Designated Clinical Officer

East Of England Community Health And Care Nhs Trust; Huntingdon; On-site; GBP 67,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust in Cambridge seeks a Designated Clinical Officer (DCO) for SEND to provide strategic health leadership across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and to champion health contributions to SEND reforms.

The role requires NHS experience with children and young people with SEND, strong leadership, and the ability to partner with education, social care and community organisations to improve outcomes.

Qualifications

• NHS experience with children and families with SEND.
• Leadership experience at a management level in NHS/LA contexts.
• Knowledge of SEND Code of Practice 0-25 and Children and Families Act 2014.
• Ability to engage with ICBs, LA, VCS and education partners.
• Registered professional with UK licensing and ongoing professional development.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for SEND health contributions across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
• Ensure health system compliance with SEND Code of Practice and statutory duties.
• Coordinate health providers with education, social care and voluntary sectors.
• Co-produce service direction with patients and families.
• Promote equality and reduce inequality in access and outcomes for SEND.

Skills

NHS experience

Children's complex needs

Leadership

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Masters degree

NMC/HCPC registration

UK Registration

Job description

Job summary

Are you an experienced health professional with a passion for improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND?

We are looking to recruit an innovative Designated Clinical Officer (DCO) to work across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The role will provide strategic leadership and system-wide influence for health across the SEND landscape of Cambridshire and Peterborough within Central East ICB.

You will champion the needs, experiences and outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, ensuring that health is visible, influential and accountable across the system. The role will be a key in leading health contributions to SEND transformation and the implementation of national SEND reforms.

We are looking for an experienced clinician who has the passion and commitment to improve outcomes for children and young people. You will be skilled in developing effective relationships with partners, and strive to reduce inequality for children and young people with SEND needs.

Should we receive a high number of applications, we reserve the right to close this vacancy at any point after 16th September 2026

Main duties of the job

The Designated Clinical Officer (DCO) for SEND will provide strategic leadership and system-wide influence for health across the SEND landscape of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough within Central East ICB.

The DCO will provide strategic leadership and system wide influence to support NHS Central East ICB in complying with their statutory responsibilities.

The post holder will champion the needs, experiences and outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities through a health lens, ensuring health is a visible, influential and accountable partner across the system.

The DCO will lead and coordinate health contributions to SEND transformation, implementation of National SEND Reforms, preparation for Schools and Wellbeing reforms, and development of inclusive, needs-led support pathways that reduce reliance on statutory processes and promote early intervention, prevention and integrated support.

The role will maintain a strong presence across SEND partnership boards, strategic groups, working groups and sub-groups and ensure effective communication and escalation between operational delivery and senior leadership of strategic partnership.

The Designated Clinical Officer (DCO) will be an integral part of Central East ICB , with joint reporting arrangements to East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust.

About us

Rated 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.

There's one reason why our services are outstanding - and that's our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey.

Please be aware that East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust will never ask applicants to pay fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers.

All recruitment communications and job applications should only be made through our official careers website and published contact details.

Details

Date posted

09 September 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8b

Salary

£66,582 to £77,368 a year

per annum, pro-rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Flexible working

Reference number

448-CCYP-8226306

Job locations

The Meadows

Units 7 & 8

St Ives

PE27 4LG

United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

The DCO will:

• Be a strategic lead, to ensure that the ICB is meeting its statutory duties for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), aged 0-25 years. They will provide assurance and scrutiny, as well as driving improvement.
• Ensure the health systems compliance with the legislation and spirit of the SEND Code of Practice, leading to improved outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
• Lead the coordination of the ICB and health providers in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in relation to children and young people with SEND, working in partnership with education, social care services and the voluntary and community sector.
• Support health providers to co-produce service direction, improvements and the values on which they are based, with users of the services.
• Promote a culture that embraces equality and strives continuously to reduce inequality in both access and outcomes for all residents in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
• Undertake work to identify needs of children and young people with SEND and their families, to inform joint commissioning.
• Act as an expert resource for families and professionals, in relation to health services for children and young people with SEND.

Organisational Arrangements

Accountable To: Deputy Director of Safeguarding & SEND NHS Central East ICB

Reports To: Joint reporting arrangements EEC & Central East ICB

Responsible For: CYPS Director, EEC & AD of Safeguarding and SEND, Central East ICB

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Planning and Performance

Present complex information on all aspects of function practice in a clear and audience-appropriate manner, to senior leaders and board level groups.

Develop and implement qualitative and quantitative measures to determine performance against the improvement strategies.

Report progress and assurance against the strategy through personal representation at senior leadership forums and by written reports to appropriate boards.

Operate in a highly political and sensitive environment.

Strategic Oversight of Health Services for Children and Young People with SEND

Have oversight across all health professionals delivering healthcare to individual disabled children, young people and those with special educational needs. Including a focus on:

• Processes for identification of disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs, particularly pre-school children.
• The process for securing health assessment and key principles for health advice in Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans.
• Oversight and assurance of health provision specified in EHC Plans including the commissioning of provision in the health sections of the EHC Plans.
• Oversight and coordination of all health services are reflected in the Local Offer and that health providers are cooperating with the local authority in its development/review.
• Contributing to the Complex Needs Panel and any other panel as directed by the ICB.
• Training and upskilling of health providers to improve EHC Plans and compliance with SEND reforms.
• Ensure that best practice is developed and delivered at organisational and departmental levels.
• Challenge ways of working and influence other senior leaders to realign their practice where necessary.
• Develop transition to adulthood pathways, across the health system.
• Lead the identification and prioritisation of vulnerable groups across the health system, including availability and quality of provision.
• Support the local area approach to personal budgets and personal health budgets, working closely with the ICB
• Support local system and health providers, in preparation for CQC and Ofsted Inspections related to SEND.
• Ensure system wide representation in SEND internal reviews and provide ICB leadership for local area SEND inspections.
• Provide leadership, coordination and clinical oversight relating to SEND mediation and Tribunal cases involving health, ensuring compliance with Tribunal orders and supporting ICB responses to recommendations.

Audit, Monitoring, Research and Record Keeping

Ensure that ICB policies, procedures and standards in relation to children and young people with SEND are safe, evidence-based maintained and updated.

Determine the need for and formulate new policies, as and when required.

Ensure that there are robust ICB procedures that reflect national and local standards, within all local health providers.

Contribute directly to the review and updating partner agencies' procedures/guidelines and develop appropriate inter-agency protocols and evidence-based practice guidance to support the procedures.

Ensure all processes and systems take account of safeguarding standards.

Lead monitoring and assurance of the timeliness, quality and sufficiency of health advice provided for Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments and Plans.

Establish and oversee a system-wide quality assurance framework for SEND health advice and health contributions to Education, Health and Care Plans.

Communication

Work with children, young people and their families as equals, to ensure that coproduction is embedded in the local area.

Engage and liaise with all childrens health service providers relevant to the local area, to enable implementation of statutory requirements for SEND.

Develop productive and effective relationships with senior leaders in each local authority to identify and enact opportunities for strengthened integration and joint commissioning, sensitive to local needs.

Develop effective working relationships with community groups and voluntary and community sector providers within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and, where appropriate, across the ICB in support of strengthening outcomes for children and young people.

Nurture key relationships and develop and sustain networks including, where necessary, systemwide, regional and national contacts.

People Management

Act as a clinical lead, with responsibility for ensuring your team members have appropriate line management, clinical supervision, work evaluation and staff development.

Motivate and develop staff within the team, to ensure that they can deliver the statutory responsibilities of Central East ICB.

Recruit as necessary and performance manage a team that delivers a range of tasks within a matrix structure in a busy and challenging environment.

Develop and implement strategies for achieving and improving team performance.

Use appraisals and development policies and procedures and ensure that appraisals and reviews of objectives are undertaken regularly.

Maintaining own professional development and requirement to take part in appraisal.

Clinical and Practice Governance

Observe and maintain strict confidentiality with regards to any patient/family/staff/records and information in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

Any data that is taken/shared as part of a phone call or transported, faxed, or transferred electronically must be undertaken with regard to the Trust Information Governance and Information Security policies.

The post holder must adhere to the Trust risk assessment and risk management processes

The post holder must adhere to infection control policies and procedures

It is a condition of your employment that you are currently registered with HCPC or NMC and it is your responsibility to maintain your professional registration.

Undertake mandatory training and any other training relevant to the role as required by East of England Community Health & Care NHS Trust.

The post holder must participate in clinical and safeguarding audits as required

Provide patients and their families /carers with information on standards they should expect from the team

The post holder is required to participate in relevant emergency preparedness process for their team.

Person Specification

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• NHS experience children's complex needs
• Substantial specialist knowledge of ICB statutory responsibilities in relation to children, safeguarding and the ICB and Local Authority structures and processes
• Knowledge and understanding of Children and Families Act (2014), and the SEND Code of Practice 0 to 25 years (2015).
• Ability to communicate effectively with a diverse range of stakeholders and partners, including children, young people and their parents and carers.
• Demonstrate the full range of leadership qualities, skills and behaviours.

Qualifications & Training

Essential

• Registered Nurse (Part 1 NMC) and/or registered Specialist Public Health Nurse (Part 3 NMC) who has completed a specific programme with a child and family focus.
• Or Registered paediatric AHP with HCPC
• Educated to Masters level or appropriate equivalent or commitment to working towards it. Wide clinical experience working in an acute or community setting.
• Teaching or mentoring qualification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with children and their families/carers in a community setting
• Recent significant leadership experience at a management level in NHS/Local Authority or relevant environment with proven track record of using professional knowledge to bring about change.
• Experience of establishing effective operational and strategic working links with colleagues from the system including ICB, Local Authorities, the VCS, CYPS and parents/carers..
• NHS Experience/ Social Services Department/ Local Government

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 of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridge)

Address

The Meadows

Units 7 & 8

St Ives

PE27 4LG

United Kingdom

Employer's website

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

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Director Children and Young People's Services

John Peberdy

[e-mail]

07983343998