About Vertis Health
Vertis Health is a GP-owned organisation in Primary Care Worcestershire. We deliver safe, evidence-based community services through clinician-led teams, robust governance, and practical, data-driven improvement.
Role purpose
To provide senior operational and clinical leadership across Vertis Health’s 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 applicant’s 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 ANP’s 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): 10–12 hours per week
· Supervision and line management (1:1s, appraisal, PDPs, CPD oversight): 10–12 hours per week
· MDT leadership, clinical governance and quality assurance (MDT chairs, audit, incident learning, policy and standards): 7–9 hours per week
· Service leadership, performance and system engagement (capacity planning, BI review, pathway improvement, stakeholder and commissioning interface): 6–8 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.
Person specification
Essential (common)
· Direct experience working within ASD and/or ADHD assessment and review pathways, with adults and/or children and young people, sufficient to provide credible clinical leadership, governance oversight, and line management within specialist neurodevelopmental services.
· Significant post-qualification experience in mental health and/or neurodevelopmental services with demonstrable senior clinical leadership responsibilities.
· Experience leading service delivery across multidisciplinary teams, including line management, supervision structures, and performance management.
· Demonstrable understanding of clinical governance, risk management, safeguarding, and quality improvement within healthcare settings.
· Strong operational capability: ability to manage capacity, waiting lists, performance metrics, and service standards in a busy clinical environment.
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including ability to produce high-quality documentation and lead difficult conversations appropriately.
· Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, trauma-informed practice, and psychologically safe working cultures.
Essential (Route A: ANP)
· Registered Nurse (NMC) with recognised Advanced Clinical Practice qualification (or equivalent evidence of advanced level practice).
· Evidence of advanced assessment and clinical decision-making within mental health services.
· If independent prescribing is held: V300 (or equivalent) and evidence of safe prescribing practice within governance.
Essential (Route B: Principal Clinical Psychologist)
· HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical Psychologist).
· Doctoral-level training in Clinical Psychology (or recognised equivalent route to HCPC registration).
· Evidence of senior-level clinical leadership within psychological services and/or neurodevelopmental pathways.
Desirable (either route)
Experience designing or improving pathways, SOPs, clinical documentation standards, or audit/service evaluation programmes.
Training and competency in relevant assessment tools and frameworks used in ND services (commensurate with role).
Experience of working with primary care interfaces, shared care arrangements, and wider system stakeholders.
Additional information
This job description is written to appoint the strongest candidate via one of two professional routes. Final span of control, professional supervision arrangements, and any route-specific clinical duties will be confirmed at appointment to ensure safe practice, clear accountability, and alignment to service need.
Pay: £62,321.00-£72,416.00 per year
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
