Autism Assessor for Children and Young People - Remote (Self-Employed

Paloma Health; Remote; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A proactive mental health provider in Canterbury is seeking professionals for autism diagnostic assessments. You will conduct remote developmental histories and child observations, ensuring high-quality communication with families. Successful candidates must possess professional registration and have experience in autism assessments. This role includes exciting technological advancements aimed at improving the assessment process and supporting families with well-being and career growth.

Benefits

Competitive fee structure per assessment

Commitment to staff well-being

Opportunities for professional development

Qualifications

• Must have at least 1 year of experience in children and young people's autism diagnostic assessments.
• Ability to present diagnostic findings concisely and client-centred.
• Enhanced DBS check is required due to working with children.

Responsibilities

• Deliver remote developmental histories and child observations.
• Conduct peer MDT diagnostic decision-making as needed.
• Embrace new technologies and improve staff and patient experience.

Skills

Professional Registration (HCPC, NMC, GMC or Social Work England)

Experience in autism diagnostic assessments

Good communication skills

Time management skills

Education

Completion of a recognised ADOS‑2 course

Relevant qualifications (Psychologist, Occupational Therapist, etc.)

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.

Role Overview

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

• Remote developmental histories (via video calls)
• If you are ADOS trained and experienced, you can do a combined role of remote developmental histories and remote child observations
• Peer MDT diagnostic decision-making, with the support of the senior clinical MDT where required

Cultural Fit

• 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
• Conduct high-quality remote developmental histories and child observations (if experienced) as part of an autism assessment
• 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.

Compensation and Benefits

• A strong and positive culture that prioritises staff well‑being, transparency, and career development.
• £500 per completed developmental history and family feedback.
• £300 per completed child observation.

Requirements

• 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 year of 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
• At least 30 completed child observational assessments for autism
• Experience in conducting risk assessments within an autism assessment service
• Evidence of Safeguarding training (Level 3 and above)

About Paloma Health

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.

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.