Job responsibilities
Role purpose
To provide senior operational and clinical leadership across Vertis Healths 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 applicants 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 to12 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.
