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Job summary

Main area
Mental Health
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract
Secondment: 1 year (Fixed Term Contract)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
363-SSLB7715366
Employer
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Union Street Clinic
Town
Bedford
Salary
£55,690 - £62,682 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
30/01/2026 23:59

Employer heading

East London NHS Foundation Trust logo

Team Leader - Bedfordshire Talking Therapies

NHS AfC: Band 8a

ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job overview

Bedfordshire Talking Therapies (BTT) is a thriving talking therapies service. The service offers low and high intensity interventions in individual, couple and group formats.

We require a suitably qualified and experienced CBT/Relational therapist to lead a team of psychological therapists, is an accredited practitioner and has extensive experience of delivering Talking Therapies recognised talking therapies.  We are particularly interested in applicants that have had previous leadership/supervision experience.  

Main duties of the job

We are looking for a Team Leader who will work alongside our team of Team Leaders to ensure the effective running of the service; you will report into and be supported by the Deputy Clinical Lead and Clinical Lead. You will hold a clinical caseload of step three presentations to whom individual and group treatments are provided. Monitoring performance against KPI targets at the individual clinical level and the service level will also form part of your role. 

You will be expected to attend base twice a week, be able to travel and work across the county and work one late evening.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the team, your ideas and creativity would be welcome in contributing to the development of an effective and innovative service which meets the needs of the local diverse community

Working for our organisation

Bedfordshire Talking Therapies is one of three Talking Therapies services run and administered by East London NHS Foundation Trust, the others being Newham Talking Therapies and Tower Hamlets Talking Therapies. The three services are located organisationally in the Specialist Services Directorate and work together on joint projects. Bedfordshire Talking Therapies are also aligned with BLMK (Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes) place based provision of care and ICB and work alongside these services to ensure an equitable offer across the system.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We are particularly interested in applicants that have had previous leadership/supervision experience.  The post holder will be providing clinician of the day duties, case management, line management and clinical supervision. They will also oversee a clinical part of the service and ensure we are working towards our overall strategy in that area. You will be supported in the delivery of this by the Deputy and Clinical Leads.

Job Description attached in Documents

Person specification

Education/ Qualification/Training

Essential criteria
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (BABCP accredited)
  • OR HCPC registered Counselling or Clinical Psychologist or another Talking Therapy compliant Therapy
Desirable criteria
  • OR Counsellor with Talking Therapies compliant therapy
  • Relevant registration and accreditation status
  • Plus Accredited practitioner and supervisor.

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Experience of managing and supervising professionals from different backgrounds.
  • Experience in developing services to respond to User needs.
  • Work as an experienced psychologist/psychotherapist with advanced skills in at least one Psychological therapy modality.
  • Excellence and experience in the continuous improvement of high and/or low intensity interventions and coordinating the services of a range of practitioners and providers, with experience of delivering this within primary care and or a Talking Therapy compliant service.
  • Experience of providing an autonomous clinical service to a diverse population.
  • Experience in managing and delivering to the expected performance targets.
  • Excellence and experience in IT and diary management that support own and the service’s clinical resources.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria
  • Excellent reporting and presentation skills
  • Able to provide & receive complex, sensitive or contentious information.
  • Able to use highly specialist skills of empathy to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.
  • Able to build good working relationships with other professionals.
  • Able to liaise effectively at all levels of an organisation.
  • Able to arrive at appropriate formulations.
  • Able to compare and select from a range of treatment options, based on formulation.
  • Able to provide both brief and longer-term therapeutic interventions.
  • Able to demonstrate expertise in one or more therapeutic orientations, or with one or more areas of clinical presentation.
  • Able to provide an appropriate clinical service to a diverse population.
  • Able to work to agreed targets and monitor own work effectively.
  • Knowledge of, and ability to apply, government/advisory body frameworks and guidelines relating to mental health.
  • Knowledge of mental health and primary care systems.
  • Understanding and experience of carrying out audit, clinical governance and clinical effectiveness procedures.
  • Able to plan, organise and prioritise a complex workload.
  • Basic keyboard skills.
  • Able to record and report on clinical information.
  • Competent in use of IT packages – word processing, e-mail and internet. Competent use of clinical data systems to record and report on performance activity.
  • Knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis.
  • Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to the client group.
  • Knowledge of legislation and its implications for clinical practice with this client group
  • Aware of the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health.
  • Able to be flexible and adapt approach according to need.

Other

Essential criteria
  • Able to work to professional guidelines.
  • Must be capable of accountability for own work, of autonomous clinical practice, of being guided by precedent and of working towards defined results.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Capital Nurse, LondonCommitted to being an Inclusive EmployerApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveHSJ Best places to workArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Mindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerCare quality commission - OutstandingStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Lorna Lennon
Job title
Clinical Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01234880400
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