Job summary

Do you have, an interest in mental health, compassion for others and work well with people? Would you like to support a team of people delivering psychological interventions to people with common mental health problems in primary care? This Assistant Practitioner is an excellent opportunity to work as part of a progressive and high achieving Talking Therapies service.

The Western Cheshire Talking Therapies Service is seeking a highly motivated individual with excellent communication skills to join our well established, innovative, and successful Talking Therapies team.

The Trust currently supports the Real Living Wage (RLW) hourly rate as set by the Living Wage Federation and will apply a pay supplement if the national A4C hourly rate falls below this.

Main duties of the job

The Assistant Practitioner role in Talking Therapies has recently been introduced to provide non-clinical support to Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and is an excellent opportunity for any applicant who wishes to pursue a career within Primary Care Mental Health. The role is unique in that it is tailor made to strengthen the delivery of the Talking Therapies Step 2 service. It has developed over a number of years and is continually evolving to meet changing service demands.

Assistant Practitioners work under the direction of our qualified Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWP). Their level of training and experience means Assistant Practitioners can often work alone, without supervision, referring to a professional for guidance when necessary.

Please see Job Description for further details.

About us

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP) provides health and care services for a population of over one million people, including mental health, learning disability, community physical health and all-age disability care, as well as the provision of three GP surgeries in Cheshire.

We employ around 4,500 staff across 73 sites and have services across Wirral and Cheshire, as well as Trafford, Warrington, Bolton, Halton and Liverpool. We also provide specialist services for the North West as a whole.

Our aim is to help improve the lives of everyone in our communities, adopting a compassionate, person-centred approach to everything we do. We are rated as Outstanding for Caring by the Care Quality Commission, with a Good rating overall.

As a Disability Confident Employer, Rainbow Badge Scheme member, Veteran Aware organisation and proud holder of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, CWP is committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible and developing a culture that values differences, and welcome applications from people who have direct experience of accessing our services.We also offer up to three weeks' induction, with our Prepare to Care programme for all new starters. This aims to give you all the knowledge and guidance to help you hit the ground running with CWP.

Whether you are just starting out in your career or looking to use your existing skills and experience in a new role, you'll find something to suit you at CWP.

Date posted

14 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,071 to £25,674 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

373-SMH2375

Job locations

Psychology Department, 1829 Building

Bowmere Hospital, Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1BQ

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please download a copy of the job description (see documents to download section below) for full details of the main responsibilities for this role.

At CWP, our recruitment selection processes are based on both competence (see person specification for details) and values.

CWP recruits people that can demonstrate the Trusts Values in their everyday life and we use a values-based approach in our interviews, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and think about how these align with your own personal values. The supporting information section in your application should reflect your understanding of the Trusts Values and associated behaviours and you should provide examples from your work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviours.

An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page. Further help and support for completing your application can be accessed via our website. If you need any further guidance to help you complete your application, contact our recruitment team via email at: cwp.recruitment@nhs.net or by calling 01244 393100.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post and encourages applications from armed forces reservists or cadet force adult volunteers.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16 per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team CWP very soon!