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
We are offering an exciting 6-month secondment opportunity starting in November 2025 for a highly experienced and motivated psychological professional to take on the role of Psychological Professions Lead across Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in Essex.
This strategic leadership role will oversee clinical delivery and service development across a broad footprint, working closely with senior leaders, commissioners, schools, and partner agencies. You will be instrumental in shaping early intervention and prevention services for children and young people, ensuring high-quality, evidence-based care aligned with the Trust’s values: kindness, respect, and collaboration.
Key Focus Areas:
1. Clinical leadership across MHSTs, SET CAMHS, and PCNs
2. Strategic development and partnership working
3. Workforce planning, supervision, and service improvement
4. Outcome measurement and quality assurance
Ideal Candidate:
5. A post-graduate qualified psychological practitioner ( clinical psychologist, family therapist, child and adolescent psychotherapist)
6. Extensive clinical and operational leadership experience
7. Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams and drive service transformation
This is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact across children’s mental health services in Essex.
Main duties of the job
8. Develop and implement a clinical strategic vision for MHSTs and PC
9. Lead service development and ensure delivery of measurable outcomes.
10. Build strong relationships with commissioners, schools, and local authorities.
11. Ensure services are evidence-based and meet national and local standards.
12. Support effective management of staffing, budgets, and resources.
13. Deputise for the Assistant Director when required.
14. Ensure compliance with safeguarding protocols and risk management procedures.
15. Supervise trainees and qualified psychological practitioners.
16. Lead recruitment, retention, and career progression initiatives.
17. Ensure access to high-quality clinical supervision across teams.
18. Promote a culture of continuous learning and professional development.
19. Monitor performance against KPIs and service objectives.
20. Lead audits and contribute to clinical governance processes.
21. Ensure services are aligned with Trust policies and national guidance.
22. Promote service user and parent/carer involvement in service design.
23. Foster a research culture within teams.
24. Coordinate implementation of research and development activities.
25. Secure external funding and support multi-disciplinary research projects.
26. Develop effective relationships with internal teams and external agencies.
27. Communicate complex clinical information clearly and constructively.
Working for our organisation
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.
They are:
We are kind.
We are respectful.
We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period.
High Cost Area Supplement - Fringe
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of the basic salary (minimum payment of £1,303 and a maximum payment of £2,198 per annum, pro rata for part time).
Fixed Term Post
This is a 6 month FTC starting in November 2025 to cover an existing staff members career break.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.
We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Please apply as soon as possible as some posts close early to limit the number of applications.
Certificates of Sponsorship
Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.
Use of AI
Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.
Person specification
Knowledge
Essential criteria
28. Experience or Knowledge of MHST & PCN services
Desirable criteria
29. Expert knowledge of services across Essex including key stakeholder relationships
Professional
Essential criteria
30. UK Professional Registration as psychological professional
31. Minimum of 6 years recent post–qualification experience in a senior designated post
Desirable criteria
32. Demonstrable evidence of undertaking service transformation within challenging and complex environments
Experience
Essential criteria
33. Training and experience in providing supervision
34. Experience of managing services and experience of holding responsibility for developing new areas of work
Desirable criteria
35. Experience in managing complex team dynamics and highly developed conflict management skills
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:
36. 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.
37. 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.
38. 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.
39. 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.