Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Lead

The iHV believes that there reallyis no health without mental health and that healthy parents and healthy parent-infant relationships are the foundation for good mental health acrossthe life course and, in turn, a healthy society. Perinatal and infant mental health is the golden thread that is woven through all our organisationalworkstreams and why its so important that we recruit someone with the passion,skills and experience to effectively lead this work.

The postholder willwork within the Innovation and Research Department to lead the perinatal andmental health portfolio of the Institute of Health Visiting.

To apply please  download and complete the required application form. All applications should be emailed along with a CV to

• To influence & strategically lead the PIMHagenda for health visiting at a national level
• To lead on the development of new iHV perinatal& infant mental health work streams
• To provide specialist expertise & leadership on the development, delivery & quality assurance of the iHV mental health training programmes and for all research and project collaborations.
• Line management of the Mental Health Team, including training and supervision, and supporting Director of Innovation and Research with any new recruitment
• Support Director of Innovation and Research toprepare PIMH-related bids and contribute to projects and practice developments where mental health expertise and input is required
• Deliver iHV training in mental health commissioned from a range of organisations and contribute to the evaluation of the delivery of the mental health programmes
• Provide specialist expertise to iHV staff or external consultants delivering perinatal and infant mental health training forhealth visitor and multi-professional groups
• Lead on the planning, development and delivery of regional Forums for perinatal and infant mental health Champions and the Specialist Health Visitor PIMH Special Interest Group
• Provide PIMH expertise and peer review toMH aspects of all iHVresearch, policy and projects
• Represent the iHV at PIMH-related regional & national meetings,steering groups & stakeholder events
• Attend relevant meetings as needed on behalf of the Director or wider team

The iHV is the leading professional body for health visiting inthe UK. With a growing membership, we are an optimistic organisation, and wecan see a bright future ahead. This role provides a unique opportunity to joinus as we seek to strengthen health visiting across the UK and improve outcomes for the babies, children, families and communities that we serve. This role is vitalto our work, supporting health visitors (and their teams) to deliver on theirkey purpose to improve health and reduce inequalities.

We offer:

• A dynamic and supportive work environment - working with a team of people who are genuinely committed to our charity's core mission and values and making the iHV a 'great place to work'.
• Hybrid and flexible working options. This post will require some UK travel.
• Holiday - 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays (pro rata for part-time staff)
• Workplace pensions - the IHV has a generous organisation pensions scheme, with 10% employer contribution and a personalised employee contributions to suit your needs.
• Team Away Days - we gather together as a whole team once a year for our 2-day away day and at regular intervals online and at our conference throughout the year.

To apply applicants must download and complete the application form and send this together with their CV to the email provided, please see this link for more info:

• Experienced trainer including as a perinatal/infant mental health Champion, and with delivering training to multi-professional and non-professional groups.
• Ability to critically appraise, synthesise and present evidence and policy on PIMH and its relevance to health visiting.
• Have well established PIMH networks and relationships at a local / national level.
• Able to demonstrate engagement with national level activities in the field of perinatal and infant mental health
• Demonstrable senior leadership skills - has successfully led practice development/quality improvement projects
• Group facilitation skills including managing group dynamics and experience of handling disruptive or challenging group members
• Has participated in committees and working groups
• Knowledge of contemporary, evidence-based, policy and research in relation to perinatal and infant mental health
• A good understanding and working knowledge of what makes an optimum integrated perinatal mental health system/pathway and the roles and responsibilities of those who may contribute to that.
• A good understanding of commissioning arrangements for PIMH in the UK
• Understanding of contemporary HV practice in PIMH and the current challenges and opportunities
• Values the importance of lived experience and coproduction
• Knowledge of how to demonstrate impact in perinatal and infant mental health, (outcome measurement tools,…