Band 6 Specialist Practitioner and Group Facilitator - Bristol

Job description

Job summary

Sequoia is a specialist NHS-commissioned service, co-delivered by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP) and Rethink Mental Illness, supporting adults with mild-moderate complex emotional needs (CEN) and personality difficulties across the BNSSG area. Rooted in lived experience and recovery principles, the service provides evidence-based group interventions including Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)-informed groups, Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT)-informed groups, psychoeducation courses, and peer support programmes.

As a Specialist Practitioner and Group Facilitator, you will initially be co-delivering DBT informed skills groups. With the purpose of enabling service users to manage emotional intensity, build resilience, and achieve recovery goals. You will work collaboratively with NHS teams, voluntary & community partners, and service users to promote wellness, safety, and inclusion.

This role is offered at full time hours - Mon to Fri. Most service-user facing work runs 9:00am-5:00pm, though some evening sessions are required, so flexibility to work one evening weekly is essential.

This is a hybrid role with most staff being based from home with an expectation to travel for planned meetings and some group delivery, based in community settings within the BNSSG locality. Recognising the emotional impact of this work, we provide robust supervision (individual and team-based), ongoing CPD opportunities & regular chances to connect socially with colleagues.

Main duties of the job

• Facilitate DBT informed groups, adapting content to meet service user needs.
• Support delivery of psychoeducation and peer support courses.
• Assess and triage referrals, determine service suitability, and plan reviews and next steps with service users.
• Support safe discharge back to GP care following programme completion.
• Contribute to crisis planning, safeguarding, and protective interventions.
• Provide clinical leadership, mentoring, and supervision within the team for our Rethink colleagues.
• Work as part of the duty team dealing with ad hoc situations that arise.
• Maintain accurate records and meet reporting requirements.
• Participate in service development, supervision, and training.

About us

We are the lead provider of healthcare for people with serious mental illness, learning disabilities and autism across Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES), Swindon and Wiltshire, and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

We aim to provideHigh Quality, Compassionate Careeverywhere, every day. This means our services will be safe, clinically effective and provide a positive all round experience for our patients, families and carers. And we believe passionately in treating everyone with kindness, respect and empathy.

Key to this is providing a supportive and safe environment for our 4,000 staff where we all feel welcome and able to do the best we can for those we support. Our staff and teams work incredibly hard delivering services across more than 90 locations, covering 2,200miles, to more than 1.8million people.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Job description

Job responsibilities

This role is focused on providing effective, evidence-based interventions to people with complex emotional needs and personality difficulties, enabling them to meet daily health, social care, and wellbeing needs in line with recovery goals.

Key responsibilities include:

• Conducting support conversationscovering mental state, risk, physical health, social care needs, safeguarding, and capacity under the Mental Capacity Act.
• Reviewing treatment programmes, incorporating psychological therapies (DBTi, MBTi), psychosocial interventions (Peer Support and Psych Education), considering people's motivation to change.
• Delivering interventions to improve carers ability to support service users.
• Building hope-inspiring relationships with service users, focusing on strengths and aspirations to create meaningful recovery plans.
• Leading and supporting colleagues in clinical practice, mentoring students, and contributing to professional development.
• Ensuring compliance with safeguarding, confidentiality, infection control, and health and safety policies.
• Promoting Sequoias ethos of community, resilience, and inclusion, inspired by the Sequoia trees symbolism of strength and growth.
• Supporting service development through co-production, service user participation, and feedback mechanisms

This post is open to newly qualified social workers. In line with trust policy, all newly qualified social workers will be recruited initially at Band 5 level, regardless of advertised role banding. All NQSWs are expected to successfully complete their ASYE within 2 years of employment, unless there are exceptional circumstances in which case it may be agreed to extend this for a further 2 years.

On successful completion of the ASYE, for which you will be given full support of an experienced Social Worker as well as Divisional Social Work Lead, and peer support from other ASYE candidates, you will then be eligible to progress to a Band 6 position.

If you have been appointed to an advertised Band 6 role this will be an automatic progression, following confirmation of your successful completion. If you have been appointed to a Band 5 you will then be eligible to apply for a subsequent Band 6 vacancy.

Job description
Job responsibilities

This role is focused on providing effective, evidence-based interventions to people with complex emotional needs and personality difficulties, enabling them to meet daily health, social care, and wellbeing needs in line with recovery goals.

Key responsibilities include:

• Conducting support conversationscovering mental state, risk, physical health, social care needs, safeguarding, and capacity under the Mental Capacity Act.
• Reviewing treatment programmes, incorporating psychological therapies (DBTi, MBTi), psychosocial interventions (Peer Support and Psych Education), considering people's motivation to change.
• Delivering interventions to improve carers ability to support service users.
• Building hope-inspiring relationships with service users, focusing on strengths and aspirations to create meaningful recovery plans.
• Leading and supporting colleagues in clinical practice, mentoring students, and contributing to professional development.
• Ensuring compliance with safeguarding, confidentiality, infection control, and health and safety policies.
• Promoting Sequoias ethos of community, resilience, and inclusion, inspired by the Sequoia trees symbolism of strength and growth.
• Supporting service development through co-production, service user participation, and feedback mechanisms

This post is open to newly qualified social workers. In line with trust policy, all newly qualified social workers will be recruited initially at Band 5 level, regardless of advertised role banding. All NQSWs are expected to successfully complete their ASYE within 2 years of employment, unless there are exceptional circumstances in which case it may be agreed to extend this for a further 2 years.

On successful completion of the ASYE, for which you will be given full support of an experienced Social Worker as well as Divisional Social Work Lead, and peer support from other ASYE candidates, you will then be eligible to progress to a Band 6 position.

If you have been appointed to an advertised Band 6 role this will be an automatic progression, following confirmation of your successful completion. If you have been appointed to a Band 5 you will then be eligible to apply for a subsequent Band 6 vacancy.

Person Specification

Qualifications and registration

Essential

• Diploma level/Degree in relevant health/social care profession, eg RMN, OT, Social Worker
• Current relevant registration with the NMC or HCPC and commitment to CPD.

Desirable

• Relevant post-registration qualifications, such as; DBT, MBT, Brief Interventions etc

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Demonstrates substantial post-registration experience gained working in a range of front-line adult mental health services, undertaking assessment and delivering interventions.
• Is able to deliver from a range of possible key therapeutic interventions, DBT, MBT SCM, CBT, Psychosocial interventions, Family Interventions.
• Experience of delivering group work in a mental health setting
• Demonstrates substantial experience of assessing risk and developing risk management strategies

Desirable

• Experience from a wide range of settings.
• Experience of co-production and service user participation

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Highly developed verbal communication skills, able to engage effectively with people at all levels even when a more assertive approach is needed.
• Highly developed active listening skills, which allow for reframing and testing of understanding.
• Highly developed written communication skills, with experience of compiling and sorting notes and reports, establishing statistical data and analysing information.
• Substantially developed IT skills including competent use of Microsoft Office, and the use of electronic record keeping systems.
• Experience of delivering mental health interventions online, both 1-1 and groups
• Demonstrates a willingness to embrace new technology and processes.
• Mobile with the facility to move quickly across a geographically dispersed area with limited access to public transport.

Other Requirements

Essential

• Empathy for individuals who have experienced mental health problems and ability to cope with behaviour which may be challenging at times.

Person Specification
Qualifications and registration

Essential

• Diploma level/Degree in relevant health/social care profession, eg RMN, OT, Social Worker
• Current relevant registration with the NMC or HCPC and commitment to CPD.

Desirable

• Relevant post-registration qualifications, such as; DBT, MBT, Brief Interventions etc

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Demonstrates substantial post-registration experience gained working in a range of front-line adult mental health services, undertaking assessment and delivering interventions.
• Is able to deliver from a range of possible key therapeutic interventions, DBT, MBT SCM, CBT, Psychosocial interventions, Family Interventions.
• Experience of delivering group work in a mental health setting
• Demonstrates substantial experience of assessing risk and developing risk management strategies

Desirable

• Experience from a wide range of settings.
• Experience of co-production and service user participation

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Highly developed verbal communication skills, able to engage effectively with people at all levels even when a more assertive approach is needed.
• Highly developed active listening skills, which allow for reframing and testing of understanding.
• Highly developed written communication skills, with experience of compiling and sorting notes and reports, establishing statistical data and analysing information.
• Substantially developed IT skills including competent use of Microsoft Office, and the use of electronic record keeping systems.
• Experience of delivering mental health interventions online, both 1-1 and groups
• Demonstrates a willingness to embrace new technology and processes.
• Mobile with the facility to move quickly across a geographically dispersed area with limited access to public transport.

Other Requirements

Essential

• Empathy for individuals who have experienced mental health problems and ability to cope with behaviour which may be challenging at times.

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 .

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. .
UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

Additional information
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 .

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. .
UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

Employer details

Employer name

Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
Address

Callington Road Hospital

Marmalade Lane

Bristol

BS4 5BJ

United Kingdom

Employer's website