Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health Professional
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 419-7892095-LP-CNT
- Employer
- York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Cross site
- Town
- York or Scarborough
- Salary
- £57,528 - £64,750 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/04/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 14/05/2026
Employer heading
Lead Professional for Mental Health Care
Band 8a
Please note that contact with applicants will usually be by email, and so please check all of your mail folders regularly (unfortunately some providers filter our messages into junk mail folders).
Our Values
- We are KIND
- We are OPEN
- We pursue EXCELLENCE
We are looking for applications from people who share our values to help make us a valued and trusted partner within our care system, that delivers safe effective care to our local population.
People for Patients. Our People, our Patients, our Priority
Job overview
Main duties of the job
As the Lead Professional, you will:
- Provide specialist clinical advice on the identification and management of mental health needs.
- Lead service improvement initiatives, supporting prevention, early intervention and high‑quality care.
- Support the Head of Safeguarding & Complex Needs in developing and implementing mental health pathways, policies, training programmes and quality standards.
- Work collaboratively with clinical and non-clinical teams to embed best practice and ensure compliance with national legislation and guidelines.
- Deliver and oversee specialist training and safeguarding supervision for staff.
- Contribute to investigations, audits, reports, research, and service evaluations.
- Communicate effectively with colleagues on complex and sensitive matters, supporting a culture of continuous improvement and patient‑centred care
You will be a registered member of a professional body with significant senior clinical experience supporting people with mental ill health. You will bring:
- Strong leadership skills and experience mentoring or training others.
- The ability to engage and influence staff at all levels.
- Sound knowledge of mental health legislation, policy and best practice.
- Excellent communication skills—including when managing sensitive, emotional or complex situations.
- A commitment to continuous professional development and service improvement.
- Strong organisational skills, resilience, and the ability to prioritise effectively in a busy environment.
Working for our organisation
Trust Information Pack:
https://yorkhospitals.pagetiger.com/hdjgxd
Our benefits
We offer a range of benefits to support our staff including:
- Access to the NHS Pension Scheme, providing generous benefits upon retirement, as well as a lump sum and pension for dependants
- 27 days holiday rising to 33 days (depending on NHS Trust service)
- A generous relocation package of up to 30% of salary (capped at £18k) to support with relocation expenses for hard to fill positions where relocation would be an expectation to undertake the role fully. If you would like to discuss a potential relocation package, please speak to the recruiting department/manager
- A variety of different types of paid and unpaid leave covering emergency and planned leave
- Confidential advice and support on personal, work, family and relationship issues, 24/7, from our Employee Assistance Programme
- NHS Car Lease scheme and Cycle to Work scheme
- An extensive range of learning and development opportunities
- Discounts on restaurants, getaways, shopping, motoring, cinema and finance from a range of providers
For further information on the fantastic range of benefits we offer please visit the Trust's dedicated Staff Benefits pages.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
A full description of the role is available in the attachment: job description.
Please note that if a high number of applications are received this advert may close early. You are advised to submit you application at the earliest opportunity.
Working for the Trust
Across our organisation, people are guided by values that were co-developed with staff: we are kind; we are open; and we pursue excellence.
Our values play into our ambition to develop a more diverse workforce, truly representative of our communities. We welcome applications from everyone, while working with our Staff Networks - including our Race Equality, LGBTQ+, Disability and Carers Networks - to increase the number of applications we receive from different backgrounds. If there is anything we can do to make our application process more accessible to you, please contact: [email protected].
As part of seeking to become more inclusive, we will consider requests for flexible working from the start of your employment. It may not be suitable for every role, but we will try and be supportive where we can. We would encourage you to speak to the recruiting manager named within this advert to discuss any requirements you may have.
Armed Forces Friendly Employer
We are holders of the Gold Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, which is helping actively promote SaBRE - Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers. This means that we have made a statement of intent to support all Defence personnel, including with applications for employment.
Person specification
Experience and Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Significant experience as a senior clinician concentrating in the care of patients with mental ill health.
- Evidence of involvement and leadership in teaching and mentoring learners and training needs analysis.
- Experience of supporting and leading engagement processes and influencing thinking and opinions.
- Experience of supporting and providing leadership within strategic reviews/planning for service development.
- Ability to contribute to the design of, and to help maintain, complex processes
- Ability to engage clinical and professional staff in all aspects of the role, demonstrating excellent influencing and negotiating skills
- Sound Mental Health knowledge, acting consistently with legislation, policies and procedures and other approaches and promote the value of those approaches to others
Qualifications and Training
Essential criteria
- Registered member of a professional body, such as NMC or HCPC
- Evidence of continued professional development
Skills
Essential criteria
- IT skills including use of email and commonly used software
Aptitude
Essential criteria
- Determination to always achieve high standards and constantly strive to deliver improvements
Employer certification / accreditation badges
.png "National Preceptorship for Nursing Quality Mark")
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Nicola Cowley
- Job title
- Head of Safeguarding & Complex Needs
- Email address
- [email protected]
List jobs with York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Nursing and Midwifery or all sectors