Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP)

How You'll Make a Difference

As an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP), you will play a vital role in supporting people experiencing significant mental health difficulties, ensuring they receive the right intervention at the right time. Using your professional judgement and expertise, you will make complex decisions that safeguard individuals, uphold their rights and promote positive outcomes for some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

Working within an integrated Health and Social Care model, you will collaborate with a range of partner agencies and services. This includes maintaining close working relationships with Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP), which provides integrated mental health services across South Gloucestershire, to deliver effective and coordinated support.

What You Will Be Doing

• Using your professional judgement to make legally accountable decisions, you will ensure individuals receive appropriate support, protection and intervention, while adhering to safeguarding procedures and relevant legislation.
• Working collaboratively with partner agencies and services within an integrated Health and Social Care model, you will build strong working relationships with AWP to deliver effective mental health services across South Gloucestershire.
• A key aspect of your role will be considering and prioritising referrals for Mental Health Act assessments, undertaking these in line with service priorities.
• Maintaining an AMHP portfolio, you will evidence Mental Health Act assessments, statutory practice and continuous professional development, while ensuring practice reflects current legislation, policy and best practice.
• Providing specialist advice, guidance, support and supervision to colleagues, you will help to ensure casework decisions are made in accordance with agreed procedures, legislation and professional standards. You will also undertake supervision of social work and AMHP students as required.
• You may be involved with preparing reports for Mental Health Review Tribunals, attending tribunal hearings, and ensuring client records and case management systems are maintained accurately and kept up to date.
• As required, you may undertake the role of social supervisor, for individuals subject to conditional discharge orders.

What We Need From You

• It is essential that you hold a degree in social work, are registered with Social Work England, and have successfully completed an AMHP qualification.
• You will have substantial post-qualification experience within mental health services, with a sound understanding of the challenges and complexities associated with supporting individuals experiencing mental health.
• We are looking for someone with excellent verbal and written communication skills, alongside the ability to complete high-quality assessments, develop outcome-focused support plans, and communicate recommendations, decisions and risks effectively to service users, families, carers and professionals.
• You must have a strong understanding of current social care legislation, safeguarding procedures and best practice.
• We require you to have experience of managing and prioritising a varied caseload, ensuring competing demands are balanced effectively and work is completed within required timescales.
• You will be required to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to continuous professional development, with the ability to maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, statutory guidance and developments in mental health and social care practice.

What You Need To Know

• You will be expected to travel throughout the authority and surrounding area so you must have a full, valid driving licence with regular access to a vehicle or have an alternative means of travel.
• Business insurance will need to be added to your insurance policy and you can claim back mileage expenses.
• Please note that due to the nature of this role, it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained.
• This role is hybrid, predominantly you will be required to work in the office or within the community, with occasional days working at home.

Interviews are likely to be held week commencing 16th November 2026.

How a Career At South Gloucestershire Council Is Different

• As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities.
• We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.
• If you want to develop a specialism, you’ll get the support you need and your cases will be aligned with your areas of expertise.
• Seniors and managers will genuinely listen at panel and will support you to ensure your service user’s needs are met.
• What’s special here is the strength of the team ethos. We are a relatively small local authority, so managers know staff well. They can plan their services to ensure teams have manageable caseloads and have effective supervision so feel supported to make decisions which are right for the children and young people they work with.
• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Ensuring all our staff are given right skills, knowledge and support to recognise and respond effectively to potential abuse or neglect.

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here.

• We're building and shaping communities which people are proud of.
• We're working with the most vulnerable in our community to help them achieve what they want in life.
• We're investing in our schools to ensure every child and young person in South Gloucestershire achieves their full potential.

We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference.

We’re making a difference, be part of it!

To view the full job description, please click this link: Approved Mental Health Professional - Job Description