Mental Health Officer (Senior Practitioner) - EAL12664

Vacancy Information

Hourly rate of pay: £26.09 - £29.14

Days and Hours of Work: Monday - Friday, 09:00-17:00 Starting and finishing times are flexible, and flexi time is applicable. To start 1st August 2026.

Are you passionate about making a real difference in people’s lives? Join East Lothian's Health and Social Care Partnership as a Mental Health Officer and be part of a progressive, supportive service where your skills, judgement and compassion truly matter. Working in one of Scotland’s most beautiful and diverse local authority areas, you’ll play a key role in promoting recovery, rights and independence for individuals experiencing mental ill health. You’ll work collaboratively with health colleagues, social work teams, families and partner agencies, contributing to high quality assessments, care planning and statutory duties under mental health legislation. We are proud of our strong partnership working, approachable leadership and commitment to professional development. You’ll be supported with regular supervision, reflective practice, training opportunities and a culture that values staff wellbeing as much as the wellbeing of the people we support. Whether you’re experienced or looking to further develop your MHO practice, East Lothian offers the space to grow, influence and feel valued. Interviews for this position will take place on the 24th of June 2026.

Home / Hybrid Working

Consideration Applications for home or hybrid working will be considered for this post in accordance with East Lothian Council’s Home Working and Worksmart Policies which can be found here . Home or Hybrid working options can be discussed with candidates invited for interview.

Please Note: All home/hybrid workers must live in the UK. Where an application for home-working is supported, it will be subject to a satisfactory trial period. Employees will be expected to attend Council offices for the duration of induction, and be on site in East Lothian workplaces, as required. Employees with a hybrid working arrangement in place will be office based and able to work from home, with permission, on an ad hoc basis.

Job Details

• To work as part of a Mental Health Officers’ team providing a responsive and needs led service.
• To provide a high standard of Mental Health Officer and Social Work practice that ensures appropriate services are provided to meet clients’ needs within the department’s statutory obligations and departmental policies and procedures.

Please download the Job Outline/Person Specification (available under 'Job Attachments') for the full range of tasks and duties associated with this job. You will need to refer to these in order to complete the application form. You must ensure you meet every 'essential' criteria stated on the Person Specification to be considered for interview.

The ‘ East Lothian Way’ – values and behaviours we expect our employees to demonstrate in their everyday work. Should you be invited to interview, you may be asked questions based on these behaviours. Please refer to the document via the link to familiarise yourself with them.

Job Requirements

• Relevant Qualifications Degree in Social Work (or other recognised Social Work Qualification i.e. CQSW, Dip SW, CCETSW) and relevant post qualifying award(s) in Mental Health. SSSC registration is an essential requirement of this role. If you are appointed and are not already a member of the relevant section of the SSSC Register, you will be required to apply for registration within 3 months of your start date to ensure that you are registered within the required 6 months.
• Driving Licence As the duties of this role require you to effectively travel to successfully undertake the full remit of the role, you must hold a current driving licence and have access to a vehicle.* (*Where a disability precludes you from obtaining a driving licence, ELC will take into account its responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to allow for your disability.)
• PVG Membership This post is considered as a Regulated Role with vulnerable children and/or protected adults, as specified in the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020. All preferred candidates for posts carrying out regulated work with these groups will be required to become a PVG Scheme member, or undergo a PVG Scheme update if they are already a member, prior to any formal offer of employment being made by East Lothian Council. Please note: PVG member’s records are constantly updated with any new vetting information that arises. Any information that is disclosed on a PVG membership or update check, if relevant to the post being applied for, will be discussed with the applicant and investigated prior to any formal offer being made. Please note: If you have spent more than 3 months working or living out with the UK in the last 5 years then you will be required to present a copy of an overseas criminal record check. Details of how to apply and contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Additional Information

For additional East Lothian Council employment information please click on the following link: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/nonteachinginfo

If you have any difficulties creating an account on MyJobScotland or applying for this post please contact the MyJobScotland support team via this link https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/contact-us .

If you require further information about this vacancy, please call 01620 827868, or email us on recruitment@eastlothian.gov.uk

Please note: We do not accept CV's (either electronically or by mail). All our vacancies must be applied for by fully completing the on-line application form. Although there is an ‘import data from my CV’ function on MyJobScotland, this only imports very limited data and should not be relied upon to complete the application form. If, for example, due to a disability, you are unable to complete the on-line application form you can contact us for a paper application via the telephone number or email address above.