Autism Assessor for Children and Young People

Paloma Health; Remote; GBP 64,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading autism assessment organization in Cardiff is looking for qualified healthcare professionals to conduct autism assessments. The role offers both full-time and part-time opportunities, focusing on providing remote assessments and developing staff capabilities. Candidates should possess relevant professional registration and experience in autism diagnostics. The organization ensures continued professional development, offers competitive salaries, and promotes a strong workplace culture emphasizing well-being and career progression.

Benefits

Competitive salary of £64,000-75,000 depending on role

34 days of annual leave including bank holidays and birthday off

5% employer pension contribution

Private medical insurance

Employee Assistance Programme

Home Office Equipment Allowance

Professional Registration Fees Allowance

Equity compensation through Share Options

NHS discounts including Blue Light Card

Qualifications

• Experience with co-occurring conditions and differentials.
• Comfortable working with families and children.
• Experience in conducting risk assessments.

Responsibilities

• Conduct high-quality autism assessments.
• Deliver remote developmental histories via video calls.
• Maintain up-to-date professional qualifications and training.

Skills

Professional Registration with HCPC, NMC, GMC, or Social Work England

Experience in children and young people's autism diagnostic assessments

Ability to present findings in a client-centered manner

Good time management skills

High-quality communication skills

Enhanced DBS check

Education

Completion of a recognized ADOS-2 course

Job description

Paloma Health has developed a new gold-standard autism assessment pathway and our own Patient Record software system, which allows us to offer:

• An exceptional service and timely assessments, as well as clear strengths and needs-based outcomes, regardless of whether an autism diagnosis is made.
• High assessor role satisfaction by improving the experience of delivering assessments. For example, we are building an AI tool to streamline diagnostic report writing, which we know is a pressure of the role.

You will work as a member of a multidisciplinary assessment team, delivering:

• Remote developmental histories (via video calls)
• Remote child observations (via video calls), if you have the relevant skills
• Peer MDT diagnostic decision-making, with the support of the senior clinical MDT where required
• Tech-enabled outcome report writing
• Outcome calls with parents and families (via video call)

From a cultural perspective, you are:

• Comfortable working in a dynamic environment and embracing change
• Excited about using new technologies in your role
• Always looking for ways to improve our staff and patient experience

We commit to supporting your development and well-being, including:

• The Paloma Clinical Academy programme supports all clinicians at all stages of their careers to develop (e.g. to our Senior Assessor role) and cross-skill (e.g. into ADHD when we launch that).
• 1 protected day per month for assessor team training, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), clinical supervision and reflection.
• Quarterly development conversations with clear career progression pathways.
• Clear weekly timetables that support a role mix across appointments, administration, development, and team building.
• Conduct high-quality autism assessments.
• Act in accordance with our Safeguarding Policy, including conducting a risk assessment where necessary.
• Keep up to date with mandatory training and your professional qualification requirements, including CPD.

Time commitment: Full-time employment is preferred, though we can also offer part-time (minimum of 3 days per week).

Required:

• Professional Registration with any of: HCPC, NMC, GMC or Social Work England
• Typically, job titles of people with the relevant skills are:
• Psychologist, including Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist, and Educational Psychologist (HCPC)
• Occupational Therapist (HCPC)
• Speech and Language Therapist (HCPC)
• Nurse, including Mental Health and Learning Disability Nurse (NMC)
• Medical Doctor (GMC)
• Social Worker (Social Work England)
• Completion of a recognised ADOS-2 course required for NMC, HCPC and, Social Work England registered applicants. Clinical Psychologists and Medical Doctors would be considered without having completed ADOS-2.
• At least 1 years experience in children and young people's autism diagnostic assessments with specific knowledge including:
• A sound understanding of co-occurring conditions and differentials.
• Ability to present findings, including diagnostic formulation, concisely into a clinical report which is client-centred and includes a strengths and needs profile.
• Good time management skills, including caseload management
• High-quality parent and patient communication skills
• Enhanced DBS with barred list check (as you will be working with children)

Desirable:

• Formal training in autism developmental histories e.g. ADI-R
• Experience in conducting risk assessments within an autism assessment service
• Evidence of Safeguarding training (Level 3 and above)
• Experience in ADHD assessments

Paloma's mission is to make children's autism and ADHD assessments and care available on the NHS within 4 weeks of GP referral. We are making this happen by redesigning care pathways, building new software & AI tools, and training up a specialist clinical workforce.

Mark & Darshak founded Paloma as they were frustrated that families are waiting 2-10 years for NHS children's autism and ADHD assessments. Learn more about the crisis in NHS children's neurodevelopmental services from this Children's Commissioner for England here: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/blog/childrens-commissioner-warns-of-invisible-crisis-as-delays-and-inequalities-laid-bare-among-children-with-neurodevelopmental-conditions/ We are growing incredibly fast to meet the need for autism and ADHD care, and we have:

• Raised £5m pre-seed funding from leading healthcare investors (Triple Point Ventures and Heal Capital)
• Grown our fantastic team to 80 people, and are hiring ~100 more over the next 12 months

How is Paloma Health different from other Neurodevelopmental providers?

• We are clinically-led, Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered, and rigorous in recording our outcomes and family experiences.
• Our in-house product & engineering team ensures we can:
• Give families a more consumer-like experience of healthcare
• Free our clinicians from documentation to focus on supporting families
• Our strong culture, including transparency, a sense of community, and supporting staff career development
• The experience of our founders (Dr Mark Jenkins & Darshak Shah), who have previously built tech-enabled NHS obesity and ophthalmology services. Combined, their previous companies have treated over 1 million NHS patients in the last 15 years!
• Being backed by leading healthcare investors (Triple Point Ventures and Heal Capital) allows us to move fast, Paloma Health ensures that supporting people to be safe is at the heart of our work and a key priority across all areas of the organisation.

As part of our pre-employment checks, you will be asked to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Depending on your role within the business, this will be at either an Enhanced, Standard, or Basic level. We are committed to safer recruitment practices and expect all applicants to share our dedication to safeguarding. Our recruitment processes are designed to ensure we appoint individuals who are aligned with our values and who will contribute to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for everyone we work with.

You will be part of a mission-driven organisation that's transforming access to Autism Assessments in England. We offer:

• A strong and positive culture that prioritises staff well-being, transparency, and career development.
• Protected time and budget for team connection, learning, and community-building.
• Competitive compensation including:
• Salary of £64,000-68,000 per year for allied healthcare professionals (nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists) and social workers, depending on prior relevant experience.
• Salary of £70,000-75,000 per year for practitioner psychologists (clinical, educational, counselling), depending on prior relevant experience.
• Competitive salary for GMC-registered clinicians, depending on prior relevant experience.
• 5% employer pension contribution
• Private medical insurance and Employee Assistance Programme (from early 2026)
• Home Office Equipment Allowance
• Professional Registration Fees Allowance for clinicians
• A unique annual leave benefits package which includes:
• 34 days of annual leave. This includes eight bank holidays and your birthday off.
• Option to buy an additional 5 days per year
• An additional 10 days of paid sabbatical leave every three completed years of service (which means 44 days of leave in year four at Paloma!)
• Additional benefits including:
• A premium performance company laptop
• Equity compensation through Share Options in Paloma Health for employees working at least 32 hours per week with Paloma.
• NHS discounts, including the Blue Light Card (as we are an NHS provider).