collaborative working and excited about helping shape the future of community mental health care.

Main duties of the job

These roles offer genuine variety. Depending on local service need, workforce pressures and safer staffing requirements, Senior Practitioners may initially be deployed to undertake comprehensive assessments, support referral and triage functions, manage complex caseloads, lead care coordination activity or provide specialist clinical leadership across the pathway.

As a Band 7 Senior Practitioner, you will:

• Deliver high-quality assessment, formulation and intervention.
• Hold and manage a complex caseload.
• Provide clinical leadership within the MDT.
• Support risk management, safeguarding and complex decision-making.
• Lead personalised care planning and implementation of DIALOG+.
• Provide supervision, mentorship and line management to Band 6 practitioners and other colleagues.
• Support service improvement, reflective practice and a culture of continuous learning.
• Work flexibly across the Community Mental Health Team pathway in line with service need.

We know that high-quality care can only be delivered by a workforce that feels valued, supported and invested in.

That’s why we are committed to providing:

• A structured and supportive induction programme
• High-quality clinical supervision
• Dedicated reflective practice
• Strong multidisciplinary team decision-making
• Visible and accessible leadership
• Opportunities to lead quality improvement initiatives
• A culture of learning, innovation and continuous improvement
• Genuine influence over service development and transformation

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Mental Health Nurse, Occupational Therapist or Social Worker
• Evidence of significant post-registration professional development relevant to community mental health practice.
• Clinical supervision training, practice educator qualification, mentorship qualification or willingness to undertake.

Desirable

• Additional training in DIALOG+, personalised care planning, trauma-informed practice, psychosocial interventions, formulation, safeguarding, risk management or quality improvement.

Experience

Essential

• Significant post-registration experience in mental health services, including experience in community mental health or equivalent complex community settings.
• Experience of working with people with serious mental health needs, complexity, risk and co-occurring physical, social or relational needs.
• Experience acting as a care coordinator, keyworker or Named Worker for people with complex needs.
• Experience of supervising, supporting or advising registered, newly qualified, student or unregistered staff.
• Experience of leading or contributing to MDT discussions, safety huddles, complex case reviews or formulation meetings.
• Experience of complex risk assessment, safety planning, safeguarding and multi-agency work. Experience contributing to audit, service improvement, complaints learning, incident learning or clinical governance.

Desirable

• Experience chairing meetings, leading improvement work or supporting implementation of service transformation.

Knowledge

Essential

• Detailed understanding of the Personalised Care Framework and the move from CPA to needs-led, outcome-focused personalised care.
• Detailed understanding of the Named Worker role and the principle of shared MDT responsibility for care, risk and intervention delivery.
• Knowledge of DIALOG+, outcome-focused conversations, personalised care and support planning and co-produced review processes.
• Knowledge of complex formulation, risk assessment, safety planning, safeguarding adults, Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and least restrictive practice.
• Knowledge of supervision, reflective practice, professional development and psychologically safe team cultures.
• Understanding of community transformation, MDT working, safer staffing principles and caseload prioritisation.
• Understanding of audit, quality assurance, incident learning, complaints learning and clinical governance processes.

Closing Date: 31 August 2026