Band 7 Perinatal Infant Mental Health Specialist - Chippenham

Job summary

The BSW Specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health Service is looking for a Perinatal Infant Mental Health Specialist to join our team, covering the BaNES, Swindon, and Wiltshire (BSW) area.

The team is multidisciplinary, providing support for women who experience serious mental health problems or present with a high risk of relapse during pregnancy and the postnatal period. We offer assessment and treatment aimed at addressing mental ill health and enhancing the mother-infant relationship where mental health needs have impacted this. We provide multi-agency training in perinatal mental health to other professionals and agencies working with women in the perinatal period, in addition to offering consultation and advice. Currently, the team works alongside women and their families from pregnancy until their infant's first birthday.

This post is suitable for experienced and professionally registered Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, or Clinical Psychologists, with additional postgraduate training in infant mental health or other equivalent qualifications. You must also have experience of working with women in the perinatal period.

Main duties of the job

The role of the Perinatal Infant Mental Health Specialist (PIMHS) is to provide specialist parent-infant assessment, interventions, and supervision within the Specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health Service, with the aim of:

• Providing early identification, intervention, and health promotion regarding infant/early years' mental health
• Facilitating access to specialist/core CAMHS
• Developing and coordinating training on issues relating to infant mental health
• Providing supervision to Nursery Nurses and other MDT staff
• Delivering parent-infant interventions within the service
• Ensuring the voice of the infant is central to care delivery and service development

The post-holder will be part of a multi-disciplinary Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Team and will contribute to service development from an infant mental health perspective to meet the needs of a population with wide social and cultural diversity.

For a full list of duties and responsibilities, please see the attached job description.

About us

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust), a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We deliver services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire, and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees provide better care.

AWP is committed to supporting and creating a positive research and evidence-based environment and culture, which can have a beneficial impact on everyone who works for the organisation and the care we provide to those who use our services.

At AWP, we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities, and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives, and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Details

Date posted

29 December 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

342-SS178-1225

Job locations

Hathaway Medical Centre

Middlefield Road

Chippenham

SN14 6GT

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Direct work with parents and infants as appropriate predominantly short term, but some longer term as clinically indicated
• Working with the network and other agencies involved with referred cases
• Attending complex case team discussions, case conferences, and professionals meetings as required
• Providing supervision to Nursery Nurses and other MDT staff delivering parentinfant interventions within the service
• Providing consultation sessions to Health Visitors and Childrens Centres
• Offering telephone consultation to potential referrers about cases causing concern

For a full list of duties and responsibilities, please see the attached job description.

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Direct work with parents and infants as appropriate predominantly short term, but some longer term as clinically indicated
• Working with the network and other agencies involved with referred cases
• Attending complex case team discussions, case conferences, and professionals meetings as required
• Providing supervision to Nursery Nurses and other MDT staff delivering parentinfant interventions within the service
• Providing consultation sessions to Health Visitors and Childrens Centres
• Offering telephone consultation to potential referrers about cases causing concern

For a full list of duties and responsibilities, please see the attached job description.

Person Specification

Education and Qualification

Essential

• Qualified Allied Health Professional (SW, OT, RMN) and current registration under appropriate professional body (HCPC, NMC) with additional post graduate training in Diploma in Infant mental health or other equivalent qualifications or Clinical Psychology, qualified child and adolescent psychotherapists or other appropriate qualification to doctoral level and current membership of appropriate professional body (e.g. BPS, BCP, ACP, HPC).
• UK driving license and access to a vehicle for work purposes.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Substantial knowledge of infant development and parent - infant mental health issues.
• Knowledge and experience of delivery of a range of therapeutic models and interventions and their application to infant mental health problems (e.g. watch, wait and wonder, VIG, NBO etc).
• Experience and knowledge of working with complex families where there is serious concerns about parenting and safeguarding.
• Knowledge and awareness of safeguarding procedures and anti-discriminatory practice.
• Experience of working with women presenting with perinatal mental health needs and knowledge of demographic risk factors for this client group.
• Experience of offering supervision.
• Experience of teaching, training and consultation.

Person Specification

Education and Qualification

Essential

• Qualified Allied Health Professional (SW, OT, RMN) and current registration under appropriate professional body (HCPC, NMC) with additional post graduate training in Diploma in Infant mental health or other equivalent qualifications or Clinical Psychology, qualified child and adolescent psychotherapists or other appropriate qualification to doctoral level and current membership of appropriate professional body (e.g. BPS, BCP, ACP, HPC).
• UK driving license and access to a vehicle for work purposes.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Substantial knowledge of infant development and parent - infant mental health issues.
• Knowledge and experience of delivery of a range of therapeutic models and interventions and their application to infant mental health problems (e.g. watch, wait and wonder, VIG, NBO etc).
• Experience and knowledge of working with complex families where there is serious concerns about parenting and safeguarding.
• Knowledge and awareness of safeguarding procedures and anti-discriminatory practice.
• Experience of working with women presenting with perinatal mental health needs and knowledge of demographic risk factors for this client group.
• Experience of offering supervision.
• Experience of teaching, training and consultation.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Address

Hathaway Medical Centre

Middlefield Road

Chippenham

SN14 6GT

Employer's website

http://www.awp.nhs.uk/about-us/working-for-us/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Address

Hathaway Medical Centre

Middlefield Road

Chippenham

SN14 6GT

Employer's website

http://www.awp.nhs.uk/about-us/working-for-us/ (Opens in a new tab)