Mental Health Practitioner (Integrated Community Response)

42ND STREET - COMMUNITY BASED RESOURCE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE UNDER STRESS

31,537 - 39,152 per year (pro rata)

Manchester, Salford, Trafford, or Tameside

Full-time

JOB DESCRIPTION:
Mental Health Practitioner (Integrated Community Response)

Job title:
Grade:
Contract end
date:

Mental Health Practitioner (Integrated Community Response)
Pay scale NJC Pt.18 - Pt. 28 £31,537 - £39,152 (pro-rata)
• Single post available for the ICR role
• Fixed term 12-month contract subject to funding, with the possibility of

Annual Leave:

27 days per annum (pro rata)

extension.

Responsible
to:
Location:

Service Manager or Senior Practitioner (Integrated Community Response)

Located within community settings, primarily in Manchester, Salford, Trafford, or
Tameside but some travel across Greater Manchester. One day per week is
based at our HQ in central Manchester.

Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week (Full time).
Job Summary: You will deliver short-term, responsive de-escalation and resilience building,

solution focused, emotional wellbeing and mental health support to young
people 11–25 years old in community-based settings.

The role is in partnership with the NHS, social care and VCSE organisations so
that practitioners can respond effectively to a young person’s immediate needs.

The ICR model places 42nd Street practitioners in identified mental health, social
care and VSCE teams and community-based settings where young people
regularly present with episodes of psycho-social distress and risk.

The role also links to the Greater Manchester Children and Young Peoples Crisis
Care Pathway providing crisis stepped down support for young people in distress
(Safe Zones)

The role supports vulnerable young people who have experienced trauma.
Young people may also have experience of one of more of the following: social
care involvement; crisis presentation with a statutory mental health service;
known to or on the edge of the criminal justice system; survivor or witness of
violent crime; care experience or edge of care.

The model also includes strengthening partnership working, capacity building and
aligning of services across the system and across sectors and is expected to
reduce the need for crisis/acute services and ensure that where referrals are
made they are appropriate, high quality and meet the young people’s needs.

Specifically, the post holder will be responsible for:
• Assessing vulnerable young people that present to the service and ensuring a

young person-centred, psycho-social, advocacy approach underpins all
support interventions.

• Acting as a key practitioner for integrated delivery models in collaboration

with other organisations across Salford, Manchester and Tameside and more
widely across Greater Manchester.

• Leading on de-escalation, assessment and screening processes alongside

young people.

• Supporting young people to access appropriate services and opportunities
across education, health, social care and voluntary community and social
enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

• Delivery of timely and effective support interventions, in line with agreed

service standards and working to best practice.

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• Contributing to the 42nd Street Duty/Welcome team.
• Contribution to the learning and development of practitioners across the wider

integrated project team.

Post holders will deliver services that best support young people and integrate with
the setting that they are assigned to work with. This may mean working weekends
and anti-social hours.

Date:
Version:
Author:

October 2025
Final Version
Tim Eaton

KEY TASKS

CLINICAL:

1.1. Accept referrals via agreed protocols within the ICR partnership service, providing
. consultations to partners to enable referrals that reflect the needs of the young .
…… person.

1.2 Provide 1-1 mental health and emotional well-being support to young people, mostly

face to face (telephone, text based, and remote working are also options).

1.3. Work with young people to identify and access suitable and timely support across

health, social care and VCSE services.

1.4. As part of the 42nd Street Duty/Welcome Team screen referrals for suitability into the

organisation liaising with young people/referrers where required, provide de-escalation
support/risk assessment to young people in distress, respond promptly to enquiries
made into the organisation from young people, parents/carers and professionals.’

1.5. Formulate, implement, and deliver intervention plans with young people and partners.

1.6. Use highly developed communication skills in working with young people to

understand their personal and often very sensitive difficulties and where appropriate
advocate with them and on their behalf.

1.7. Exercise autonomous, professional responsibility for the assessment and therapeutic

support of young people in line with the service.

1.8. Educate and involve family members and others in project settings where appropriate,

conveying relevant information with sensitivity.

1.9. Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of therapeutic sessions

offered, and sessions delivered per week in order to minimise waiting times and
ensure that support remains accessible and convenient.

1.10. Attend multi-disciplinary meetings and support the workforce development across the

project

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1.11. Complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service and support

others where necessary.

1.12. Keep coherent records of all therapeutic activity in line with service protocols and

support others to do the same.

1.13. Work closely with other members of the team, in specific identified settings, ensuring
appropriate step-up and step-down arrangements are in place to maintain a stepped
care approach.

1.14. Liaise with other health and social care staff from a range of agencies in the support of
young people, ensuring integrated and joined up care plans centred around young
people’s needs.

1.15. Use regular supervision and external supervision to reflect and identify areas for

personal and professional development.

2.0 PROFESSIONAL

2.1. Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to 42nd Street and any
regulating, professional and accrediting bodies (e.g. BPS, UKCP, BABCP).

2.2. Ensure that young people’s confidentiality is always protected.

2.3. Ensure clear professional objectives are identified, discussed and reviewed on a

regular basis as part of continuing professional development (CPD).

2.4. Attend external clinical, internal managerial supervision and team meetings on a

regular basis as agreed with Manager.

2.5. Participate in individual performance review and respond to agreed objectives and

contribute to the performance review/management of colleagues where appropriate.

2.6. Keep timely, up to date records pertaining to all of your work with young people

2.7. Attend relevant conferences / workshops and training in line with identified

professional objectives.

Shared with all workers:

3.1 To ensure that the values and principles underlying the organisation's mental health
and emotional well-being support with young people are maintained and developed.
These include an active commitment to anti-discriminatory practice and to ensuring
that services are accessible to those young people who are often excluded from such
services, for example, black young people, disabled young people, gay, lesbian,
bisexual and trans young people.

3.2 To contribute to ensuring that young people have a voice within 42nd Street to

effectively influence internal practice and policy and practice and policy at a local,
regional and national level

3.3 To be aware of and ensure compliance with legal requirements and internal policies
with particular reference to information governance, data protection, confidentiality,
health and safety, and safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

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3.4 Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to 42nd Street and any

regulating, professional and accrediting bodies (e.g. BPS, BACP, HCPC, HSCIC,
UKCP, BABCP).

3.5 To contribute to the development of 42nd Street through active involvement in team

meetings, consultations and other relevant systems and structures.

3.6 To maintain all relevant information systems including monitoring, recording and

personnel systems.

3.7 To be involved in staffing 42nd Street’s Duty/Co-Worker system.

3.8 To participate in managerial and external supervision and have an active involvement

in professional development opportunities at 42nd Street

3.9 To maintain safe systems of work at all times and take care of your own safety, and

that of colleagues and others who may be affected by your activities.

3.10 To undertake any other duties that may be required which are commensurate with

your role.

3.11 To undertake any requests made by the Management Team at 42nd Street that is

relevant to this post.

3.12 To provide some of your work at times other than office hours so that the service is
accessible. This means regular evenings until 8pm (up to two per week) and some
weekends.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties, only a general guide to the post. In consultation with the
post-holder, the duties may change from time to time to reflect the changing needs of the
service

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PERSON SPECIFICATION:
Mental Health Practitioner (Integrated Community
Response)

Note to applicants: The ideal post holder should meet all the essential requirements detailed below.
Consideration will be given to desirable requirements if there are more than 6 candidates who meet all
the essential requirements. With reference to the requirements under item 5 where it is referenced
‘application’ it is sufficient to indicate agreement to commit to the identified professional areas.

SELECTION CRITERIA

METHOD OF
ASSESSMENT

ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE

Training, Qualifications & Experience
The successful candidate will have:
A relevant professional qualification in
counselling, therapy, youth work, social work or 3
years’ professional experience of working with
young people.

Experience of assessing the needs of young
people from diverse backgrounds.

✓ Application

✓ Application
✓ Interview

Experience of supporting young people who are
distressed and need support to remain safe and
to reduce risky behaviours and thoughts.
Experience of working with vulnerable young
people with complex lives and/or with mental
health difficulties.
Experience of working alongside young people to
plan, develop and evaluate support plans, using
young person-centred approaches.
Experience in working closely with a variety of
multi-disciplinary professionals across agencies
and sectors.
Experience of delivering training to multi-
disciplinary teams.
Knowledge
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
Understanding the needs of young people
including an awareness of issues of diversity and
the social and cultural context of their lives.
Knowledge of the broad issues surrounding
emotional wellbeing / mental health services for
young people.
Proficient ICT skills including use of Microsoft
Office applications.
A working understanding of risk management
including safeguarding, confidentiality and data
protection.
Skills & Abilities
The successful candidate will be able to:
Engage young people individually and in groups
using creative and young person-centred
methods, models and processes.
Liaise with and develop key relationships with
partners and colleagues.

✓ Application
✓ Interview

✓ Application

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

2.0

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

3.0

3.1

3.2

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3.3

3.4

Communicate positively, effectively and
sensitively in person and in writing with a variety
of audiences.

Plan, organise and prioritise own workload and
manage time effectively.

✓ Application
✓ Interview

✓ Application
✓ Interview.

4.0

4.1

✓ Application

Professional Commitment
The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate commitment to:
Ensuring that issue of equality and a respect for
diversity is reflected in all aspects of work.
4.2 Work at locations across Salford and Manchester
and be prepared to work some evenings,
weekends and anti-social hours.
Continued professional development through
undertaking training and participating in other
learning opportunities.
Recognition of the need to be accountable for
work through supervision, performance
management and other relevant processes.

✓ Application

4.3

4.4

4.5 Work as part of a team, contributing to 42nd

Street’s effectiveness, quality of services, skills
and expertise.

✓ Application

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