About this role
Job summary
This is unique opportunity to contribute to delivering and developing an innovative pilot service for 0-25-year-olds at risk of or affected by youth violence. This role is part of the NHS England North Central London Vanguard, to develop a model of care for children and young people who may be affected by serious youth violence. The service adopts a holistic and multi-agency integrated approach based on the understanding that no individual service has the solution for the complex issues facing some young people. The service model draws largely on community psychology, narrative, AMBIT, attachment-based and trauma informed principles.
The team is made up of Clinical Psychologists, specialist youth workers, young people and community leaders employed as community consultants. As a partnership service we draw on a strong collective of shared values and the team deliver accessible evidence-based and holistic mental health interventions in environments where young people feel in control and safe, including a community hub, youth clubs, other community spaces and young people's homes. Recognising the contextual factors that affect wellbeing, interventions are targeted across different areas of a young person's life (e.g., emotional, social, relational, occupational, etc.).Theservice has been coproduced alongside young people and the communityunderpinned by the ethos that they are experts in their own lives and are best placed to know what would support their community.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will hold a central role in providing flexible, adapted evidence-based psychological interventions to young people within a variety of settings. This role has a specific focus on supporting young people who have faceda number of barriers to accessing support for their mental health and offering holistic interventions to improve their wellbeing.
The service works across multiple levels, seeking to shift how the wider system perceives and works with young people and to address inequalities, creating sustainable change. The post holder will have opportunities to work alongside those with lived experience to coproduce creative activities, social action projects and influence service design and delivery. Embracing new ways of working will be key, as the model constantly evolves to respond to the needs and aspirations of young people it serves.
As this is a pilot project, a core aspect of the role will be utilising research skills for data collection, audit, policy, service development and evaluation and wider research in order to evaluate the service and provide evidence for further service development and broader systemic change.The role will also include offering advice, consultation, training and team supervision/reflective spaces to other services including grass roots and community organisations.
About us
North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) is committed to improving mental health care across North London to deliver excellent services to our local people.Our Five-Year Strategy:
1. We will provide consistently high-quality care closer to home.
2. With our partners in North London and each borough we will ensure equity of outcome for all
3. We will offer great places to work, providing staff with supportive environment to deliver outstanding care.
Why NLFT?
We develop and retain our staff through leadership behaviours and managers programme and many more opportunities.
We promote flexible working and support staff with a range of health and wellbeing initiatives.
NHS Discounts, generous annual leave and NHS pension scheme
Excellent internal staff network
In order to meet the needs of the Trust you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work. This may mean that you are required to work at any location that fall under Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey or Islington. The Trust reserves the right to require staff to work at such other places or locations as it considers reasonable and necessary on a temporary or permanent basis.
Job description Job responsibilities
To offer specialist, highly flexible and innovative assessments to young people and occasionally their families and/or refer a young person to other services as appropriate. This may include risk assessment, and subsequent risk management, with the provision of specialist advice for other professionals.
To formulate and implement highly specialised and innovative plans for the psychological treatment and/or management of a young persons mental health needs; be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals and groups and to evaluate and make decisions about the intervention options available.
To act as a lead professional, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans. This will involve offering staff from other agencies guidance on mental health.
To work in line with the service model which draws largely on community psychology, narrative, AMBIT, attachment-based and trauma informed principles.These approaches guide direct therapy work as well as holistic well-being support and multi-level systems interventions.
To work collaboratively and jointly with other members of the team as well as alongside professionals from other agencies involved in the networks of young people.
To offeraccessible, psychologically informed holistic well-being support to young people and/or their families which addresses different domains of their life including stability needs (e.g. housing stability, access to benefits and access to statutory services) and education employment and training needs.
To develop,facilitate and deliver well-being group-based activities and interventions that are grounded in psychological theory and principles or to support the delivery of groups alongside other team members or professionals.
To embed psychological approaches and clinical support within local community spaces accessed by young people; building relational safety and offering different experiences of mental health support.
This is a summary and not an exhaustive list,please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for more information on the role requirements and duties.
Person Specification
Education and qualifications Essential
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Registration for HCPC or eligible for registration
Desirable
Pre-qualification training in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology relevant to the post. Qualification/training in systemic/family therapy
Experience and knowlege Essential
Experience working in a relevant area to this post, preferably with young people in contact with the criminal justice system and/or affected by serious youth violence, in community-based adolescent services, YOT and/or YOI/prison settings. Experience of systemic models of practice, narrative therapy, community psychology and attachment-based approaches. Evidence of a high level of competent and autonomous clinical practice in delivering therapeutic interventions. Experiences of working with young people with psychological difficulties and/or facing extremely challenging circumstances with complex needs. Experience of delivering flexible and creative individual and group interventions to young people. Experience of working as part of a multi-agency team and/or alongside other systems and services. Experience delivering staff reflective or formulation sessions. Understanding of monitoring outcomes.
Desirable
Experience of working within court and/or custody settings. Experience working with marginalised and racialised groups. Experience of application of psychology in different cultural contexts. Experience of working in partnership services or alongside the voluntary/charity sector. Experience of youth work and/or support work. Experience of delivering co-produced social action and/or service development projects. Experience and understanding of contextual safeguarding.
Skills and Abilities Essential
Skills in developing, managing and coordination psychological assessments and interventions with young people who do not initially help seek. Working knowledge of at least two specialised psychological therapies for example, narrative therapy, systemic models, attachment and trauma models etc. Direct experience of working in a youth-led way with young people or experience of coproduction. Direct experience of working in a youth-led way with young people or experience of coproduction. Skills in risk assessment, management and mitigation of both individual and community risks. A commitment to and skills in culturally sensitive and anti-oppressive practice. Ability to manage a range of tasks in order to meet agreed priorities and deadlines; ability to monitor, review, evaluate and report progress Knowledge of Mental Health Legislation and its implications for clinical practice in relation to this client group. Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex and/or highly technical or clinically sensitive information to young people, their families, carers and other professionals both within and outside of the NHS.
Desirable
Experience of working collaboratively with both internal teams and external community services and stakeholders. Knowledge of the theory and supervised practice of specialist psychological therapy with young people impacted by serious youth violence in a community setting. Experience of working in partnership services and/or voluntary sector. Experience in developing culturally sensitive and supportive spaces, groups and workshops within community settings. Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups. Advanced IT skills.
Personal qualities Essential
Ability to work both independently and cooperatively as part of a diverse team. Demonstrate resourcefulness and skills in problem solving. Ability to contain work with organisational stress and ability to hold the stress of others. Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging social contexts. Ability to work with complex and seemingly contradictory clinical material and help others manage this. Flexible, engaging and approachable who can work responsively with both clients and the multidisciplinary team Creative in approach as well as reflective about their own practice.
Desirable
Values that are rooted in equity, social justice and accessibility. An ability to embrace challenges with a hands-on, solution-oriented approach. An openness and interest to working innovatively and adjusting practice to make psychological support acceptable and accessible to the communities we work within.
Other Requirements Essential
Ability to carry out travel around the designated area of work and to work flexibly and sometimes antisocial hours A genuine commitment to the visions, mission, values and beliefs of the service. A genuine commitment to the service ethos of partnership working across sectors and agencies and reducing barriers to access for those who experience high levels of marginalisation and inequalities. Ability to work in both a flexible and disciplined way. Knowledge of local policies in respect of safeguarding children and the protection of vulnerable adults.
Desirable
Ability to recognise own need for support within the role and utilise support available and seek out additional support when necessary. Ability to accompany young people to appropriate appointments.
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).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name North London NHS Foundation Trust
Address Haringey Vanguard & Project Future
684 High Road
London
N17 0AE
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.northlondonmentalhealth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)