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NELFT NHS Foundation Trust
About
NELFT NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and community services for over 4.9 million people living in the London Boroughs of Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, and across Essex and Kent.
We work to ensure our patients, their friends and family, feel confident that their health needs are well met. With an excellent reputation for research and development, our skilled health professionals are at the cutting edge of evidence-based innovation, opening up the possibilities for better ways of working and delivery of care.
Contact
- Address
- Trust Head Office
- West Wing
- CEME Centre
- Marsh Way
- Rainham
- Essex
- RM13 8GQ
- Contact Number
- 0300 300 1530
Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist
Closed for applications on: 23-Sept-2025 00:01
Vacancy status: Closed
Closed for applications on: 23-Sept-2025 00:01
Key details
Location
- Site
- The Child and Family Centre
- Address
- 79 Axe Street
- Town
- Barking
- Postcode
- IG11 7LZ
- Major / Minor Region
- London
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- 10 months (Fixed term maternity cover)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Salary
- Salary
- £55,690 - £62,682 plus HCAS per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (NHS AfC: Band 8a)
Specialty
- Main area
- Neurodevelopmental service
Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
This is a fantastic opportunity to lead and inspire the Speech and Language Therapy team within the Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge (BHR) Neurodevelopmental Service, situated in one of London’s most culturally rich and diverse areas. You will play a pivotal role in delivering high-quality, evidence-based care for children and young people with complex communication needs, including autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
You will lead the development of a specialist, child-centred service that works closely with families, schools, and wider agencies to ensure truly integrated care. Alongside your leadership responsibilities, you’ll manage a specialist caseload, delivering expert clinical opinions and contributing to diagnostic assessments, as well as supporting children with speech, language and communication needs.
A unique feature of this role is the chance to be involved in a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded research project focused on improving the preschool autism diagnostic pathway - collaborating with leading experts, including a Specialist Neurodevelopmental Paediatrician and Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge. You’ll also contribute to pioneering digital innovations aimed at enhancing assessment and reporting processes.
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Main duties of the job
- Provide clinical leadership and operational management to the Speech and Language Therapy team, supporting service delivery across both health and education settings.
- Develop and lead innovative, evidence-based therapy services that align with integrated care pathways for children and young people with complex communication needs.
- Manage staff supervision, recruitment, and professional development to build a skilled and motivated team.
- Foster strong partnerships with Local Authorities, schools, and community stakeholders.
- Collaborate closely with a multidisciplinary team including Paediatricians, Psychologists, Assistant Psychologists, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists to design and deliver coordinated neurodevelopmental care.
- Engage actively with families and community networks to ensure services are responsive, inclusive, and outcome-focused.
- Maintain a specialist clinical caseload, providing expert assessment, diagnosis, and intervention.
- Promote ongoing service evaluation, quality improvement, and compliance with Trust policies.
- Drive forward innovation in service delivery, including digital resource development and embedding research within clinical practice.
- Champion culturally sensitive approaches and contribute to reducing health inequalities within the diverse communities we serve.
Working for our organisation
Starting with NELFT
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focusing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).
High Cost Area Supplement - London
This post attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,714 and a maximum payment of £5,941 per annum pro rata).
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.
They are:
- We are kind.
- We are respectful.
- We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Our service is passionate about addressing health inequalities and delivering equitable care across a multicultural community where over 130 languages are spoken. If you’re ready to combine clinical excellence, leadership, and innovation in a supportive and dynamic environment, this role is for you.
Please see the attached job description and person specification for further details on this vacancy.
Benefits
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
- A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
- A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our efforts to support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
- Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
- Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.
Supporting our Armed Forces
We recognise the valuable contribution that the Armed Forces community make to our organisation. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and achieved Gold Award under the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme. We have supportive policies, guaranteed interview schemes for veterans. reservists and military spouses and give additional leave to our Reservists so that they can attend their annual camp.
Equal opportunities employer
We are committed to equal opportunities and diversity and positively encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of any protected characteristic.
We are a Disability Confident employer and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with disabilities. If you require this application in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape please contact the recruitment team on 0300 300 1530 or email [email protected].
Correspondence with us
You are advised to regularly check your emails (including any junk mail/spam folders) for correspondence related to this post.
As part of our recruitment process, we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS. We also use third party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same.
Applicant requirements
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Degree or equivalent in Speech and Language Therapy
- HCPC registration
- Successful completion of leadership courses or evidence of management skills.
- Show active interest in CPD – specifically in the areas of complex communication - in line with RCSLT guidelines
Desirable criteria
- Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy
- MSc in Speech and Language Therapy or a relevant clinical field
Experience
Essential criteria
- Ability to organise and chair meetings at a departmental and MDT level
- Ability to manage a high number of referrals and an ongoing complex caseload
- Understanding of the roles of other professionals and the principles of partnership working with key stakeholders in the service areas
- Experience of paediatric therapy and management of communication difficulties
- Developing CPD programme for service/team with experience of offering clinical supervision
- Working with multi-agency and/or within an MDT
- Working with clients who have a range of speech, language, and communication needs
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- An in-depth knowledge of theory and practice in child development and its applications to speech and language therapy
- Advanced clinical knowledge of the impact of specific developmental disabilities on the development of the child or young person
- Knowledge of developmental and acquired communication disorders
- In depth knowledge of a range of therapeutic interventions and ability to compare and contrast relative benefits and outcomes
- Knowledge of a broad range of assessment tools relevant to the specialist patient group, treatment techniques and therapeutic interventions
- Understanding of safeguarding
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Ashok Kakati
- Job title
- Assistant Programme Director
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07803203629
No longer accepting applications
Sorry, this vacancy is no longer accepting applications.
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