Professional Skills Instructor/Mentor in Mental Health Nursing

Subject Lead for Mental Health and Learning Disability Nursing

Location

All Derby Sites

Tuesday 20 October 2026

£32,942 to £36,977 per annum(for exceptional performers, there is scope for further progression up to £42,523.55 per annum).

Hybrid
This role will be based on site, primarily in the named location with the opportunity to work remotely available in line with our Adaptive Working Framework.

We have one simple promise - to make a positive impact. Through our ground-breaking research, teaching excellence and commitment to sustainable living, we are changing lives for the better.

The University of Derby is a modern university with a modern outlook. Everything we do is driven by delivering excellence and opportunities for our students, our staff and our region.

We have some of the best university facilities in the UK and achieve outstanding results for our teaching and research and have been awarded Gold in the prestigious Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 - making it one of the top universities in the country recognised for its outstanding student experience and student outcomes.

Financially strong and seriously ambitious we offer our employees an inclusive culture that centres itself around staff wellbeing, where you can be confident you will receive all the help and encouragement you need to build a rewarding career with lots of opportunities to enhance your skills.

At the heart of shaping future professionals and creative thinkers, the College of Health and Humanities brings together three dynamic and diverse schools:

School of Nursing and Midwifery
Preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals through hands-on learning, expert teaching, and strong industry partnerships. Our courses are designed to meet the demands of real-world practice and improve the health and wellbeing of our communities.

The School is made up of a broad range of subjects, reflecting the diversity and complexity of modern health and social care settings:

• Adult Nursing
• Associate and Enhanced Healthcare Practice
• Midwifery, Children’s Nursing and Professional Practice
• Mental Health and Learning Disability Nursing

School of Health, Sport and Rehabilitation

From state-of-the-art clinical simulation suites and specialist sport facilities to valuable placement opportunities, the School of Health, Sport and Rehabilitation focuses on ensuring our student graduate ready for the challenges of modern healthcare, sport and rehabilitation. Our career-focused courses are designed with industry partners and delivered by experienced academics and practitioners.

Through an integrated approach to learning and professional development, our students are equipped with the knowledge, values, and skills to thrive in their chosen fields and make a lasting impact.

School of Humanities, Law and Creative Arts
Celebrating creativity, critical thinking, and cultural exploration. This school nurtures writers, performers, thinkers and artists, offering opportunities to grow intellectually and creatively across subjects like English, History, Creative Writing, Fine Art, and Media.

Whether exploring the past, shaping future policy, telling powerful stories, or creating inspiring work, our students develop the skills and confidence to contribute meaningfully to society and the creative industries.

Together, the College of Health and Humanities delivers a rich, interdisciplinary environment where students gain the skills, experience, and inspiration to make a meaningful impact in society.

About the discipline

At the University of Derby, our discipline of Mental Health and Learning Disability Nursing is committed to developing compassionate, resilient, and skilled professionals who are ready to make a real difference in the lives of individuals and communities.

Rooted in the values of dignity, inclusion, and person-centred care, our programmes prepare students to support people with complex mental health needs and learning disabilities across a variety of settings. We focus on evidence-based practice, interdisciplinary learning, and service-user engagement, ensuring graduates are confident and capable in delivering safe, high-quality care.

With a strong emphasis on clinical placements, professional development, and emotional intelligence, this discipline nurtures future nurses who are advocates for change and champions of mental health and learning disability services.

Our Professional Skills Instructor/Mentors will support the development of professional skills, practical technical, vocational, and associated learning for students and apprentices and, where necessary, support their individual learning needs and progress monitoring both in the workplace, on placement, at alternative venues, on College/University premises or online.

This will include supporting teaching, learning, and assessment, and the provision of work and learning mentoring and coaching. Your role will be to work with our academic teams to support our students develop to their full potential. You will be required to work across all Derby Sites as well as Chesterfield Campus.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Supporting teaching, learning, and assessment
• Mentoring and coaching to enhance learning and growth
• Monitoring progress and addressing individual learning needs
• Maintaining accurate records of both formal and informal training activities

If you’re committed to helping learners succeed and thrive in their careers, we’d love to hear from you!

We're looking for healthcare professionals who have an interest in education and supporting students to achieve highly. This role is suitable for anyone at any stage of their professional career for example early-career professionals or those considering a change from clinical work. We value all of your knowledge and skills, from whichever field of practice you are in.

We are seeking a healthcare professional with a relevant degree and current NMC registration as a Mental Health Nurse, who holds or is willing to work towards a teaching qualification and can demonstrate continued professional development in mentoring or coaching. We would also be able to consider candidates who are registered with the NMC as a Nursing Associate, provided your experience is within Mental Health.

You will bring experience from the health or care sectors, with the ability to engage learners and deliver high-quality outcomes through strong communication, organisation, and time-management skills.

You will be confident working both independently and as part of a team, committed to widening participation and supporting professional development, and flexible in working across multiple sites and with external partners.

• To plan and deliver professional, practical, technical, vocational and associated theoretical learning activities for students and apprentices including training, support for learning and assessment using a variety of methods both on and off the job.
• Prepare suitable learning materials for a range of activities to develop the student’s knowledge, skills and behaviours linked to relevant apprenticeship standards or regulatory body frameworks.
• Demonstrate tasks and processes to individuals and groups.
• Provide instruction to the specified standards and provide feedback to students on progress through written and online methods, coaching for high expectations of progress and attainment.
• Provide support and mentoring for students and apprentices in the setting of goals and objectives pertaining to their professional skill development needs.
• To deliver advice and support, based on an in-depth knowledge and understanding of your discipline area e.g.; develop an understanding of course structures, learning outcomes, and PSRB requirements; undertake reviews with students, mentors, external partners and Personal Academic Tutors; review training needs and conduct action planning that support the development of knowledge skills and behaviours in relation to all practice learning opportunities e.g. Virtual, Clinical, Leadership and Management, Education, Research; provide guidance and support to students around setting objectives ahead of practice learning and identifying gaps/areas for further focus.
• Provide individual and group mentoring for students and apprentices to ensure that apprenticeship candidates are selected appropriately and are matched to the needs of the employer.
• Supervise groups of apprentices undertaking knowledge and skill acquisition through scheduled off-the-job learning activities, project work or while on work placement.
• Assess knowledge and skills acquisition using a variety of assessment methods including individual coaching techniques to accelerate the learning of knowledge, skills, and behaviours.
• Provide specific learning support and coaching to students and apprentices as required and ensure that learning support records are kept up to date.
• Work with groups of students, apprentices, or individuals to prepare them for external qualification and end-point assessment according to the requirements of the relevant apprenticeship.
• Complete all associated internal, employer and external documentation and track the student’s progress, including recording student and apprentice data on attendance and achievement using prescribed records systems, both manual and online.
• Ensure that any assessment carried out is completed to the standards laid down by the awarding body and the College Quality Assurance systems.
• Integrate the development of English and Mathematics skills, including their integration into broader learning activities linked to both on and off-the-job activities.
• Monitor attendance of students and apprentices at prescribed off-the-job learning activities, ensuring that records systems are updated as required and employers are kept informed.
• Ensure that students and apprentices are coached to always behave in a professional manner to a high standard of safety in the workplace and during off-the-job activities.
• Work with liaison and business development teams and independently to develop new business opportunities and placements to increase employer engagement and apprentice uptake and progression.
• To undertake any other duties which may, from time to time, reasonably be required within the general level of responsibility.

General Duties

• Achieve personal and team targets for recruitment, progress, completion and achievement or apprentices within designated durations.
• To take an active role in the mentoring and progress of students and apprentices, providing a liaison between the student/apprentice, their employer and the off-the-job training provider.
• Take an active part in the College and University’s Staff Development Programmes
• Take an active role, when required, in all curriculum management activities, including open days, recruitment events and external moderation activities.
• To understand and comply with the University’s Equality and Diversity Policy.
• To comply with copyright, software licensing legislation and related University procedures.
• To ensure that the College’s quality assurance procedures are adhered to, and additional action is taken where necessary.
• To comply with the requirements of Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults, Health and Safety, Quality and other University policies including Risk Management.
• Good Honours Degree in a relevant subject or discipline.
• Registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Mental Health Nurse; or if registered as a Nursing Associate, experience working in Mental Health
• Hold or be willing to undertake a teaching qualification.
• Level 2 Qualifications (either in Functional Skills or GCSE A-C/4-9) in both English and maths or a willingness to achieve within an agreed timescale.

Experience

• Experience within and/or knowledge of the health and/or care sectors; specifically Mental Health.
• Demonstrable evidence of ability to engage with learners to support high-quality learning outcomes.

Skills, knowledge and abilities

• Highly developed communication skills
• Ability to use own initiative.
• Ability to work effectively on your own and with a small team.
• Well-developed administrative and organisational skills
• Ability to work flexibly within a team.

Business requirements

• A commitment to the principle of widening participation
• A commitment to continued professional development.
• A commitment to College and University values and behaviours.
• Willingness and flexibility to travel and work between University and external sites in a cost effective and timely manner.
• Evidence of CPD in mentoring, coaching or demonstrating.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate qualification(s) in a relevant subject area.
• Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
• Fellowship or Associate Fellowship of Advanced HE (HEA).

Experience

• Experience or knowledge of higher education and ability to use a range of techniques to inspire and engage students.
• Experience of Internal and External verification and moderation processes
• Practical experience of promoting equality and diversity.
• Practical experience of promoting Behaviours and attitudes.
• Practical experience of promoting Personal development.

Skills, knowledge and abilities

• An appropriate level of digital capability and aptitude with practical experience of applications which aid student learning.
• Ability to communicate complex and conceptual ideas to a range of groups.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills including networking and relationship building skills, both across the University and externally.
• Understanding of the current higher education environment and its implications for the student learning experience.

Business requirements

• Ability to work evenings, weekends and during holiday periods.
• Generous annual leave entitlement of 38 days inclusive of bank holidays and concessionary days (pro rata)
• Suite of holistic wellbeing benefits and support including family-friendly policies, generous sick pay provision and comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to a variety of staff discounts at high street retailers
• Discounted onsite gym
• Cycle to Work scheme
• A flexible working environment
• A commitment to personal and professional development

For further information and informal enquiries regarding the role, please contact Victoria Sweetmore, Subject Lead for Mental Health and Learning Disability Nursing via v.sweetmore@derby.ac.uk

The University is unable to sponsor the employment of international workers under the Skilled Worker route for this role; however, applications are welcome from candidates who are able to demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

The University of Derby is committed to fostering an open, inclusive and diverse community where everyone is treated with dignity, fairness and respect. We are committed to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief (or none), sex or sexual orientation.

As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to inclusive recruitment and welcome requests for adjustments throughout the recruitment process. Applicants may choose their preferred title, including 'Mx', and may share preferred pronouns if they wish. We also use anonymised shortlisting to help reduce the potential impact of unconscious bias. For more information on equity,diversityand inclusion at the University of Derby, pleasevisitour website .

We are also committed to promoting academic freedom and freedom of speech and expression within the law, in line with our Code of Practice , and value diversity of thought alongside diversity of backgrounds and experiences.

However you identify, we welcome applications from people whose experiences, perspectives and talents will contribute to our inclusive, supportive and intellectually vibrant community.

Environmental Sustainability

At the University of Derby, we are passionate about embedding sustainability into everything that we do. We aim to bring environmental sustainability into all aspects of the University, including teaching, research and operational activities. In line with the University's strategic framework, we expect all our staff to embed sustainability into their working practices and support the University's objective to reach net zero carbon by 2050.

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