Adult Specialist Dietitian

Job summary

Are you an experienced Dietitian looking to make a real difference in mental health care? Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a dynamic and innovative Lead Dietitian for Inpatient Mental Health Services to champion nutrition as a key part of recovery and wellbeing across our inpatient services.

In this role, you will provide expert dietetic assessment and intervention for individuals with complex mental health needs, lead service development initiatives, support catering and food standards across mental health sites, and promote evidence-based, person-centred care. You will work closely with multidisciplinary teams, influence policy and practice.

We are looking for an HCPC-registered Dietitian with substantial post-registration experience, excellent communication and leadership skills, and a passion for improving physical health outcomes for people experiencing mental illness.

You will be supported by a well-established multidisciplinary team and benefit from strong professional links with Dietetic colleagues across the Trust, ensuring opportunities for collaboration, peer support, and continued professional development.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape and develop the dietetic service within our mental health inpatient service, work autonomously at an advanced level, and contribute to innovative models of care across Somerset. Travel across multiple sites will be required.

Main duties of the job

• To provide highly specialist dietetic advice/input and training throughout mental health inpatient services within the Trust.
• To take a lead role in supporting a Trust-wide Nutrition and Dietetic Service for mental health inpatient services.
• To work with catering services to ensure the Trust's catering provisions are fit for purpose and meet national guidelines for hospital food standards.
• To provide highly specialised dietetic assessments and interventions to individuals or groups of clients with mental health illness or learning disabilities admitted to a mental health inpatient ward.
• To provide clinical supervision, support and training to band 5 and 6 Dietitians and Dietetics Students, with the aim of upskilling the wider dietetic workforce in supporting patients with mental health difficulties in other care settings.
• To carry out delegated tasks in policy and service development.

This post often involves working with people who are highly distressed, and being faced with severe behavioural, emotional and mental health issues, verbal and physical aggression, highly distressing self-injurious behaviour, family breakdown, physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect.

About us

At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:

Flexible working options to help you balance work and life

NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security

Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax

A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential

Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.

We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.

Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.

The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.

Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.