Operational Lead - MHST

Job Summary

Operational Lead - MHST Clinical (or Family of) Psychology, Systemic Family Psychotherapy, Child Psychotherapy, Community Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker, Art Psychotherapist or other core CAMHS profession registered with a governing body.

Bedfordshire CAMHS are excited to be recruiting into 5 posts for Band 8a Clinical Lead post (0.5 WTE) in each of our Mental Health Support Teams (MHST). The MHSTs are part of an exciting project funded by NHS England, Health Education England and partners with the aim of improving the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in the community in response to the government's Green Paper for Young People's Mental Health. Bedfordshire & Luton have been successful in having several MHST sites benefiting from significant investment in this area. This post is an opportunity to work with school staff and school cultures in developing school environments that are more conducive to supporting sustainably better emotional health and wellbeing. The main day to day focus of the role will be the clinical operational management of the MHST, whilst working alongside the Operational lead to develop and implement a wide range of interventions and projects within local schools and provisions.

The posts are in Luton (based at Charter House) x 3 , Houghton Regis (based in Dunstable) x 1 Leighton Buzzard (based at Whicello Wharf) x 1

Main duties of the job

We are looking for a confident CAMHS professional with a demonstrable track record of providing good quality evidence-based interventions, experienced in offering clinical supervision and improving service quality with a strong interest in service development. You will be either a Nurse, Social worker, Art Psychotherapist, Psychotherapist or Psychologist with the requisite professional registration.

The community served is multi-ethnic and culturally diverse and we welcome applicants who are skilled at working with the richness and complexity of this multicultural context. You will also provide triage, mental health assessments, effective brief therapeutic support, group work and workshops to prevent moderate to severe mental health problems developing, using the Thrive model. You will be required to be flexible, and be able to travel across Bedfordshire.

The post is embedded in the community, and you will have an attached base in Bedfordshire CAMHS, and be an integrated part of the CAMH Access Services multi-disciplinary services and the wider CAMH Specialist Service. You will need a relevant professional registration, with excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills. You will need experience in working with children and families, preferably in a primary care setting.

You will need to be able to operate confidently in an environment where IT is the main method of record keeping, communication and program management.

About Us

You will be supported by regular, separate clinical and management supervision sessions, access to a variety of CPD sessions, and annual performance appraisal. You will also participate in weekly clinical discussions with the team. East London NHS Trust prioritises staff wellbeing and we are introducing a range of staff wellbeing initiatives to support this. The team leader is committed to staff development: there are regular opportunities for staff to apply for appropriate training courses and to get involved in quality improvement initiatives, research, and new developments in the service. We also have a strong clinical leadership structure within ELFT with significant number of positions in the trust for clinicians up to band 8D, opening up paths for promotion for ambitious members of staff. The East London NHS Foundation Trust prioritizes staff wellbeing and we have introduced a range of staff wellbeing initiatives to support this.

Details

Date posted

26 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£55,690 to £62,682 a year pa pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

363-SSLB7458149

Job locations

Central bedfordshire CAMHS

67 High St North

Dunstable

LU6 1JF

Job Description

Job responsibilities

You will be working with schools in either the Luton, Houghton Regis or Leighton Buzzard areas.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are bi-lingual, and candidates from BME communities, including the South Asian community and also local to the Bedfordshire area.

For Further Information Regarding This Post, Please Contact:

Laura Gill, Central Bedfordshire Integrated Schools Lead / Systemic Family Psychotherapist [email protected]

Amanda Wallace operational lead / accredited CBT therapist [email protected]

Job Description

Job responsibilities

You will be working with schools in either the Luton, Houghton Regis or Leighton Buzzard areas.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are bi-lingual, and candidates from BME communities, including the South Asian community and also local to the Bedfordshire area.

For Further Information Regarding This Post, Please Contact:

Laura Gill, Central Bedfordshire Integrated Schools Lead / Systemic Family Psychotherapist [email protected]

Amanda Wallace operational lead / accredited CBT therapist [email protected]

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualification in appropriate mental health profession such as Clinical or Family of Psychology, Systemic Family Therapy, Child Psychotherapy, Nursing, Social Work, and registration with relevant UK governing body.
  
  

Desirable

• Parenting qualification and parenting supervision qualification.
• Low Intensity CBT supervisor qualification.
• Specific therapeutic modality training and qualification e.g. CBT, DBT, IPT etc.
• Management or leadership training
  
  

Experience

Essential

• Previous experience of working in a senior post in CAMHS
• Previous experience of supervising clinicians and operational leadership functions
• Previous experience of supervising clinicians and operational leadership functions
• Experience of working with a wide range of mental health problems commonly seen in CAMHS
• Experience of care planning
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary way
• Experience in crisis work
  
  

Desirable

• Delivery of parenting programmes - Webster-Stratton, Triple P, NVR etc.
• Supervision of clinicians delivering parenting and manualised CBT interventions
• Supervising Children's Wellbeing Practitioners as part of IAPT programme
• Experience of working in a culturally diverse inner city area
  
  

Skills

Essential

• Evidence of well-developed clinical skills and knowledge in CAMHS
• Evidence of well-developed clinical skills and knowledge in CAMHS
• Skilled in emergency and crisis assessments
• Highly specialist clinical skills within in specific therapeutic modalities
• Able to manage own time and caseload
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Evidence of ability to lead, support and influence others
• Able to work effectively across organisational boundaries
• Teaching skills, both in clinical setting and education centres
• Keyboard/computer skills
  
  

Person Specification

Essential

• Evidence of well-developed clinical skills and knowledge in CAMHS
• Evidence of well-developed clinical skills and knowledge in CAMHS
• Skilled in emergency and crisis assessments
• Highly specialist clinical skills within in specific therapeutic modalities
• Able to manage own time and caseload
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Evidence of ability to lead, support and influence others
• Able to work effectively across organisational boundaries
• Teaching skills, both in clinical setting and education centres
• Keyboard/computer skills
  
  

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

East London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Central bedfordshire CAMHS

67 High St North

Dunstable

LU6 1JF

Employer's website

https://www.elft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

East London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Central bedfordshire CAMHS

67 High St North

Dunstable

LU6 1JF

Employer's website

https://www.elft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)