MHST Clinical Team Leader - South & West Hertfordshire

NHS; St Albans; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health trust in the UK is seeking a Clinical Team Leader to enhance support for children and young people with mental health difficulties. The role involves providing evidence-based interventions and leadership within educational settings in Hertfordshire. Candidates should have a relevant professional qualification and experience in mental health management. Competitive salary and career progression opportunities are offered.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children and young people with emerging mental health needs.
• Experience in the management and leadership of a clinical team.
• Experience of multi-professional working and case management.

Responsibilities

• Provide evidence-based interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues.
• Establish and maintain team systems for effective operation.
• Deliver psycho-education and support to parents/carers and teachers.

Skills

Ability to lead a multi-professional team

Excellent communication – verbal and written

Understanding of mental health legislation

Budget and resource management

Education

A registerable professional qualification (e.g. psychology, social work)

Cert or Dip in Management

MSC or equivalent

Job description

MHST Clinical Team Leader - South & West Hertfordshire

The closing date is 10 December 2025

We have an exciting opportunity for a Clinical Team Leader to work at the forefront of innovation in Children's & Young Peoples Mental Health, to play an instrumental role in a forward‑thinking expansion service & the delivery of interventions for CYP in education settings across Hertfordshire. Our priority is to increase access and availability of mild to moderate mental health difficulties and emotional wellbeing support for children and young people within educational settings.

This newly established role will require skills in leadership, assessing, planning, organising, reviewing and support in the clinical formulations of therapeutic interventions of work in the MHST teams in the county of Hertfordshire. The post holder will be involved in delivering informed processes and evidence‑based interventions to support the recovery of young people referred to the service. This work will be in accordance with clinical governance processes and professional standards. The post holder will utilise their skills and knowledge of CBT and child and adolescent mental health practice in order to provide clinical guidance in supervision to Senior Practitioners. The post will include being redeployed to be an Interim Team Leader of a MHST team in the wider MHST service in Hertfordshire, if and when necessary due to vacancy and/or annual leave, and in such instance to provide line management to Trainee Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) in that allocated team.

Main duties of the job

We are looking to appoint a person with clinical expertise who has the ability to provide strong leadership, to contribute to the development and implementation of a high quality service to meet the needs of children and young people in education settings.

The post holder will be responsible for establishing and maintaining team systems and processes for the effective operation of the team, including outcome measurements, audit and annual service policy review. The post holder will act in support with fellow Team Leaders in providing leadership and advice across the MHST Service.

This is an exciting opportunity for a strong leader to further develop their skills in an area that is challenging but extremely rewarding. If you feel you have the skills and experience we are looking for then we would welcome an application from you.

The post‑holder will be a mobile clinician supporting teams with delivery of clinical sessions across the South/West Hertfordshire area.

HPFT has continued to expand this service and currently holds 10 MHSTs in the county of Hertfordshire as a provider with additional expansion of the current teams underway.

HPFT are committed to progressing and supporting their staff with career development, progression opportunities and training alongside ensuring staff health, wellbeing and job satisfaction.

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the Care Quality Commission.

Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout.

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

Job responsibilities

The purpose of the MHST team is to:

• Provide evidence‑based interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues.
• Support the senior mental health lead in each education setting to introduce or develop their whole school or college approach.
• Give timely advice to school and college staff, and liaising with external specialist services, to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.

As a Clinical team leader your main duties and responsibilities:

• To provide triage and review the initial assessments of health and psychosocial care needs of CYP in an educational setting and/or reviewing the risk assessments of children and/or adolescents presenting with a wide variety of mild to moderate mental health and social needs.
• To provide consultation as required to other staff professionals in MHST as well as to teachers and family workers around mental health issues in children and young people in schools.
• To offer interventions such as CBT, solution focused work, guided self‑help and group support to children and young people within an educational setting.
• To enhance emotional wellbeing and promote or build resilience in children and young people through educational workshops, assemblies and PSHE lessons.
• To deliver psycho‑education and support to parents/carers and teachers.
• To provide clinical supervision and line management to the team who will be using CBT based approaches in their direct work with young people.
• To produce accurate records, reports and observations as required.
• To refer on, or signpost, to appropriate specialist agencies.
• To liaise closely with other professionals in Specialist CAMHS as per the new model of the CYPMHS Transformation as well as liaise with Mental Health School Leads, Children’s Services and discharge to GPs and signpost to other voluntary agencies.
• To be computer literate and have working knowledge of relevant IT software packages.
• To measure outcomes for all interventions.
• To have an awareness of data collection and to understand the importance of this.
• Participate fully in providing quality care in line with local and national guidelines, e.g. NICE Guidance & Quality Standards relating to children and/or young people with mental health disorders and social care difficulties.
• To participate in regular managerial and clinical supervision.
• To contribute to team multi‑disciplinary working.
• To attend and participate in training, supervision and the appraisal process, to ensure professional development and competence. Research and Service Evaluation.
• To participate in audit, evaluation and research projects as agreed with professional and line management.
• To collaborate with other team members in the design and implementation of audit and research projects.

Qualifications

• A registerable professional qualification in a relevant subject (e.g. psychology, social work, counselling, nursing, psychotherapy) from a UK university or OR skills‑based training in counselling or delivering mental health interventions in young people to support emotional health and wellbeing up to degree or equivalent level.
• Additional specialist post graduate courses relevant to providing mental health support to support emotional health and wellbeing of the child and young people and in relation to providing evidence based interventions.
• Cert or Dip in Management.
• MSC or equivalent.
• Mentoring and Assessing Students Qualification.

Knowledge & Experience

• Experience of working with CYP with emerging mental health needs.
• Experience in the management and leadership of a clinical team.
• Experience of multi‑professional working/case management.
• Experience of contributing to operational policy.
• Understanding of educational settings.
• Knowledge of social and educational contributions to MH.
• Experience of community focussed care.
• Experience of completing assessments.
• Experience of working within an education setting.

Skills

• Ability to lead a multi‑professional team and provide ongoing operational clinical and professional supervision.
• Budget and resource management.
• Understanding of mental health legislation and safeguarding policy.
• Able to establish and maintain effective links with statutory & non‑stat agencies.

Personal Qualities

• Ability to work collaboratively with external agencies.
• Holistic approach to service delivery.
• Excellent communication – verbal and written.
• Tenacious and self‑motivated.
• Balanced and objective.
• 4–5 years of experience.

Physical Requirements

• Car owner.
• Car Owner.

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.

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

£47,810 to £54,710 a yearper annum, pro rata (Inclusive of 5% HCAS)