Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for three consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Psychiatry
This is an exciting very senior leadership opportunity for a Consultant Psychiatrist of 5 years or more. Please read this information along with the Job Description and Specification.
NELFT are investing in a newly strengthened medical leadership structure to support delivery of safe, effective, and compassionate care across the organisation. The structure defines a clear, accountable, and inclusive framework for medical leadership at executive, strategic, and place-based levels. It aligns with national expectations for clinical leadership and aims to improve clinician engagement, governance, workforce sustainability, and patient outcomes. It will
1. Place medical voice at the heart of decision-making working in equitable partnership with nurses, allied health and psychological professionals, operational and financial professionals, patients and carers.
2. Distribute leadership across services and geography
3. Support inclusive, diverse, and multidisciplinary leadership
4. Embed quality improvement, education, and innovation
5. Strengthen Medical Professional Standards
Main duties of the job
Who should apply
We are looking for a Visionary Consultant Psychiatrist of 5 years or more, with experience within NELFT and ideally at least one other organisation at senior level. Applicants must have demonstrable collaborative system working experience. Excellent communication skills with service users, carers, all members of the MDT, the executive and all other very senior leaders are essential.
This newly created post strengthens the Trust’s medical-leadership structure. As DCMO for Mental Health you will:
6. Lead all mental-health services in partnership with other clinical professional leads and operational leads.
7. Line management and professional oversight for medical teams in Acute and Rehabilitation Directorate (ARD), and 2 of the place-based directorates. You will have shared line management of the future medical director for CAMHS, with the DCMO Paediatrics.
8. Partner with the future Medical Director for CAMHS to ensure seamless, age-inclusive pathways.
9. Act as the visible professional head of psychiatry - shaping strategy, quality, workforce wellbeing and patient experience.
10. Embed the medical voice in executive decision-making and champion Trust values: kindness, respect, community partnership.
Working for our organisation
Medical Leadership Structure
The new leadership structure is tiered, enabling strong executive presence, focused strategic portfolios, and embedded place-based leadership. This model will be rolled out in a phased approach. The first phase is the advertisement and appointment of the Deputy Chief Medical Officers.
Medical Senior Leadership
11. Chief Medical Officer (CMO) – Executive Board member with responsibility for overall medical leadership, governance, workforce, education, safety, and strategic alignment.
12. Deputy Chief Medical Officers (DCMOs) – Three roles, each with both professional leadership remit and strategic oversight:
13. Mental Health (Consultant Psychiatrist)
14. Children's Health (Consultant Paediatrician)
15. Physical Health and Out-of-Hospital Care (Consultant Physician/ Geriatrician/General Practitioner)
Each DCMO: 10 PAs (8 leadership, 2 clinical + 20% responsibility allowance)
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached job description and person specification.
If you would like to discuss the role please contact Hélène Brown via Executive Assistant Francesca Hayward F
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
16. •Inclusion in Specialist Register for Psychiatry for minimum 5 years; Consultant Psychiatrist; Approved Clinician status, or eligibility for it
Experience
Essential criteria
17. Mastery in the management of a broad range of mental disorders in adults.
18. Management/leadership experience in the NHS.
19. Experience of implementing service change/ reconfiguration and modernisation services.
Benefits
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
20. A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
21. A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
22. Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
23. Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.