Job summary
This is an excellent secondment opportunity for experienced
mental health professionals to take on a senior clinical role, supporting Children
and Young People (CYP) with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and/or a Learning
Disability (LD) and their family/carers. This role aims to ensure that CYP
and their families receive the right support at the right time, and that local
systems are responsive to meeting their needs in a holistic and joinedup way.
This is a fixed term position secondment opportunity that will end on 6th December 2026.
The Band 7 LDAP Keyworker Specialist Practitioner will provide senior
clinical leadership and coordination of care for Children and Young People
(CYP) with a Learning Disability and/or Autism who present with complex needs
or are at risk of crisis, admission, or placement breakdown.
The post holder will act as a key point of contact for CYP and their
families/carers, ensuring their voices are central to care planning and
decisionmaking. You will work proactively and collaboratively across
education, health, and social care to coordinate timely, personcentred, and
strengthsbased support.
Main duties of the job
Key responsibilities include:
- Providing specialist assessment, formulation, and clinical oversight for CYP with LD and/or autism and cooccurring mental health needs
- Acting as a system navigator and advocate for families, reducing fragmentation and improving access to the right support at the right time
- Working closely with multiagency partners to prevent crisis and avoid unnecessary escalation or restrictive interventions
- Supporting delivery of Transforming Care principles and SEND reform priorities through partnership working and service development
- Offering consultation, advice, and guidance to professionals across the system to build confidence and capability in supporting CYP with LD and autism
- Contributing to pathway development, quality improvement, and learning across the local system
This role requires a confident, autonomous practitioner with strong leadership, communication, and relationshipbuilding skills, who is passionate about improving outcomes and experiences for CYP with LD and/or autism and their families.
About us
At Children and Family Health Devon, we are dedicated to
improving the physical and mental health of children and young people across
Devon and Torbay. We aim to create an environment where children and young
people can thrive and are committed to reducing health inequalities and
providing specialised support, empowering them to lead healthy, fulfilling
lives.
Our children and
young people say
We would like the
people who work for Children and Family Health Devon to be understanding,
patient and respectful. They should be trustworthy and make us feel safe and
comfortable. It is important that they use their skills and experience to
listen carefully in a non-patronising and non-judgemental way. When staff are
positive and friendly, they help to create an environment that is informal and
without pressure.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Full
Vacancy details can be found on the attached Job Description/Person
Specification. Please refer to your suitability to the post in your supporting
information from the role requirements or person specification.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Full
Vacancy details can be found on the attached Job Description/Person
Specification. Please refer to your suitability to the post in your supporting
information from the role requirements or person specification.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Professional knowledge acquired through degree supplemented by
- specialist training or equivalent experience to masters level WITH a relevant core professional training (e.g. Nursing, Clinical Psychology, Social Work, Occupational Therapy, etc) and relevant professional registration.
- Training in an evidence-based therapeutic approach.
- Evidence of relevant CPD.
Desirable
- Training in supervision and/or leadership skills.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working collaboratively with service users and their families/carers, including using goal-based care and routine outcome measures in practice.
- Experience of working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team and across agencies.
- Experience of working with children and young peoples with Autism and/or a Learning Disability, families and parents/carers, maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems and verbal abuse.
- Experience of undertaking specialist mental health and/or behavioural assessment and therapeutic interventions for in the area of childrens mental health, with the ability to work with complex needs and undertake risk assessments.
- Experience of safeguarding infants and ensuring the safety of children in partnership with other agencies as appropriate.
- Experience that evidences an ability to tend to diversity and work in a way that promotes anti-discriminatory practice.
- Experience of initiating, attending and contributing to multi-professional and inter-agency meetings.
Desirable
- Experience in providing effective clinical supervision, teaching, training and assessing in clinical practice.
- Experience of providing professional teaching and training for other professionals.
Knowledge, skills and abilities
Essential
- Understanding of relevant legislation pertaining to child mental health and learning disability.
- High level knowledge of mental health presentations in and children/young people and knowledge of the theory and practice of short term and long term, evidence-based, clinical interventions in the field of perinatal and infant mental health and who may also present with a Learning Disability.
- Knowledge of child development.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents and safeguarding procedures and policies.
- Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education structures, national policies and frameworks, evidence based practice including NICE guidelines.
- Knowledge of risk management and ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly to ensure safety.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Professional knowledge acquired through degree supplemented by
- specialist training or equivalent experience to masters level WITH a relevant core professional training (e.g. Nursing, Clinical Psychology, Social Work, Occupational Therapy, etc) and relevant professional registration.
- Training in an evidence-based therapeutic approach.
- Evidence of relevant CPD.
Desirable
- Training in supervision and/or leadership skills.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working collaboratively with service users and their families/carers, including using goal-based care and routine outcome measures in practice.
- Experience of working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team and across agencies.
- Experience of working with children and young peoples with Autism and/or a Learning Disability, families and parents/carers, maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems and verbal abuse.
- Experience of undertaking specialist mental health and/or behavioural assessment and therapeutic interventions for in the area of childrens mental health, with the ability to work with complex needs and undertake risk assessments.
- Experience of safeguarding infants and ensuring the safety of children in partnership with other agencies as appropriate.
- Experience that evidences an ability to tend to diversity and work in a way that promotes anti-discriminatory practice.
- Experience of initiating, attending and contributing to multi-professional and inter-agency meetings.
Desirable
- Experience in providing effective clinical supervision, teaching, training and assessing in clinical practice.
- Experience of providing professional teaching and training for other professionals.
Knowledge, skills and abilities
Essential
- Understanding of relevant legislation pertaining to child mental health and learning disability.
- High level knowledge of mental health presentations in and children/young people and knowledge of the theory and practice of short term and long term, evidence-based, clinical interventions in the field of perinatal and infant mental health and who may also present with a Learning Disability.
- Knowledge of child development.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents and safeguarding procedures and policies.
- Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education structures, national policies and frameworks, evidence based practice including NICE guidelines.
- Knowledge of risk management and ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly to ensure safety.
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).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
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).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
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