Job summary
Are you ready to lead and shape award-winning mental health crisis care for children and young people in Manchester? We are seeking an experienced Clinical Team Leader to join MFT's CAMHS Crisis Service -- an innovative, responsive and high-performing service delivering care through our Rapid Response, Home Intensive Treatment and Paediatric Liaison in-reach pathways.
This is a leadership-focused role for someone ready to step beyond individual clinical work into operational coordination, workforce leadership, service planning and quality improvement, while maintaining clinical credibility in complex mental health crisis cases. You will provide day-to-day operational oversight, working predominantly Monday to Friday across our extended-hours service (8am-10pm, seven days a week), promoting safe staffing, effective triage, high-quality care and a supportive team culture.
You will lead and develop a skilled multi-disciplinary team to deliver timely mental health crisis assessments, risk formulation, safety planning and intensive community-based intervention. You'll champion trauma-informed, least restrictive and recovery-focused practice, collaborating with Acute, Paediatrics, Social Care, Education and VCSE partners to reduce hospital admissions and enable safe discharge.
We welcome applications from dynamic leaders registered with NMC, Social Work England or HCPC, with strong operational awareness, supervisory experience and a passion for improving mental health services.
Main duties of the job
You will provide operational leadership across the CAMHS Mental Health Crisis Service, including staff coordination, workflow management, rota oversight, risk escalation and quality monitoring. You will support the Service Manager with day-to-day service delivery, ensuring safe staffing, effective triage and responsive care across our Rapid Response, Home Intensive Treatment and Paediatric Liaison pathways.
You will lead and support practitioners to deliver timely crisis assessments, safety planning and community-based interventions, championing trauma-informed, least restrictive and recovery-focused practice. You will promote collaborative working across acute, paediatric, community, education and social care partners to enable safe discharge and reduce avoidable hospital admissions.
You will provide line management, clinical supervision and professional support to team members, contributing to staff development, wellbeing, reflective practice and a positive team culture. You will support governance activity including performance monitoring, data quality, audit, service evaluation and improvement initiatives.
While primarily operational and leadership-focused, you will maintain clinical credibility by contributing to complex case reviews, clinical formulation and decision-making where appropriate.
The role is predominantly Monday to Friday, supporting an extended-hours service (8am-10pm, seven days a week), with occasional flexibility to meet operational needs.
About us
Join Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and become part of a 30,000 plus strong team, delivering exceptional care to over 1 million people every year. As the largest provider of specialist services, and our Oxford Road Campus in Manchester, the largest health academic campus in Europe, we are forward-thinking, committed to clinical excellence and driven to deliver innovation, and continuous improvement.Whether you're beginning your career or taking the next step, MFT offers a stimulating and supportive environment where your contribution truly matters. Our Hive Electronic Patient Record system enables safer, smarter, and more efficient ways of working - empowering you to deliver the best possible outcomes for our patients.You'll be part of a collaborative, multi-disciplinary community, working alongside professionals from a wide range of clinical backgrounds. Together, we push boundaries, share knowledge, and deliver care that transforms lives.At MFT, you'll find a workplace where everyone is respected, supported, and encouraged to thrive. We offer clear clinical pathways for professional development, helping you grow your skills and achieve your ambitions.Your journey at MFT is more than a job - it's an opportunity to make a lasting impact. We'll support you as you shape the future of healthcare, one patient at a time.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience youll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading. So that youre even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, youll need to take time to read the Candidate Essentials Guide that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how we care for you as you care for others. Most importantly, it also contains critical information youll need to be aware of before you submit an application form. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in your applicationHere at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, were proud to be ALL HERE FOR YOUfor our patients, our communities, and each other.As part of our commitment to fairness, transparency, and personal integrity, we ask all applicants to ensure that their job applications reflect their own experiences, skills, and motivations. While AI tools can support spelling, grammar, or formatting, we expect that the content of your applicationespecially personal statements and responses to role-specific questionsis written by you. This helps us get to know the real you and ensures that our recruitment process remains equitable and meaningful for everyone.Thank you for helping us uphold the values that make our Trust a place where people belong, grow, and thrive. We look forward to receiving your application. Diversity MattersMFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, please contact the manager named below.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience youll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading. So that youre even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, youll need to take time to read the Candidate Essentials Guide that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how we care for you as you care for others. Most importantly, it also contains critical information youll need to be aware of before you submit an application form. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in your applicationHere at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, were proud to be ALL HERE FOR YOUfor our patients, our communities, and each other.As part of our commitment to fairness, transparency, and personal integrity, we ask all applicants to ensure that their job applications reflect their own experiences, skills, and motivations. While AI tools can support spelling, grammar, or formatting, we expect that the content of your applicationespecially personal statements and responses to role-specific questionsis written by you. This helps us get to know the real you and ensures that our recruitment process remains equitable and meaningful for everyone.Thank you for helping us uphold the values that make our Trust a place where people belong, grow, and thrive. We look forward to receiving your application. Diversity MattersMFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, please contact the manager named below.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Relevant Core Professional qualification in nursing, occupational therapy or social care plus evidence of continued professional development in a CAMHS related area
- Educated to masters level or equivalent demonstrable experience.
- Evidence of professional registration and continued professional development
Desirable
- Training in one or more additional specialised areas of practice including children and young people
Expereince
Essential
- Extensive clinical experience in CAMHS or relevant crisis/care pathways, including managing complex cases and exercising full clinical responsibility.
- Strong risk assessment and risk management skills, with experience in formulating and overseeing safety plans.
- Experience working across multidisciplinary and multi-agency boundaries, demonstrating effective partnership working and consultation with professionals and non-professionals.
- Well-developed assessment, formulation and intervention skills, using evidence-based approaches and complex psychological methods.
- Demonstrable experience in clinical leadership and supervision, including teaching, training, coaching, and supporting the development of less experienced staff.
- Highly developed communication skills, with the ability to convey sensitive, complex information clearly to patients, families, and professionals verbally and in writing
Desirable
- Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups, across the whole life span and presenting with the full range of severity.
- Experience of assessing and treating patients across the full range of care settings.
- Experience of using outcome measures to evaluate the impact of their clinical practice
- Experience of children and young people's inpatient mental health care
- Skills in service evaluations and service relevant research
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of the use and inputting of outcome measures
- High level of working knowledge of the policy guidance and legislation specifically relating children and young people
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the patient group and mental health, including the Mental Health Act and issues of capacity and consent
- Detailed knowledge of child safeguarding procedures and responsibilities
- Knowledge of crisis and risk management procedures
- Thorough knowledge of risk assessment and risk reduction strategies
- Sound knowledge of family interventions to boost resilience and improve
Desirable
- Knowledge in the practice of specialist therapies in Children and Young People within a stepped model of care
- An understanding of evidenced based psychological therapies from a range of modalities, including systemic working
- Understanding of the acuity and demands of CYP crisis services
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Strong communicator and collaborator -- able to build positive professional relationships, present and negotiate sensitive information effectively with stakeholders, and work confidently across multidisciplinary and multi-agency settings.
- Calm, professional and resilient leader -- maintains composure in challenging situations, inspires and supports others, and contributes to a positive and collaborative team culture.
- Flexible, adaptable and proactive -- able to manage uncertainty and change, work under pressure, meet service demands (including duty/on-call when required) and respond to evolving needs.
- Organised and self-directed -- strong time management, able to prioritise effectively, work independently and as part of a team.
- Clinically credible and improvement-focused -- experience delivering evidence-based interventions, committed to recovery-focused practice, service evaluation, performance monitoring and continuous improvement.
- Values-driven -- demonstrates commitment to child-centred, needs-led, trauma-informed and least restrictive principles.
Desirable
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
Work Related Circumstances
Essential
- Willingness to participate in an on-call rota
- Willingness to work flexibly including unsocial, weekend and out of hours working
- Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
- Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust's Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Relevant Core Professional qualification in nursing, occupational therapy or social care plus evidence of continued professional development in a CAMHS related area
- Educated to masters level or equivalent demonstrable experience.
- Evidence of professional registration and continued professional development
Desirable
- Training in one or more additional specialised areas of practice including children and young people
Expereince
Essential
- Extensive clinical experience in CAMHS or relevant crisis/care pathways, including managing complex cases and exercising full clinical responsibility.
- Strong risk assessment and risk management skills, with experience in formulating and overseeing safety plans.
- Experience working across multidisciplinary and multi-agency boundaries, demonstrating effective partnership working and consultation with professionals and non-professionals.
- Well-developed assessment, formulation and intervention skills, using evidence-based approaches and complex psychological methods.
- Demonstrable experience in clinical leadership and supervision, including teaching, training, coaching, and supporting the development of less experienced staff.
- Highly developed communication skills, with the ability to convey sensitive, complex information clearly to patients, families, and professionals verbally and in writing
Desirable
- Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups, across the whole life span and presenting with the full range of severity.
- Experience of assessing and treating patients across the full range of care settings.
- Experience of using outcome measures to evaluate the impact of their clinical practice
- Experience of children and young people's inpatient mental health care
- Skills in service evaluations and service relevant research
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of the use and inputting of outcome measures
- High level of working knowledge of the policy guidance and legislation specifically relating children and young people
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the patient group and mental health, including the Mental Health Act and issues of capacity and consent
- Detailed knowledge of child safeguarding procedures and responsibilities
- Knowledge of crisis and risk management procedures
- Thorough knowledge of risk assessment and risk reduction strategies
- Sound knowledge of family interventions to boost resilience and improve
Desirable
- Knowledge in the practice of specialist therapies in Children and Young People within a stepped model of care
- An understanding of evidenced based psychological therapies from a range of modalities, including systemic working
- Understanding of the acuity and demands of CYP crisis services
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Strong communicator and collaborator -- able to build positive professional relationships, present and negotiate sensitive information effectively with stakeholders, and work confidently across multidisciplinary and multi-agency settings.
- Calm, professional and resilient leader -- maintains composure in challenging situations, inspires and supports others, and contributes to a positive and collaborative team culture.
- Flexible, adaptable and proactive -- able to manage uncertainty and change, work under pressure, meet service demands (including duty/on-call when required) and respond to evolving needs.
- Organised and self-directed -- strong time management, able to prioritise effectively, work independently and as part of a team.
- Clinically credible and improvement-focused -- experience delivering evidence-based interventions, committed to recovery-focused practice, service evaluation, performance monitoring and continuous improvement.
- Values-driven -- demonstrates commitment to child-centred, needs-led, trauma-informed and least restrictive principles.
Desirable
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
Work Related Circumstances
Essential
- Willingness to participate in an on-call rota
- Willingness to work flexibly including unsocial, weekend and out of hours working
- Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
- Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust's Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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).
