Neurodevelopmental Service Lead (ASD & ADHD)

NHS; Redditch; Hybrid; GBP 62,000 - 73,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in the UK is seeking an experienced clinical leader to oversee ASD and ADHD services for adults and children. The role combines operational leadership with clinical oversight to ensure safe, high-quality assessments. Key responsibilities include managing staff, monitoring clinical quality, and engaging with multidisciplinary teams. Desired qualifications include advanced clinical practice qualifications or doctoral-level training in psychology. Competitive salary and NHS-aligned benefits offered.

Benefits

Competitive salary

NHS-aligned benefits

CPD and study leave

Hybrid working options

Qualifications

• Experience in ASD and ADHD assessment pathways.
• Registered Nurse with Advanced Clinical Practice qualification.
• Significant experience in mental health senior leadership.

Responsibilities

• Oversee operations and clinical quality of ASD and ADHD services.
• Lead day-to-day service delivery and team management.
• Manage clinical governance, risk, and recruitment.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Mental health expertise

Team management

Risk management

Communication skills

Education

Advanced Nurse Practitioner qualification

Doctoral-level training in Clinical Psychology

Job description

We're seeking an experienced clinical leader to oversee ASD and ADHD services for adults and children/young people. You'll combine operational leadership with clinical oversight, ensuring safe, high-quality pathways and effective multidisciplinary team working.

No two days will be the same, but you could start the day by reviewing performance dashboards and waiting lists, then chairing an MDT meeting to support complex cases. After lunch, you might supervise team members or review assessment reports for quality assurance. Later, you'll work on service improvement projects developing SOPs, refining pathways, and engaging with commissioners.

Professional Routes

• Advanced Nurse Practitioner (Mental Health): NMC registration, Advanced Clinical Practice qualification, prescribing experience desirable.
• Principal Clinical Psychologist: HCPC registration, doctoral-level training, senior leadership experience in psychological services.

Location - Working at Worcestershire Hubs (Worcester WR5, Redditch B98) with hybrid working

Applicants will be required to participate in a telephone screening assessment prior to progressing to interview.

Main duties of the job

Main Duties

• Provide visible, values led leadership, modelling professionalism and compassion.
• Oversee day-to-day operations: rota planning, capacity and waiting list management, triage, and safe clinic delivery.
• Ensure clinical quality: evidence-based assessments and reviews aligned with service standards.
• Line-manage non-medical staff and maintain robust supervision structures.
• Monitor KPIs (referrals, waits, DNAs, safety indicators) and lead performance improvement.
• Manage risk and safeguarding, including incident reporting and learning reviews.
• Support recruitment, induction, and retention of staff.
• Drive service development: SOPs, documentation standards, audits, and pathway improvements.

About us

About Us

Vertis Health is a GP‑owned organisation delivering safe, evidence‑based community services across Worcestershire. Our current services include:

• Adult ADHD and ASD diagnostic pathways.
• CYP ADHD and ASD assessment pathways. We work within commissioned scope and governance, focusing on continuous improvement.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and NHS‑aligned benefits.
• CPD and study leave.
• Hybrid working options.
• Opportunity to shape neurodevelopmental care and make a lasting impact.

Job responsibilities

To provide senior operational and clinical leadership across Vertis Health’s ASD and ADHD services for adults and children and young people, ensuring safe, timely, high‑quality assessment pathways, robust governance, and an effective multidisciplinary workforce. The postholder will lead day‑to‑day service delivery, manage clinical quality and performance, and work closely with medical oversight to maintain patient safety and strong decision‑making.

Why this role exists

This post provides dedicated operational and people leadership across neurodevelopmental pathways so that senior clinical oversight (including medical oversight and specialist clinical input) is not saturated by day‑to‑day management activity. The role holds the centre on delivery, standards, and risk, while enabling the wider leadership team to focus on clinical oversight, pathway development, and system engagement.

About the Services

The services currently include:

• Adult ADHD assessment and ongoing clinical reviews, with medication titration delivered under appropriate prescribing governance and shared care with GPs where agreed.
• Adult ASD diagnostic assessment pathway delivered through an MDT model.
• Children and Young People (CYP) ADHD an assessment and diagnosis pathway (with onward treatment and medication pathways subject to commissioning and wider system arrangements).
• Children and Young People (CYP) ASD a diagnostic assessment pathway delivered through a multidisciplinary model, aligned to national guidance and local commissioning arrangements.

The postholder is expected to work within the commissioned scope and agreed clinical governance arrangements, contributing to pathway improvement without over‑promising provision outside current remit.

Key working relationships

Head of Services & Associate Medical Director

Consultant Psychiatrist – designated senior medical oversight

Operations and Business Intelligence colleagues (performance, waiting list, reporting)

Clinical and non‑medical leads across ASD/ADHD pathways (psychology, nursing, SALT, OT, assistant roles as applicable)

Safeguarding leads and governance colleagues

Main duties and responsibilities (common to both routes)

Provide visible, values‑led leadership across the ASD and ADHD services, modelling high standards of professionalism, compassion, and accountability.

Lead day-to-day operational delivery, including rota/capacity planning, waiting list management and triage arrangements (within governance), and ensuring safe clinic delivery.

Hold oversight of clinical quality, ensuring assessment and review processes are consistent, evidence-informed, and delivered in line with service standards and policies.

Lead and line‑manage non‑medical clinical staff within the service scope (final span of control agreed to reflect the successful applicant’s route and service model).

Ensure effective supervision structures are in place (clinical/professional supervision, reflective practice, competency development, and escalation routes).

Work with Ops – BI to agree and monitor KPIs (referrals, waits, DNAs, report timeliness, clinical safety indicators) and lead performance reviews and improvement actions.

Maintain robust risk management, including safeguarding awareness, incident reporting, learning reviews, and escalation of clinical risk in line with governance.

Support recruitment, induction, and retention of staff, ensuring safe onboarding and clear expectations.

Contribute to service development and pathway improvement work, including SOPs, documentation standards, and audit/service evaluation activity.

Route-specific responsibilities and governance

Route A – Advanced Nurse Practitioner (Mental Health)

Provide advanced clinical leadership and expert nursing practice within ASD/ADHD pathways, within the ANPs scope of practice and professional code.

Where the postholder is an independent prescriber, practice as a prescriber within organisational governance, including safe prescribing standards, documentation, and audit.

Where the postholder is not an independent prescriber, support safe operational arrangements for prescribing activity, ensuring clear escalation to the designated prescribing clinical lead.

Provide professional nursing leadership, supporting competency development and safe delegation within the MDT.

Route B – Principal Clinical Psychologist

Provide senior psychological leadership and expert clinical practice within ASD/ADHD pathways, within professional scope and HCPC standards.

Provide psychological supervision and consultation (as appropriate) to support safe, high‑quality practice across the MDT, including reflective practice and formulation‑informed thinking where relevant to pathway delivery.

Where the postholder is not a prescriber (expected), ensure safe operational arrangements for prescribing activity delivered by prescribers, with prescribing decision authority and prescribing supervision held by the designated prescribing clinical lead.

Prescribing governance (applies to both routes)

Prescribing decisions and prescribing supervision sit with the designated prescribing clinical lead (Consultant Psychiatrist and/or named independent prescriber lead). The postholder holds responsibility for operational leadership, service standards, performance management, and escalation of clinical risk. Any concerns relating to prescribing practice must be escalated via the prescribing governance route.

Professional standards and safeguarding

The postholder is required to practise within their professional scope, maintain registration, and follow all Vertis Health policies, NHS‑aligned governance standards, and safeguarding procedures. The postholder will be expected to maintain mandatory training, participate in supervision, and evidence ongoing CPD appropriate to the role.

Indicative job plan (37.5 hours per week)

• Clinical activity (complex assessments, second opinions, quality assurance, selective feedback) – 10 to 12 hours per week
• Supervision and line management (1‑1s, appraisal, PDPs, CPD oversight) – 10 to 12 hours per week
• MDT leadership, clinical governance and quality assurance (MDT chairs, audit, incident learning, policy and standards) – 7 to 9 hours per week
• Service leadership, performance and system engagement (capacity planning, BI review, pathway improvement, stakeholder and commissioning interface) – 6 to 8 hours per week

The job plan will be reviewed at 3 months and annually to ensure alignment with service need, leadership capacity, and clinical risk.

Person Specification

• Direct experience working within ASD and or ADHD assessment and review pathways, with adults and or children and young people, sufficient to provide credible clinical leadership, governance oversight, and line management within specialist neurodevelopmental services.
• Significant post‑qualification experience in mental health and/or neurodevelopmental services with demonstrable senior clinical leadership responsibilities.
• Experience leading service delivery across multidisciplinary teams, including line management, supervision structures, and performance management.
• Demonstrable understanding of clinical governance, risk management, safeguarding, and quality improvement within healthcare settings.
• Strong operational capability: ability to manage capacity, waiting lists, performance metrics, and service standards in a busy clinical environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including ability to produce high‑quality documentation and lead difficult conversations appropriately.
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, trauma‑informed practice, and psychologically safe working cultures.
• Registered Nurse (NMC) with recognised Advanced Clinical Practice qualification (or equivalent evidence of advanced level practice).
• Evidence of advanced assessment and clinical decision‑making within mental health services.
• If independent prescribing is held – V300 (or equivalent) and evidence of safe prescribing practice within governance.
• Essential (Route B – Principal Clinical Psychologist)
• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical Psychologist).
• Doctoral‑level training in Clinical Psychology (or recognised equivalent route to HCPC registration).
• Evidence of senior‑level clinical leadership within psychological services and/or neurodevelopmental pathways.
• Desirable (either route)
• Experience designing or improving pathways, SOPs, clinical documentation standards, or audit/service evaluation programmes.
• Training and competency in relevant assessment tools and frameworks used in ND services (commensurate with role).
• Experience of working with primary care interfaces, shared care arrangements, and wider system stakeholders.

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.

£62,321 to £72,416 a yearNHS Aligned Pension, CPD, Study Leave