Job summary
- Main area
- Advanced Practice Speech and Language Therapy
- Grade
- Band 8b
- Contract
- Secondment: 12 months (Must have prior approval from line manager)
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Flexible working
- Home or remote working
- Compressed hours
- Job ref
- 448-BCHS-8283838
- Employer
- East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridgeshire)
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- The Poynt
- Town
- Luton
- Salary
- £66,582 - £77,368 per annum, pro-rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 15/10/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 09/11/2026
Employer heading
Speech & Language Therapy Advanced Practitioner - Expert at Hand
Band 8b
East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust delivers expert healthcare in people’s homes, community hospitals and local settings across the East of England.
Our nurses, therapists, clinicians, support teams and partners work together to provide coordinated care that supports independence, recovery and wellbeing. We believe people are best cared for close to home, in the communities where they live and belong.
By combining professional expertise with strong local relationships, we help people stay well, feel supported and access the right care at the right time. Expert healthcare, close to home, trusted by our communities.
Different ideas, experiences and backgrounds make us stronger and more creative and applications from all walks of life are welcomed. Our processes ensure that all applicants are treated fairly at every stage of the recruitment process.
East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust is committed to creating a modern and inclusive work environment. We actively promote flexible working opportunities where possible to meet the needs and wishes of our workforce and maintain and improve their wellbeing. We also offer flexible working patterns and we would encourage you to discuss this with the recruiting manager before or during the application process if this would interest you.
We welcome applications from people who share our values and can help us deliver outstanding care in our local community.
Before applying for this vacancy, please make sure you’re familiar with ongoing GOV.uk sponsorship eligibility criteria which will impact the organisations ability to provide sponsorship, whether this is currently or in the future.
Please note, our selection processes are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right values and skills. Please be advised that the use of AI in applications is monitored. We remain watchful of candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills.
Please note all new starters will be subject to a 6 month probationary period.
Job overview
1 Year NHS Secondment Opportunity
Three Posts Available
📍 Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK)
📍 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough (C&P)
📍 Hertfordshire
Are you a visionary Speech and Language Therapist in the NHS ready to influence change at scale?
This is a unique opportunity to become one of the first Advanced Practitioners leading the delivery of the national SEND Reforms across the Central East region. As an Early Adopter, giving successful candidates the chance to shape, test and influence this exciting new role from the very beginning. There will be 3 roles across Central East ICB footprint, which will give the advantage of working in collaboration with peers to develop the role.
Working across health, education and local authority systems, you will provide strategic clinical leadership to strengthen the Speech and Language Therapy workforce, improve outcomes for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs, and support SEND reform across your local area.
Stakeholder panel will take place on 9th November. Successful candidates will be invited to formal interviews on 12th November 2026.
Please note that successful candidates may be employed by East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (BLMK/Cambs and Peterborough) or Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (Herts).
Main duties of the job
You will:
✅ Shape a brand-new regional role as part of a nationally significant programme
✅ Influence workforce strategy across health, education and local authority partners
✅ Create sustainable solutions for workforce shortages and service pressures
✅ Work directly with Integrated Care Boards, universities, commissioners and education leaders
✅ Lead innovation in placements, apprenticeships and workforce development
✅ Develop system-wide approaches that improve access to Speech and Language Therapy expertise for children and young people aged 0–25
✅ Become part of a pioneering network of Advanced Practitioners driving change across the country.
Working for our organisation
Rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.
There’s one reason why our services are outstanding – and that’s our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey.
If you share our passion for innovative and high-quality care delivery, then please submit your application and join us on our exciting journey as a leading-edge specialist community provider. All are welcome to apply and our promise to you is a culture which prioritises staff engagement and development.
Please be aware that East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust will never ask applicants to pay fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. All recruitment communications and job applications should only be made through our official careers website and published contact details.
If you receive a suspicious job offer or recruitment-related communication, do not make any payments, share personal information, or provide identity documents. We encourage you to report the matter to your local police or relevant law enforcement agency. Any concerns relating to potential recruitment fraud should also be reported to our Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) as soon as possible.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
JOB PURPOSE SUMMARY:
Provide consultant-level strategic clinical leadership for Speech and Language Therapy across education, SEND and workforce development, improving outcomes for children and young people aged 0-25. Act as the senior accountable professional lead for the SaLT education and workforce agenda, delivering sustainable workforce models, clinical standards and system change across health, education and local authority partners.. Influence commissioning, investment and service transformation through expert clinical advice, workforce intelligence and population-level evaluation.
RESPONSIBILITIES / ACCOUNTABILITIES:
· Work with a high degree of professional autonomy.
· Generate, lead and translate evidence to influence strategic decision making.
· Design and champion approaches that optimise the contribution of SaLT support workers and the wider workforce.
· Provide expert clinical advice to commissioners, senior leaders and partner organisations.
· Build partnerships with NHS providers, ICBs, local authorities, education settings, HEIs, professional bodies, parent carer forums and young people.
· Lead workforce supply, placements, apprenticeships, supervision frameworks, career pathways and succession planning.
· Provide leadership for supervision, educator capability, workforce quality and advanced practice development.
· Use population health intelligence, workforce data and evaluation methodologies to identify inequalities and inform strategic priorities
· Produce complex reports, business cases and recommendations for senior boards and stakeholder groups.
· Facilitate co-production with children, young people, families and carers.
· Maintain consultant-level clinical credibility through limited direct clinical practice and professional supervision activity.
· Design and oversee system-wide workforce models that increase access to SaLT expertise in mainstream education and support long-term workforce sustainability.
· Lead strategic partnerships with Higher Education Institutions, early years and education providers.
Act as an educator, supervisor, coach and mentor.
Develop system understanding of SaLT workforce supply and demand.
Act as the senior clinical authority for the programme of work and be accountable for the quality, safety and strategic direction of recommendations provided to system leaders.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- HCPC registration
- Masters Degree or equivalent consultant level knowledge
- Evidence of Advanced CPD
Desirable criteria
- leadership, workforce, education or research qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant expertise in SLCN and SEND
- working autonomously with highly complex judgement
- Workforce development, Placements, supervision and aprenticeships
Desirable criteria
- SEND partnership working
Skills
Essential criteria
- Strategic Leadership, Workforce transformation and system wide improvement
- using data, evidence and evaluation
Desirable criteria
- full UK driving licence
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Helen unsworth
- Job title
- Deputy Director of Children's Services
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07814591116
- Additional information
If you are excited by innovation, partnership working and strategic leadership, we'd love to hear from you.
Please contact:
BLMK: [email protected], or [email protected]
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough: [email protected]
Hertfordshire: [email protected]
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