Associate Director of AHPs Clinical Lead for physical health services

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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

We're seeking an experienced and inspiring Allied Health Professional to join NELFT as Associate Director of AHPs and Clinical Lead for Physical Health (Band 8C).

This senior leadership role provides professional and clinical leadership across adult and community physical health services. You'll work closely with the Director of AHPs, Integrated Care Directors and senior leaders to strengthen professional governance, shape strategy, and ensure AHPs are central to delivering safe, effective, person-centred care.

You will:

• Provide visible, credible leadership to AHPs across NELFT.
• Champion evidence-based, innovative practice that improves outcomes.
• Lead the development of professional structures, supervision, and career pathways.
• Offer expert advice on complex professional and clinical issues.
• Represent NELFT at local, regional and national AHP networks.
• Contribute to workforce planning, research, and quality improvement.

You'll be an HCPC-registered AHP with significant senior leadership experience in physical health, ideally across community or integrated care settings. You'll bring strategic insight, operational understanding, and the confidence to lead across professional and organisational boundaries.

In return, you'll join a progressive organisation that values professional leadership, inclusion and innovation - and play a key role in shaping how AHPs drive high-quality, sustainable care across North East London, Essex and Kent.

Main duties of the job

As Associate Director of AHPs and Clinical Lead for Physical Health, you'll provide senior professional and clinical leadership across NELFT services and be a key member of the Havering and Redbridge Directorate Leadership Teams. This dual remit means influencing both local delivery and the wider AHP strategic direction across the Trust.

You will:

• Provide visible leadership to AHPs, embedding professional standards and development.
• Lead professional governance and AHP strategy across physical health pathways.
• Contribute to service performance, workforce planning and quality improvement.
• Offer expert advice to ensure safe, person-centred, effective care.
• Drive innovation using evidence, data and quality improvement methods.
• Support AHP recruitment, retention, and career development.
• Represent NELFT at local, regional and national forums.
• Model inclusive, compassionate leadership and a culture of professional pride.

We're seeking an HCPC-registered AHP with senior leadership experience in community health, strategic insight, influence, and a passion for developing people, improving care and leading collaboratively.

Working for our organisation

Our Values 2025 - 2030

Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have coproduced 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.

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 focussing 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 - Outer London

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,714 to a maximum of £5,941 per annum (pro rata for part time).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

As Associate Director of AHPs and Clinical Lead for Physical Health, you'll provide senior professional and clinical leadership across NELFT's adult and community physical health services, while also being an active member of the Havering and Redbridge Directorate Leadership Teams.

You will:

• Lead AHP professional governance, quality, and workforce development across physical health services.
• Provide expert clinical and professional advice to ensure safe, effective, and evidence-based care.
• Shape and deliver strategic priorities alongside Integrated Care Directors and the Director of AHPs.
• Drive innovation, research, and service transformation that improves outcomes and supports integrated care.
• Champion AHP leadership, supervision, and education across all professions and pathways.
• Represent NELFT and the AHP workforce at local, regional, and national forums.
• Deputise for the Director of AHPs as required.

You'll work collaboratively with senior leaders, operational teams, and system partners to make sure AHPs play a central role in delivering high-quality, person-centred care.

Key relationships include:

• Director of Allied Health Professions and AHP Leadership Team
• Integrated Care Directors and Directorate Leadership Teams (Havering and Redbridge)
• Senior operational and clinical leaders
• NHS and local authority partners, ICB and system forums
• Higher education, research, and professional networks

Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.

We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Please apply as soon as possible as some posts close early to limit the number of applications.

Certificates of Sponsorship

Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.

Use of AI

Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Qualified and HCPC registered Allied Health professional
• Educated to masters level or equivalent experience at a senior level of AHP leadership.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant and relevant experience of working clinically with people with complex, chronic, health needs
• Experience of investigation and disciplinary procedures.
• Able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information.
• Experience of leading professional development within a large/ complex organisation.
• Proven record of establishing constructive multi-professional and interagency partnerships.
• NHS leadership and management experience, ideally in a senior trust wide focused AHP role
• Ability to maintain a high level of performance when dealing with challenging circumstances or faced with opposition from others

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• An awareness of NHS priorities
• Advanced knowledge of a range of clinical and therapeutic interventions and their practical application in a range of health settings.
• Be able to evidence clinical expertise relevant to specialty being applied for (CYP, MH or PH).
• An awareness of local and national issues and priorities within AHPs and the NHS
• Political awareness
• Knowledge of relevant policy, guidance research and legislation in the NHS

Skills

Essential criteria

• Good awareness of IT and IT skills, including use of social media
• Ability to analyse complex issues, to think and plan to achieve both tactical and strategic objectives and to exercise sound judgement in the face of conflicting pressures
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including presentation skills, report writing and an ability to present complex information to a mixed audience.

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 effortsto 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 recruitment@nelft.nhs.uk.

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.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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

• JD and Person Spec for Associate Director of AHPs and clinical lead for physical health (PDF, 492.6KB)
• Candidate Recruitment Pack (PDF, 671.2KB)