SELECT Service Manager

NHS South East London Integrated Care Board; Greater London; On-site; GBP 66,000 - 73,000; Full time

Job summary

The NHS South East London Integrated Care Board is seeking an experienced Service Manager to lead the SELECT Keyworker team, ensuring timely, person-centred support for vulnerable CYP with learning disabilities and/or autism. The role focuses on embedding new practices, expanding age reach, and achieving NHS targets to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.

The post requires strategic leadership across six boroughs, coproduction with families, and strong governance and risk management

Qualifications

• Experience leading or managing services for children and young people with Autism and/or Learning Disability up to age 25.
• Proven multi-disciplinary leadership across complex networks of professionals.
• Strong commitment to service improvement and coproduction.
• Understanding of relevant legislation and safeguarding responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Supervise a team of Keyworkers and support wider service delivery.
• Extend support for CYP aged 18–25 as part of service expansion.
• Oversee and participate in Coproduction Projects and outcomes work.
• Embed the Outcome Measures Framework within practice.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Risk management

Clinical governance

Analytical thinking

Complex communications

IT literacy

Autonomous decision-making

Multi-disciplinary collaboration

Education

Master-level qualification or senior-level experience

CPD / ongoing professional development

Job description

Main area Quality and Nursing Grade NHS AFC: Band 8a Contract Secondment: 9 months (until 30 October 2027) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 487-SELICB-1067-A

Site Tooley Street Town London Salary £66,274 - £73,496 per annum inclusive of Inner HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 15/09/2026 23:59

Job overview

This role is a fixed term maternity cover starting from January 2027 and ending October 2027.
External Interviews will be held on 30th September 2026.
The NHS England Long Term Plan included a commitment to implement the recommendations made by Dame Christine Lenehan that, by 2023/24, children and young people with a learning disability, autism, or both, with the most complex needs will have a designated Keyworker. South East London ICB was one of a small number of ‘early adopter’ sites delivering this new way of working to support the most vulnerable children and young people who are inpatients or at risk of being admitted to hospital or placement breakdown.
The SELECT Keyworker Service is now embedded into the work of the ICB and operates across three teams (Lambeth & Southwark, Lewisham & Greenwich, Bexley & Bromley) with established children and young people Dynamic Support Registers across all six boroughs. We are looking for a suitably experienced Service Manager who will use their skills, knowledge and experience to provide leadership and direction to a team of Keyworkers who are dedicated to ensuring ‘at risk’ children & young people with a Learning Disability and/or Autism are able to access the immediate help and person-centred support they need to avoid inappropriate hospital admissions.

Main duties of the job

The Service Manager will continue to embed this relatively new service into the work of the Integrated Care System, helping it to achieve a key NHS target of avoiding inappropriate hospital admissions, working to the NHSE Minimum Standards for Keyworking Services.

This will involve:

• Supervising a team of Specialist Keyworkers and providing ongoing support to the wider service of Keyworkers;
• Continuing the work of extending support for young people aged 0 – 18 to those aged 18-25;
• Overseeing and participating in ongoing Coproduction Projects in the service;
• Embedding our new Outcome Measures Framework;

The SELECT service continues to embed their practice model using AMBIT and Person-Centred Planning. The Service Manager will have strong supervision skills and be committed to the ongoing development of good practice and development opportunities for the service.

Working for our organisation

The South East London Integrated Care System (ICS) brings together the health and care partners that serve our vibrant and highly diverse populations resident in the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Greenwich - our Places.
Our partnership brings together six local authorities, over 200 general practices (operating within 35 Primary Care Networks), Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital NHS FT, King’s College Hospital NHS FT, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, South London and the Maudsley Mental Health FT and Oxleas FT. Importantly, the ICS seeks to be connected to the communities we serve (circa 1.92m residents) and work with the widest possible range of community, voluntary and third sector groups and organisations in each borough. The reach of our NHS provider portfolios extends beyond the borders of the ICS, across London, the south of England and nationally for some services.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for full details of the duties and responsibilities of the role including :

About You:

• Do you have a real passion for making a difference and positive impact for young people with a Learning Disability and/or Autism up to the age of 25?
• Are you a professional who can lead and inspire a team and a broad network of delivery partners?
• Do you have a good record of managing staff and working with complex networks of multi-disciplinary teams?

You will be a reflective professional who will bring relevant experience of leading or managing services working with CYP who have Autism and/or a Learning Disability and are often seen to have behaviour that challenges.

• You have experience of, and a commitment to, multi-disciplinary working with CYP, their families, carers, and networks of professionals.
• You will be an innovative individual with a passion for service improvement.
• You will have a profound understanding of the needs of young people with a Learning Disability and/or Autism and their families.

This role is suitable for a wide range of qualified practitioners who may wish to develop their managerial or leadership potential, e.g., Social Worker, Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Speech & Language Therapist, Teacher, with experience of working at a senior level and with experience specific to Autism, Learning Disabilities and children & young people (0-25).

For a discussion about the role or if you have any questions, contact Gerry Baker [e-mail] and Magda Beaver [e-mail]

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

• Educated to master’s level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area
• Evidence of continued professional development.

Skills & Abilities

• Ability to work across organisations, influence and develop close working relationships with key stakeholders across stakeholder networks
• Knowledge of risk management and clinical governance
• Ability to critically analyse practice and identify and implement improvements
• Must be able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups
• IT literate with skills for the use and application of information technology systems including file management, safe and effective internet use, Microsoft 365.
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues, working to tight and often changing timescale

Experience

• Experience of managing a multi-disciplinary team and leading operational change
• Experience of working a complex environment and interpreting complex information
• Experience of working in an environment relating to children and young people with a learning disability, autism or both and their families including experience in undertaking comprehensive, evidence based assessments and developing personalised care and support plans
• Experience of service development
• Experience of working at system level across organisational boundaries

Experience

• Experience of managing a multi-disciplinary team and leading operational change
• Experience of working a complex environment and interpreting complex information
• Experience of working in an environment relating to children and young people with a learning disability, autism or both and their families including experience in undertaking comprehensive, evidence based assessments and developing personalised care and support plans
• Detailed understanding of relevant legislation e.g. The Children and Families Act 2014, Health and Social Care Act 2012, Mental Capacity Act.

Other

• Tenacity: demonstrates high levels of self-belief, drive, enthusiasm and stamina to achieve goals and see things through
• Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity, valuing diversity and good working relationships both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems.
• Demonstrates knowledge of working in coproduction with children and young people and families:

Please note that our roles require you to live in the UKdue to on-site elements of the job,and remote working outside of the United Kingdom is not permittedunder NHS data security laws. Before you make an application, please ensure that you are able to meet the requirements to live and work in the UK. Further information is available from Work in the UK Government website.