Out of Hours Mental Health Officer​/Co-ordinator

Out of Hours Mental Health Officer/Co-ordinator

Lochgelly, Fife, United Kingdom and 1 more

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Proposed Interview Date:
Interviews will be ongoing throughout the advertising period

Closing Date:

Thursday 1 October 2026

Contract Type:
Permanent

Salary: FC9 £47,604.34 and £57,196.54 pro rata

Working Pattern:24 hours per week

Location:

St Andrews Church Community Hub, Lochgelly

Supporting Statement

As part of your application, you must provide us with a Supporting Statement which outlines to us how your skills and experience make youa good candidate for this vacancy. For more information, check out the How to Apply section of our Career Site.
Without a Supporting Statement, your application will not be progressed. Please upload your Supporting Statement at the section marked ‘upload resumé’.Your Supporting Statement must not be a CV. More information is available on our Career site at .

Are you an experienced Mental Health Officer looking for a senior practitioner role that offers autonomy, variety and a genuine work-life balance?

We are looking for an experienced and accredited Mental Health Officer (MHO) to join Fife's Emergency Out of Hours Service as a Co-ordinator (Senior Practitioner). This is a unique opportunity to combine advanced statutory mental health practice with leadership responsibilities within a small, highly skilled team. You will lead decision-making during shifts, support colleagues through complex situations and make a meaningful difference when people need help most.

Working an average of just three shifts per week, you ll benefit from four days free most weeks while maintaining a senior practitioner role. This post is 24 hours per week (0.65 FTE) and attracts a full-time equivalent salary of £47,604 to £57,196, plus unsocial hours enhancements.

This is not a traditional social work post. As the senior practitioner on shift, you will have the autonomy to make complex decisions, lead responses to high-risk situations and provide professional leadership across a range of adult and children's services. The role offers a rare breadth of practice across adult services, child protection, mental health, emergency interventions and multi-agency partnership working, meaning no two shifts are the same.

You'll join a small, supportive and highly experienced team consisting of a Team Manager, three Co-ordinators and three Social Workers, supported by a dedicated group of relief staff. We value professional judgement, collaborative practice and mutual support, recognising the demands of out of hours work and the importance of staff wellbeing.

While you will lead operational decision-making during your shifts, you will be supported by experienced colleagues, established procedures and strong partnerships with Police Scotland, NHS Fife and other emergency services. The role also provides opportunities to further develop advanced risk assessment, emergency decision-making, leadership and statutory mental health practice.

As the Co-ordinator/Senior Practitioner on shift, you will oversee service delivery, support staff and ensure that individuals at risk receive a timely and appropriate response. The Out of Hours Service responds across all areas of social work practice, including adult and child protection, and undertakes statutory duties under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.

You will be part of a rolling rota covering:

Evenings and weekends.

Overnight on-call / standby arrangements.

Public holidays.

The role requires flexibility and the ability to travel across Fife, including overnight.

The Person

In this role, you will:

Take responsibility for the overall co-ordination of the shift, ensuring effective decision-making and safe practice.

Provide leadership, direction, advice and support to Social Workers and Social Work Assistants.

Assess incoming information and determine appropriate responses to risk.

Co-ordinate and oversee urgent assessments and interventions.

Undertake statutory Mental Health Officer duties in line with the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, including co-ordinating and participating in Mental Health Act…