Advanced Liaison & Diversion Practitioner - Courts

Job overview
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?
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.
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.'

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.
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Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description for the full details on the responsibilities and person specification
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.

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

Important Information:
In cases where we receive a high volume of applications for a post, it may be necessary to bring the closing date forward. Please submit your completed application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
Due to the high volume of applications received, it is not possible to respond individually to your application. Should you not hear from us within six weeks of the vacancy closing, please assume that your application has not been successful.

Probation Period. New employees external to the trust are subject to a six-month probationary period.
To deliver an effective service it is essential in some of our roles that you are able to travel between work bases in a timely manner.
Production of false or forged documents/qualifications in order to obtain employment is a criminal offence and will be reported to the Police.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check.
Certain roles are subject to criminal record checks called Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. Therefore, you will be required to submit a completed Disclosure form to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust are signed up to NHS England's Sexual Safety in Health Care Organisational Charter
The trust takes a systematic zero-tolerance approach to tackle any unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviours within the workplace and in our care provision. We are committed to sexual safety which encompasses prevention, support and decisive action against perpe