Job summary
Do you understand the clinical and sensory needs of people with a Learning Disability and or Autism and do you have experience supporting their mental health needs?
Are you committed the provision of high-quality care and willing to work innovatively to support the delivery of a seven-day therapeutic offer to patients?
If so, this role will provide you with a rare and exciting career opportunity.
Avon and Wiltshire Partnership (AWP) seek to recruit an exceptional person to provide practice-based education and support to the workforce in the delivery of excellence to people with a learning disability and autistic people receiving support from our specialist acute inpatient mental health service.
The Southwest region is transforming the end-to-end pathway of care to deliver specialist, acute mental health care in a setting designed and staffed to meet the specialist needs of people with a learning disability and or autism where access to mainstream inpatient services cannot be achieved through implementation of reasonable adjustments.
The Kingfisher inpatient service will be a centre of excellence and has been designed by clinicians and people with lived experience. We will open in 2026. You will be employed in AWP Specialised Services division and work as a core member of the team. You will be instrumental in the development, implementation and ongoing delivery of the clinical model for the inpatient service and support the continuous development of the workforce.
Main duties of the job
To facilitate and support the clinical, professional, and educational development of the nursing workforce within the Kingfisher Learning Disability and Autism inpatient and outreach service. Including but not limited to registered nurses, student nurses and healthcare support workers.
The post holder will be responsible for the development, delivery, and evaluation of a program of clinically relevant practice education to support the professional development of the nursing team, with a specific focus on enabling the delivery of high-quality patient/person centred care that is grounded in evidence-based practice and underpinned by national, organisational and trust objectives, guidelines, and policies.
The postholder will provide expert knowledge and clinical leadership to the clinical team, facilitating the application of theory to practice within the service.
About us
We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust):a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.
We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.
Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.
AWP is committed to support and create a positive research and evidence-based environment and culture, which can have a beneficial impact on everyone who works for the organisation and the care we provide to those who use our services.
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
Leadership in Clinical Practice and Education
- Lead by example, acting as a role model to others by demonstrating effective professional attitudes and behaviours
- Develop, lead and support a culture of learning, development and reflective clinical practice
- At all times promote and safeguard the interests and wellbeing of patients, relatives, and staff
- Lead on the implementation and oversight of Positive Behavior Support approaches and practice in conjunction with Kingfisher psychological services
- Collaborate with colleagues to review and evaluate existing clinical practice training and development programs and develop new training initiatives
- Conduct Training Needs Analysis and support workforce development through career conversations
- Organise and provide high quality evidence-based clinical and theoretical educational and training programs in response to identified training needs
- Provide a bespoke/structured in-house education and training program to enable staff to meet the on-going needs of the patient and their family
- Support the development of clinical competence across the nursing workforce, including (but not limited to) registered nurses, nursing students and healthcare support workers
- Provide regular and consistent mentorship, coaching and facilitation for all staff to enable the development of confidence and critical thinking in clinical and operational duties
- Facilitate and deliver learning through a blended approach using quality assured materials to support individual learning needs and styles
- Facilitate staff to assess their skills, knowledge, attitude, attributes and abilities against a role specific clinical competency framework and assist in the development and implementation of effective personal development plans in conjunction with their line manager (as required)
- Support staff that may be placed on capability pathways
- Lead on student placement coordination for student nurses and student nursing associates and act as point of contact for Universities and Educational organisations placement coordinators
- Support and develop practice assessors
- Ensure that all clinical training and development programs meet current curriculum requirements and professional standards of nursing practice
- Encourage a supportive learning culture where students and nursing staff can maximise opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes related to professional development and Nurse registration and revalidation
- Work in collaboration with others involved in education, clinical practice and academia, to adapt/change and inform program development including induction for new staff.
- Assesses, benchmarks clinical and other practice educational environments, supports mentors/educators in decisions relating to student placement, competence and fitness for practice.
- Contribute to the implementation of the Trust wide preceptorship model for newly qualified nurses providing support, supervision and training
- Undertake the role of Professional Nurse Advocate
- Report performance concerns to the appropriate senior manager
- Ensure learning from incident/enquiry outcomes is shared and embedded in practice
Please see Job Description for full details
Job description
Job responsibilities
Leadership in Clinical Practice and Education
- Lead by example, acting as a role model to others by demonstrating effective professional attitudes and behaviours
- Develop, lead and support a culture of learning, development and reflective clinical practice
- At all times promote and safeguard the interests and wellbeing of patients, relatives, and staff
- Lead on the implementation and oversight of Positive Behavior Support approaches and practice in conjunction with Kingfisher psychological services
- Collaborate with colleagues to review and evaluate existing clinical practice training and development programs and develop new training initiatives
- Conduct Training Needs Analysis and support workforce development through career conversations
- Organise and provide high quality evidence-based clinical and theoretical educational and training programs in response to identified training needs
- Provide a bespoke/structured in-house education and training program to enable staff to meet the on-going needs of the patient and their family
- Support the development of clinical competence across the nursing workforce, including (but not limited to) registered nurses, nursing students and healthcare support workers
- Provide regular and consistent mentorship, coaching and facilitation for all staff to enable the development of confidence and critical thinking in clinical and operational duties
- Facilitate and deliver learning through a blended approach using quality assured materials to support individual learning needs and styles
- Facilitate staff to assess their skills, knowledge, attitude, attributes and abilities against a role specific clinical competency framework and assist in the development and implementation of effective personal development plans in conjunction with their line manager (as required)
- Support staff that may be placed on capability pathways
- Lead on student placement coordination for student nurses and student nursing associates and act as point of contact for Universities and Educational organisations placement coordinators
- Support and develop practice assessors
- Ensure that all clinical training and development programs meet current curriculum requirements and professional standards of nursing practice
- Encourage a supportive learning culture where students and nursing staff can maximise opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes related to professional development and Nurse registration and revalidation
- Work in collaboration with others involved in education, clinical practice and academia, to adapt/change and inform program development including induction for new staff.
- Assesses, benchmarks clinical and other practice educational environments, supports mentors/educators in decisions relating to student placement, competence and fitness for practice.
- Contribute to the implementation of the Trust wide preceptorship model for newly qualified nurses providing support, supervision and training
- Undertake the role of Professional Nurse Advocate
- Report performance concerns to the appropriate senior manager
- Ensure learning from incident/enquiry outcomes is shared and embedded in practice
Please see Job Description for full details
Person Specification
Education and Qualification
Essential
- Registered Nurse Learning Disability/Mental Health
- Post graduate qualification in teaching/practice education (or working towards)
- Professional Nurse Advocate Training or a willingness to undertake
Desirable
- Relevant qualification in a subject relating Reducing Restrictive Practice such a Positive Behaviour Support, See Think Act Lead.
Experience and Knowledge
Essential
- A factual Understanding of current legislation and guidance with regard to the care of people with learning disability
- A working knowledge of the evidence base for care/intervention/treatment of people with relevant health conditions, such as, epilepsy, anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, psychosis, behavioural distress
- Experience of delivering training/development programmes
Desirable
- Experience of designing/developing and evaluating development programs
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Demonstrate an ability to assess patients to identify health and wellbeing needs
- Demonstrate an ability to assess risk and take appropriate action
- Demonstrate an ability to positively contribute to effective team working
Desirable
- Demonstrate an ability to contribute to audit and/or research
Person Specification
Education and Qualification
Essential
- Registered Nurse Learning Disability/Mental Health
- Post graduate qualification in teaching/practice education (or working towards)
- Professional Nurse Advocate Training or a willingness to undertake
Desirable
- Relevant qualification in a subject relating Reducing Restrictive Practice such a Positive Behaviour Support, See Think Act Lead.
Experience and Knowledge
Essential
- A factual Understanding of current legislation and guidance with regard to the care of people with learning disability
- A working knowledge of the evidence base for care/intervention/treatment of people with relevant health conditions, such as, epilepsy, anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, psychosis, behavioural distress
- Experience of delivering training/development programmes
Desirable
- Experience of designing/developing and evaluating development programs
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Demonstrate an ability to assess patients to identify health and wellbeing needs
- Demonstrate an ability to assess risk and take appropriate action
- Demonstrate an ability to positively contribute to effective team working
Desirable
- Demonstrate an ability to contribute to audit and/or research
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.
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).
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.
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).
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