Job overview

Be part of the movement to improve and provide mental health services for children, young people and parents who are severely to profoundly deaf across England.

We are looking for an enthusiastic manager and committed individual to help lead our unique regional service. We have an exciting opportunity for a permanent Band 8a Service Manager to join the National Deaf CAMHS team for Central England.

This is an ideal opportunity for a senior practitioner with robust clinical experience who is wanting to take the next step in their career in clinical management and in a dynamic and fascinating area of Deaf CAMHS. Applicants will need to have relevant, demonstrable experience and must be highly motivated with strong leadership capabilities

The post holder will be officially based from home but must have the ability to travel to a range of settings throughout the Central England Region. We are well resourced for remote working. Applicants from across the West Midlands and East Midlands and South Central England regions are encouraged to apply

Main duties of the job

National Deaf CAMHS is an innovative community and inpatient mental health service delivering a pathway of care for 0–18 year olds across England.  The national service is delivered by four NHS Trusts, and our teams link closely together. You will be working closely with our key partners where together we have an ambition to deliver an outstanding model of mental health care for deaf children, young people and parents of England.

NDCAMHS is a unique and truly individual service. We are continuously learning and evolving, as we work together to meet the mental health needs of deaf children, young people and parents.

Working for our organisation

We are a fully integrated multi-disciplinary team comprising Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Systemic Family Therapists, Nurses, Occupational Therapists and Family Support Workers. A key aspect of the role is working closely with clinicians/practitioners as part of a bi-lingual, bi-cultural multi-disciplinary team with deaf and hearing practitioners and qualified BSL/English Interpreters.

We welcome deaf applicants, and applicants who already have a high level of British Sign Language or experience of working with deaf children and young people.

However, we recognise that the right candidate may need specialist training and development, including access to training to further develop British Sign Language, and specific skills and expertise for working with deaf people.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To provide a cost effective, quality of life and recovery focused, culturally sensitive mental health service to severe or profoundly deaf people aged 18 years and under, with English, BSL and other communication and language needs (including language deprivation and language neglect), and who require a linguistically accessible and deaf-affirming service.
• This role will provide clinical leadership and Managerial expertise to deliver services within agreed service care pathways, working with service users and carers, and other stakeholders- including referrers and commissioners within a national context.
• The post holder will provide advice and supervision in the management of referrals and caseloads for clinicians within both elements of the service. They will manage and develop staff within the team to ensure that they are providing quality care that is innovative, effective, evidence based and in keeping with national guidance. At all times, the post holder will acknowledge and respect the rights and personal dignity of individuals and promote good access for deaf people to access mental health services.

Additional responsibilities include:
• Promote and embed cultural and linguistic concordance across all aspects of service delivery.
• Provide supervision that supports reflective, deaf-affirming, non-deficit and culturally responsive practice.
• Ensure service development and pathways are informed by the views and experiences of deaf children, young people and families.
• Recognise language and communication as central clinical considerations, not administrative tasks.
• Willingness to challenge deficit-based, medicalised or inaccessible practice within teams and wider systems.

The main office base for the outreach team is in Dudley; however, clinicians are based from their homes across the whole of the Central England region (West Midlands, East Midlands, South Central), and you will be required to travel to a range of settings throughout this area and the rest of the UK

Person specification

Qualified Clinical Professional