Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust is dedicated to improving the lives of people with Complex Emotional and Relational Needs (CERN), previously called ‘personality disorder’. Our clients have complex presentations and require tailored, compassionate support. Our innovative, collaborative approach includes Structured Clinical Management (SCM), as part of the CERN pathway. Our Link Workers and Practitioners in the SCM team work together, alongside our service users, to deliver effective, structured, complex case management. Link Workers work to establish meaningful engagement with people who may not yet be ready to access the full SCM treatment programme.
We are delighted to be recruiting to this new role in Bury SCM team, established through new funding for our developing CERN pathway. We are seeking a dynamic, thoughtful, and empathic SCM Link Worker to join our Bury SCM team and wider CERN Pathway. In this pivotal role, you will work with a small, dedicated caseload of clients with complex needs, providing stabilisation, assessment, formulation, and intervention. You will be supported to do this through training, individual, and group supervision. You will be part of a team, working proactively to tailor outreach, bridging support to help guide individuals towards appropriate therapeutic care in the SCM or wider CERN pathway.
Key Responsibilities
• Complex Case Management:Provide person-centred, trauma-informed support to individuals presenting with complex emotional and relational needs, including high-risk presentations.
• Outreach and Engagement:Build trusting relationships with individuals who may be reluctant or ambivalent about accessing formal therapeutic interventions.
• Risk Assessment and Mitigation:Conduct thorough assessments of clinical risk and safety planning in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams.
• Bridge to SCM:Prepare clients for structured therapeutic engagement by delivering preparatory interventions, psychoeducation, and emotional support.
• Collaborative Working:Work closely with mental health professionals, community services, and other stakeholders to ensure holistic care and coordinated service delivery.
• Support Planning:Develop and implement personalised care plans that reflect the individual’s goals, strengths, and challenges.
• Team Working:Working collaboratively with colleagues in SCM and the wider CERN pathway in a thoughtful, reflective way.
• Learning:Adopting a reflective approach to life-long learning, accepting compassionate, constructive feedback, and supporting others to develop and learn.
The Trust is committed to the following values
Kindness--we believe that care and compassion underpin everything
Fairness-- we work together towards a fairer, more just and equal society.
Ingenuity--we are resourceful and innovative in developing better solutions
Determination--we are courageous, tenacious and ambitious for what we can achieve together.
Main Duties & Responsibilities
• To provide psychological formulation, mental health and risk assessments for service users referred to the service with complex needs
• To demonstrate the application of specialist skills and knowledge in giving specialist advice to colleagues and other agencies on approaches to service users with CERN needs.
• To act as case holder for a group of people with CERN needs, working to best practice guidelines and in a psychologically minded, trauma informed way.
• To ensure that service users social care needs are assessed under the Care Act and addressed according to locality/ service procedures
• To work with service users and carers collaboratively as equal partners in care.
• To demonstrate high level communication skills to facilitate effective communication even where there are barriers to understanding and utilise highly developed interpersonal and negotiation skills in highly emotive, antagonistic situations
• To develop in collaboration with the service user care plans and safety plans designed to provide a personalised approach to managing risk behaviours and suicidality in the context of personality disorder maximising choice and control for the service user
• To lead on multi-agency approaches to care with other health and social care providers, the Police and ambulance service to provide a consistent approach to and understanding of the service user needs
• To lead/ contribute to group therapeutic approaches with this client group using a structured clinical management framework
• To prepare/ encourage service users towards specific treatment approaches such as SCM or therapy as appropriate
• To provide therapeutic 1-1 sessions for service users working to specified agreed goals and outcomes
• To make onward referrals and signpost to other services including VCSE and neighbourhood services to enable wrap around, holistic support for service users undergoing treatment to meet a broad range of need
• To provide specific training for teams and services as required
• To delegate for team manager when required and represent the team/ service when required to do so at other forums
• To provide specialist supervision to other practitioners as directed
• In conjunction with team managers, other practitioners, service users and carers to develop and maintain the SOP for the service
• To take a QI approach to continuously develop the service in conjunction with the team, service users and carers
• To lead on investigations, IRs and complaints responses as directed and ensure any learning is embedded in changes to practice
• To be involved in team recruitment and selection as directed
• To be involved in the training, preceptorship and development of junior staff members and learners and students from all disciplines
• To assist team managers in the appropriate use of resources in the team and ensuring the team budget is balanced
• Participate in data collection, meeting team KPIs, audit and research as necessary and directed.
Managerial
• To provide strong leadership and vision to the team maintaining robust quality assurance to enable a safe high quality service to be delivered.
• To direct staff and provide expert advice and guidance on the management of service users care.
• To ensure that work allocated to staff is commensurate with their skill set and level of training.
• To manage and maintain systems for planning and allocation of work and for the setting and reviewing of targets, standards and priorities to the team.
• To ensure professional supervision systems are in place.
• To participate in the recruitment and appointment of staff within agreed HR procedures.
• To hold regular team meetings and develop the team.
• To respond to enquiries and complaints within the framework of the complaints procedure.
• To work in partnership with other statutory, independent sector and other agencies, in the effective discharge of the duties of the post.
• To manage staff sickness through the agreed sickness management policy/procedures and to provide regular monitoring reports to the line manager.
• To deal appropriately with clinical incidents and complaints in accordance with trust policies.
• Ensure all staff are appropriately trained to meet the requirements of their role and any issues with performance are addressed.
• To work with and monitor performance indicators to achieve key performance indicators.
• To ensure all resources are used effectively and efficiently and within budget.
• To be signatory for the team and ensure all financial procedures are administered according to the Trust Standing Financial Instructions.
• To contribute to audits as required, providing relevant data as required in line with performance monitoring targets.
This job description is not exhaustive, but is intended to give an overall picture of the role. Other duties within the general scope of the post may be required from time to time. The duties of the post and job description can be reviewed through the agreed process.
This advert closes on Wednesday 2 Apr 2025