Full job descriptionERA Team Assistant Psychologist/FacilitatorBand 5Main area

Forensic and Clinical Psychology
Grade

Band 5
Contract

6 months (Secondment or Fixed Term possible)
Hours
*Full time
*Home or remote working
37.5 hours per week (Working on-site on Tuesdays; other days can be remote working or in office)
Job ref

367-LD&F-101601
Site

3 Bowlers Green, Radlett, WD7 9HQ
Town

Radlett
Salary

£33,677 - £40,996 per annum pro rata (inclusive of 5% HCAS)
Salary period

Yearly
Closing

23/09/2026 23:59
Values Based ScreenerAt Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust we are looking for people to join us who share our values and those of the NHS. Before your application can be considered please take part on our online values questionnaire, which you can find below. When you have finished you will be sent a ’completion code’ by email, which will be valid for 6 months and required to submit your application form.


Job overviewWe have an exciting opportunity to try out working with the ERA-ROCS (Enhanced Risk Assessment - Risk to Others Service) as part of cover for one of our very good facilitators/assistant psychologists. We will welcome secondment applications (please get approval from your current line manager in advance) or applicants looking for a Fixed Term Contract.
The purpose of this post is to support colleagues working within Adult Mental Health Services to develop their understanding and skills in identifying, assessing, and managing risk to others posed by some service users, who may not reach the threshold for Forensic Services, so that our colleagues can ensure that our service users can better engage with their treatment, remain in services, and improve their overall risk against others. This will involve supporting staff by facilitating Enhanced Risk Assessment (ERAs) meetings, Risk Management Plan meetings, and Consultations; attending AMH team meetings to discuss the ERA process and support decision-making regarding risk; contributing to training for AMH staff about assessing and working with risk; and as part of this process formulating risk and developing management plans with staff.
We do not work directly with service users within ERA; instead, our focus is on helping our colleagues (both within HPFT and from external agencies) to develop robust formulations and management plans that positively impact upon our service users and the community.
Main duties of the jobThe primary duty of this post is to ensure that all colleagues within HPFT have access to appropriate guidance and support to work with service users who pose a potential risk to others. The way that we do this includes several different key areas:
*You will increase the awareness of the team’s work to teams within HPFT

*You will conduct Consultations with colleagues who refer service user cases to us, help facilitate Risk Management Plan Meetings with colleagues to create more robust plans to handle risk, and lead or support facilitate Enhanced Risk Assessment Meetings with multiple agencies

*Write up useful and accurate Consultation Records, Risk Management Plans, and ERAs in a timely fashion, taking advice and guidance from the Clinical Lead, and ensuring that the written work is disseminated appropriately

*Help develop and lead on training programmes for our colleagues on working with risk

*Collect and maintain the data that we collect on our work, take part in audits and evaluations, and support service development plans and growth

*Be aware of and responsive to changing need within the wider service, to ensure that our work is addressing the needs of our colleagues for working with risk

Working for our organisationHertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of ’Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.
Our family of over 4000 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.
The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:
Our Trust values are:
Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.
These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!
Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?
Then please read on…
Detailed job description and main responsibilitiesWhilst we welcome all applications from all suitable candidates, unfortunately, we will not be offering sponsorship for this role.
This post will be located within the LD & Forensic Business unit of the Trust although the key relationships will be with colleagues from the Adult Mental Health Services, i.e. Crisis Teams, Inpatient services, PMHTR, PATH team.
Much of the work is done remotely, with regular weekly supervision and meetings in-person and virtually to support team and service development. Supervision and line management for the post will come from the Clinical Lead for the ERA Team, a principal clinical psychologist.
Duties and Responsibilities :
This post will work closely with the other two assistant psychologists in the team.
Each of the assistant psychologists will conduct brief Consultations with colleagues who have made a referral to our team, which allows us to get information about why a service user has been referred, understand what is happening within that risk profile, and provide recommendations for management or additional risk assessments.
Where the initial Consultation is not sufficient to create a robust management plan, recommendations may be made to complete a Risk Management Plan meeting (with the support of a second AP where needed) wherein additional colleagues may be invited to provide more information and context for the service user’s care and management. In these instances, the AP will take the lead in...