Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Specialist Mental Health Practitioner

The closing date is 22 March 2026

Job summary

We are excited to be recruiting for a part-time (30 hours) Band 7 Specialist Mental Health Practitioners to join Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) in North Devon.

This is an excellent opportunity for experienced mental health professionals to take on a senior clinical role, supporting children and young people with complex emotional and mental health needs.

You will be responsible for specialist assessment, formulation, and intervention, ensuring that children, young people, and their families receive high-quality, evidence-based care. You will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team, supporting young people with difficulties such as anxiety, depression, self-harm, and trauma-related presentations.

Your role will also include risk assessment and management, collaborative care planning, and therapeutic intervention delivery, working in line with NICE guidance. Additionally, you will provide clinical supervision, consultation, and training to colleagues, supporting professional development across the team.

We offer:

Regular clinical supervision and professional development to support career progression.
A collaborative, innovative, and supportive work environment.

If you are a dedicated and compassionate mental health professional, committed to making a difference for children and young people, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

Conduct comprehensive mental health assessments, working collaboratively with children, young people, and their families to develop care plans tailored to their needs.
Deliver evidence-based therapeutic interventions, such as CBT, DBT-informed approaches, and systemic family work, ensuring alignment with best practice guidelines.
Manage a caseload of children and young people with moderate to severe mental health difficulties, providing high-quality, person-centred care.
Work within a multi-disciplinary team, liaising with professionals across health, education, and social care to ensure a holistic approach to care.
Assess and manage risk effectively, implementing safeguarding procedures where necessary.
Provide supervision and support to junior staff, trainees, and multi-disciplinary colleagues, fostering professional growth within the team.
Contribute to service development, participating in audits, quality improvement initiatives, and shaping the future of mental health services for children and young people in Torbay and South Devon.
Maintain accurate clinical records and uphold professional and organisational standards in all aspects of care.

This role is ideal for motivated and experienced mental health professionals looking to work in a dynamic, multi-disciplinary environment, where they can contribute to high-quality, specialist mental health care for children and young people.

About us

Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) comprises an Alliance of NHS organisations working together to improve health outcomes for children and young people in Devon.

CFHD provides integrated care and treatment for children and young people across physical and mental health which are provided by Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust and Devon Partnership Trust. We are working closely with other organisations and providers to ensure we deliver locality and county-wide based integrated access to all of our services.

CFHD works closely with our local universities of Plymouth, Exeter & the Peninsula Medical School where we support students in clinical training placements and in addition support our own staff to undertake post graduate training.

Our integrated care and treatment has been developed and refined in partnership with children, young people and their families/carers.

Our children and young people say

We would like the people who work for Children and Family Health Devon to be understanding, patient and respectful. They should be trustworthy and make us feel safe and comfortable. It is important that they use their skills and experience to listen carefully in a non-patronising and non-judgemental way. When staff are positive and friendly, they help to create an environment that is informal and without pressure.

Our vision is to be a successful, vibrant, partnership that benefits the communities we serve.

Date posted

04 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9369-26-0164

Job locations

Integrated Childrens Services

Fishleigh Road

Roundswell Business Park

Barnstaple

Devon

EX31 3UD

Job description

Job responsibilities

Full Vacancy details can be found on the attached Job Description/Person Specification. Please refer to your suitability to the post in your supporting information from the role requirements or person specification.

Important Information Regarding Service Changes

We are currently entering into a formal consultation process to move all Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) staff to a single provider. As part of this process, staff currently employed by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust will transfer to Devon Partnership NHS Trust on 1 April 2026. Please note that this may result in some differences in recruitment documentation and processes during this transition period.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Important Information Regarding Service Changes

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

Experience of working collaboratively with service users and their families/carers, including using goal-based care and routine outcome measures in practice.
Experience of working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team and across agencies
Experience of undertaking specialist mental health assessment and therapeutic interventions for in the area of childrens mental health, with the ability to work with complex needs and undertake risk assessments

Skills

Essential

Ability to travel across Devon to meet the demands of the role

Qualifications

Essential

Professional knowledge acquired through degree supplemented by specialist training or equivalent experience to Masters level with a relevant core professional training e.g. Psychological profession, Nursing, Clinical Psychology, Social Work, Occupational Therapy
Training in an evidence-based therapeutic approach
Professional registration/accreditation with a recognised body, e.g. NMC, HCPC, Social Work England, UKCP, BABCP
Training in supervision and/or leadership skills or willing to work towards
Evidence of Continuous Professional Development

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

Experience of working collaboratively with service users and their families/carers, including using goal-based care and routine outcome measures in practice.
Experience of working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team and across agencies
Experience of undertaking specialist mental health assessment and therapeutic interventions for in the area of childrens mental health, with the ability to work with complex needs and undertake risk assessments

Skills

Essential

Ability to travel across Devon to meet the demands of the role

Qualifications

Essential

Professional knowledge acquired through degree supplemented by specialist training or equivalent experience to Masters level with a relevant core professional training e.g. Psychological profession, Nursing, Clinical Psychology, Social Work, Occupational Therapy
Training in an evidence-based therapeutic approach
Professional registration/accreditation with a recognised body, e.g. NMC, HCPC, Social Work England, UKCP, BABCP
Training in supervision and/or leadership skills or willing to work towards
Evidence of Continuous 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).