Job summary
- Main area
- Criminal Justice - Liaison, Diversion & Reconnect
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- 11 months (Fixed term or secondment: 11 months)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 380-FR0606
- Employer
- Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- The Red House, Maidstone
- Town
- Maidstone
- Salary
- £47,810 - £54,710 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 29/10/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Advanced Liaison & Diversion Practitioner - Courts
Band 7
We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We offer a range of ongoing benefits to our valued workforce. From an active health and wellbeing programme to regular recognition events, we work hard to provide varied benefits that make a difference to your work-life balance.
Would you like to work flexibly? In the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you.
Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement.
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Job overview
Please note, at this stage, the role is open only to internal staff (including NHSP and Agency staff currently on placement within our organisation) and staff substantively employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts and the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB). Any individual who is at risk of redundancy will be given priority, provided they meet the essential criteria.
Are you a conscientious and proactive mental health practitioner who has expert knowledge and experience of assessing and supporting individuals who are in the Criminal Justice System?
If you are, we would like to hear from you as this would be an exciting secondment opportunity for you to develop your assessment, liaison and diversion skills and experience within the Court pathway of Liaison, Diversion & Reconnect (LDR).
This is an exciting opportunity as part of LDR to lead, develop and sustain a comprehensive liaison and diversion service to the Crown and Magistrates courts in Kent.
The role is based predominantly in Maidstone and Canterbury Crown Courts (with oversight of our Magistrates provision), providing a highly visible, accountable and professional service to our Criminal Justice partners to deliver a clinical screening, assessment and reporting service, according to LDRs ‘all vulnerabilities’ model.
Main duties of the job
This is an autonomous role with responsibility for in-person Court assessment and liaison as well as overall management of the Court pathway.
You will be collaborating with multi-agency stakeholders on service provision while engaging with and supporting our Court partners in delivering an effective and responsive service.
You will also have the opportunity to enhance the existing relationships that have been developed over the last 3 years with our Court partners.
The post holder must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).
Working for our organisation
We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the 1.8 million people of Kent and Medway. Rated ‘Good’ by the CQC, we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 in the community each year.
Our vision is simple: We are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It’s why we’re passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. And everything we do is guided by our values caring, inclusive, curious and confident.
Join us - if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's doing well together.
At Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust, we are serious about diversity and inclusion, and we are working hard to build this into our DNA. We warmly welcome applications for any of our roles from people from diverse backgrounds, and we are proactively encouraging applications from under-represented communities for our more senior roles, like this one.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached job description for full details of the main duties and responsibilities of the role.
Person specification
Training and qualifications and registration
Essential criteria
- A BSc or equivalent qualification/experience at post registration level
- Member of a professional body
- Mentorship qualification (for nurses)
Desirable criteria
- Further training, relevant to the role, at post graduate (MSc) or equivalent level
Experience
Essential criteria
- Minimum of 4 years post registration experience in mental health
- Minimum 2 years within experience of working within a community mental health team
- Experience of forensic mental health and/or the criminal justice system
- A background evidencing assessment and decision-making
- Experience of line management and leadership within a team
- Experience of liaising with a variety of stakeholders both internal and external to the Trust
Desirable criteria
- Experience of court settings
- Experience of supervising/developing staff and students
- Experience of audit research and clinical governance procedures and their application in practice
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria
- Excellent communication, networking and negotiation skills
- Clear, precise and professional verbal and written reporting skills
- Advanced understanding and expertise in the principles of risk assessment, risk management and care pathways
- A demonstrable understanding of the Mental Health Act
- Detailed knowledge of the relevant legislation procedures and policies relating to mental health care i.e. safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act, CPA
- Ability to respond efficiently to complex information within tight deadlines and prioritise accordingly
- Ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism at all times, especially in complex/challenging situations
- Ability to work autonomously and co-operatively as part of a multi-agency team
- Planning and decision-making skills
Desirable criteria
- A working knowledge of the sections applied in a forensic setting
- A demonstrable understanding of the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) principles
- Ability to guide and motivate others in clinical aspects and through periods of change
Other
Essential criteria
- Competent IT skills
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Peter Griffin
- Job title
- Service Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0800 197 5542
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