Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as Good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

We are a responsive and innovative Foundation Trust that places our values of Caring, Safe and Excellent at the heart of everything we do. We take great pride in our staff and believe that investing in you is key to us achieving our vision of outstanding care delivered by outstanding people.

We work with a wide range of partner organisations to deliver care and support to people in their own homes and from a number of hospitals and community bases. We focus on delivering care as close to home as possible.

Job overview

Would you like to help people manage their mental health in a new role?

Perhaps your lived experience of mental health problems is putting you in a unique position to support others going through similar challenges.

Are you looking for a career change and are enthusiastic about caring and supporting people?

We are recruiting for workers across Oxfordshire, based in Oxford City, Banbury and Witney and Abingdon and surrounding areas. 

We are looking for a highly motivated individual to join our teams as a Trainee Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner. This is an exciting brand-new role created by Health Education England and NHS England and Improvement to support the transformation of adult community mental health services. Your training will be fully funded by the NHS, and you will be eligible for a full-time qualified position if you pass the course. In return, we ask that you commit to staying with us for at least two years after you qualify.

*Please note that this advert will close early if a high number of applications are received.*

Main duties of the job

As a Trainee Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner, you will be expected to work under supervision as part of a dynamic mental health team delivering psychologically informed interventions and supporting adults to receive the right care. You will need to have flexibility and adaptability and a passion for working with older adults/adults with severe mental health problems. 

During the one-year graduate certificate/postgraduate certificate training, you will, under supervision, develop knowledge and practice skills to employ wellbeing-focused psychologically informed interventions for serious mental health problems for adults individually and in groups, as well as support their families and carers, in line with the education providers expectations.

The Trainee Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner will:

  • attend all elements of the training programme of study and progress successfully through assessments of competence and attainment
  • support collaborative care planning, alongside other members of the multi-disciplinary team
  • work closely alongside a team of mental health professionals to deliver a set of brief wellbeing-focused psychologically informed interventions – not therapy – for example behavioural Activation and Graded Exposure using the GOALS programme.
  • support with problem-solving, improving sleep, recognising and managing emotions, guided self-help for bulimia and binge-eating, medicines management.

    • Working for our organisation

    We are committed to developing a team that is fully representative of the communities that we serve, and especially welcome applications from individuals with protected characteristics that are currently under-represented in our workforce.

    This is an excellent opportunity to join Oxford Health; a large and innovative NHS Foundation trust, which has a strong track record for supporting the development of psychological therapy services. The Trust has two IAPT services, a range of specialist psychological therapy services and employs over 500 psychological therapists. Healthy Minds and the Trust provide regular high quality CPD and training. The Trust hosts the Oxford Institute of Clinical Psychology Training and Research and the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre. Our psychological services are actively involved in research, participating in a number of local and national studies. The service benefits from being a member of the Oxford Academic Health Sciences Network Anxiety and Depression Network led by Professor David Clark.

    Benefits of working for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust include:

  • Excellent opportunities for career progression
  • 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, with an increase to 33 days with continuous service
  • NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants and retailers
  • Staff accommodation
  • Competitive pension scheme
  • Lease car scheme
  • Cycle to work scheme

    • Detailed job description and main responsibilities

    Please note: The trainee mental health wellbeing practitioner posts are training positions. Progression into a permanent contract is subject to passing the course. Successful candidates will be expected to travel to Unipart House in Oxford in to complete their one training, but the positions will be based in Oxfordshire – City, North and South of the counties.

    Were looking for people who are compassionate, work well in a team, are enthusiastic, highly motivated and have excellent written and verbal communication skills. Experience of working in a mental health setting would be beneficial. However, you may instead have relevant life experience or transferable skills that would enable you to effectively support people with mental health challenges.

    As a Trainee MHWP, you will be a full time Oxford Health NHSFT employee based within our AMHT. During the programme, one/two days per week is protected learning time – taken up as classroom learning, online learning, research, shadowing, project work, self-learning or directed study. The remaining three/four days will be spent on-the-job training within Service. You will be trained to deliver effective, evidence-based psychological therapies either by telephone, online, via digital platform or face-to-face (subject to covid-19 restrictions). This will be both on a one-to-one basis and in groups.

    MHWPs receive weekly case management supervision, clinical skills supervision, and training in addition to regular line management. There are clear progression routes and a wealth of opportunities for career development within Oxford Health .

    It is a programme requirement that apprentices must provide evidence of achievement of GCSE Maths and English grade C or above or grade 4 and above, or equivalent qualification as well as evidence of having studied as Level 4/5. Qualifications gained overseas will be required to be checked by NARIC for equivalency. 

    On successful completion of the programme, apprentices will be equipped with the knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes and behaviours relevant to employment as a qualified Mental health Wellbeing Practitioner within an Adult Mental health services and will progress from a Band 4 Trainee MHWP contract to a permanent Band 5 Qualified MHWP contract.

    The Trainee Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner will be required to :

  • Demonstrate the ability to work at degree level
  • Have experience of work interacting with the public, working as part of a team, analysing complex information and communicating effectively
  • Demonstrate the ability to establish and maintain empathic, supportive relationships with people in significant distress, their families and care.

    • Please note: 

  • New starters have a 6 month probationary period. This, together with the induction process aims to create a positive supportive working environment allowing new employees to learn key elements of their role over a reasonable timescale.
  • Candidates not currently employed by the Trust who attend an interview for non-qualified Band 1-5 posts are required to undertake numeracy and literacy assessments.
  • Appointment to this post is subject to the trust receiving satisfactory references covering 3 years of employment or study. Please ask your referees to respond promptly to reference requests.
  • Employees are expected to undertake mandatory and statutory training related to their role.
  • We positively encourage applications from all areas of the community, regardless of gender, race, faith, disability, age or sexual orientation and we encourage applications from users of mental health services. This is part of our commitment to equality and reflecting the diversity of our population.
  • Oxford Health is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

    • Person specification

    Qualfication/Skills/Experience

    Essential criteria

  • Batchelors degree at 2:2 in any subject for entry to Postgraduate route OR Evidence of ability to study successfully at academic Level 4 or 5 for entry to the Graduate Certificate route/ Enrolled on a programme of study for a graduate certificate (Level 6) or postgraduate certificate (Level 7) delivering the national curriculum for mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners (Adult Specialist Mental Health)

    • Experience

    Essential criteria

  • Demonstrate support for the values and beliefs of the Trust working in a trauma informed way, promoting social inclusion and challenging stigma
  • Be able to work in collaboration with the individual service user and their family and carers as appropriate to develop care plans that are focused on strengths and are outcome based

    • Desirable criteria

  • Lived experience of mental health issues/difficulties

    • Personal Qualities

    Essential criteria

  • Able to communicate in a sensitive and reassuring manner, with empathy, and where appropriate reassurance.
  • Able to establish and maintain empathic, supportive relationships with people in significant distress or who are cognitively impaired, their families and carers
  • Commitment to team and working and ability to work successfully in a team

    • Skills

    Essential criteria

  • Able to establish and maintain empathic, supportive relationships with people in significant distress or who are cognitively impaired, their families and carers
  • Demonstrate support for the values and beliefs of the Trust working in a trauma informed way, promoting social inclusion and challenging stigma

    • Desirable criteria

  • Able to deal directly with distressing or emotional circumstances when they arise

    • Benefits of working for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust include:

  • Excellent opportunities for career progression
  • 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, with an increase to 33 days with continuous service
  • NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants and retailers
  • Staff accommodation
  • Competitive pension scheme
  • Lease car scheme
  • Cycle to work scheme
  • New starters have a 6 month probationary period. This, together with the induction process aims to create a positive supportive working environment allowing new employees to learn key elements of their role over a reasonable timescale.
  • Candidates not currently employed by the Trust who attend an interview for non-qualified Band 1-5 posts are required to undertake numeracy and literacy assessments.
  • Appointment to this post is subject to the trust receiving satisfactory references covering 3 years of employment or study. Please ask your referees to respond promptly to reference requests.
  • Employees are expected to undertake mandatory and statutory training related to their role.
  • We positively encourage applications from all areas of the community, regardless of gender, race, faith, disability, age or sexual orientation and we encourage applications from users of mental health services. This is part of our commitment to equality and reflecting the diversity of our population.
  • Oxford Health is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

    • Employer certification / accreditation badges