ADOS Autism Assessor for Children and Young People - Exeter

Job description

Job responsibilities

ADOS Autism Assessor for Children and Young People, based in our Exeter clinic

Time commitment: Full-time employment is preferred, though we can also offer part-time (minimum of 3 days per week) or a self-employed role (again a minimum of 3 days per week).

Location: This role is in-person based at our Exeter, Devon clinic.

Reporting to: Autism Service Team Manager.

About Paloma

Mark & Darshak founded Paloma as they were frustrated that families are waiting 2-10 years for NHS childrens autism and ADHD assessments. Learn more about the crisis in NHS childrens neurodevelopmental services from this Childrens Commissioner for England here: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/blog/childrens-commissioner-warns-of-invisible-crisis-as-delays-and-inequalities-laid-bare-among-children-with-neurodevelopmental-conditions/

Palomas mission is to make childrens autism and ADHD assessments and care available on the NHS within 4 weeks of GP referral. We are making this happen by redesigning care pathways, building new software & AI tools, and training up a specialist clinical workforce.

We are growing incredibly fast to meet the need for autism and ADHD care, and we have:

• Raised £5m pre-seed funding from leading healthcare investors (Triple Point Ventures and Heal Capital)

• Grown our fantastic team to 80 people, and are hiring ~100 more over the next 12 months

How is Paloma Health different from other Neurodevelopmental providers?

• We are clinically-led, Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered, and rigorous in recording our outcomes and family experiences.

• Our in-house product & engineering team ensures we can:

• Give families a more consumer-like experience of healthcare

• Free our clinicians from documentation to focus on supporting families

• Our strong culture, including transparency, a sense of community, and supporting staff career development

• The experience of our founders (Dr Mark Jenkins & Darshak Shah), who have previously built tech-enabled NHS obesity and ophthalmology services. Combined, their previous companies have treated over 1 million NHS patients in the last 15 years!

• Being backed by leading healthcare investors (Triple Point Ventures and Heal Capital) allows us to move fast

The Opportunity

Paloma Health has developed a new gold-standard autism assessment pathway and our own Patient Record software system, which allows us to offer:

• An exceptional service and timely assessments, as well as clear strengths and needs-based outcomes, regardless of whether an autism diagnosis is made.

• High assessor role satisfaction by improving the experience of delivering assessments. For example, we are building an AI tool to streamline diagnostic report writing, which we know is a pressure of the role.

You will work as a member of a multidisciplinary assessment team, delivering:

• In-person child observations at our Exeter clinic

• Peer MDT diagnostic decision-making, with the support of the senior clinical MDT where required

• Tech-enabled outcome report writing

• Outcome calls with parents and families (via video call)

From a cultural perspective, you are:

• Comfortable working in a dynamic environment and embracing change

• Excited about using new technologies in your role

• Always looking for ways to improve our staff and patient experience

We commit to supporting your development and well-being, including:

• The Paloma Clinical Academy programme supports all clinicians at all stages of their careers to develop (e.g. to our Senior Assessor role) and cross-skill (e.g. into ADHD when we launch that).

• 1 protected day per month for assessor team training, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), clinical supervision and reflection.

• Quarterly development conversations with clear career progression pathways.

• Clear weekly timetables that support a role mix across appointments, administration, development, and team building.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct high-quality child observations as part of an autism assessment.

• Act in accordance with our Safeguarding Policy, including conducting a risk assessment where necessary.

• Keep up to date with mandatory training and your professional qualification requirements, including CPD.

Qualifications and experience:

Required:

• Professional Registration with any of: HCPC, NMC, GMC or Social Work England

• Typically, job titles of people with the relevant skills are:

• Psychologist, including Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist, and Educational Psychologist (HCPC)

• Occupational Therapist (HCPC)

• Speech and Language Therapist (HCPC)

• Nurse, including Mental Health and Learning Disability Nurse (NMC)

• Medical Doctor (GMC)

• Social Worker (Social Work England)

• Completion of a recognised ADOS-2 course

• At least 1 year of experience in children and young people's autism diagnostic assessments, with specific experience of delivering child observations in children aged between 2 and 18 years of age

• Good time management skills, including caseload management

• High-quality parent and patient communication skills

• Enhanced DBS with barred list check (as you will be working with children)

Desirable:

• Experience in conducting risk assessments within an autism assessment service

• Evidence of Safeguarding training (Level 3 and above)

Why join Paloma?

You will be part of a mission-driven organisation thats transforming access to Autism Assessments in England. For employed roles, we offer:

• A strong and positive culture that prioritises staff well-being, transparency, and career development.

• Protected time and budget for team connection, learning, and community-building.

• Salary of £58,000-70,000 per year based on experience, clinical background and desired working pattern.

• Home working equipment allowance and professional registration allowance.

• Annual salary reviews, 5% employer pension, and company laptop.

• Share options in Paloma Health. We all benefit from our success!

• A unique leave benefits package includes 25 days of annual leave, your birthday off, and 10 days of paid sabbatical leave every three completed years of service.

• Access to NHS discounts, including the Blue Light Card (as we are an NHS provider).

For a self-employed role, we offer £600-900/day depending on the desired working pattern.

Equality & Diversity

Paloma Health is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and throughout the application process. We do not discriminate based on any protected characteristic.

Accommodations

Were glad to accommodate candidates who need adjustments throughout the hiring process. We encourage you to be open about the adjustments you need so we can adapt our interview process.

Safer Recruitment & Pre-Employment Checks

Paloma Health ensures that supporting people to be safe is at the heart of our work and a key priority across all areas of the organisation. As part of our pre-employment checks, you will be asked to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Depending on your role within the business, this will be at either an Enhanced, Standard, or Basic level. We are committed to safer recruitment practices and expect all applicants to share our dedication to safeguarding. Our recruitment processes are designed to ensure we appoint individuals who are aligned with our values and who will contribute to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for everyone we work with.

Application process

Please apply via our website. We understand that applying for a new job requires a significant amount of effort, and we appreciate your time. We look forward to reviewing your application.

Join us and be part of our journey to revolutionise access to NHS Autism Assessments in England!

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional Registration with any of: HCPC, NMC, GMC or Social Work England
• Typically, job titles of people with the relevant skills are:
• Psychologist, including Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist, and Educational Ppsychologist (HCPC)
• Occupational Therapist (HCPC)
• Speech and Language Therapist (HCPC)
• Nurse, including Mental Health and Learning Disability Nurse (NMC)
• Medical Doctor (GMC)
• Social Worker (Social Work England)
• Completion of a recognised ADOS-2 course (required for NMC, GMC, Social Work England and HCPC (except Clinical Psychologists))
• At least 1 years experience in children and young people's autism diagnostic assessments with specific knowledge including:
• A sound understanding of co-occurring conditions and differentials.
• Ability to present findings, including diagnostic formulation, concisely into a clinical report which is client-centred and includes a strengths and needs profile.
• Good time management skills, including caseload management
• High-quality parent and patient communication skills
• Enhanced DBS with barred list check (as you will be working with children)

Desirable

• Formal training in autism developmental histories e.g. ADI-R
• Experience in conducting risk assessments within an autism assessment service
• Evidence of Safeguarding training (Level 3 and above)

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Paloma Health

Address

The Senate

Southernhay Gardens

Exeter

EX11UG

Employer's website

https://www.paloma.health/ (Opens in a new tab)