Job summary
As a key member of the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) leadership team, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and developing an innovative and evolving service that is transforming mental health support for children, young people, and families. Working collaboratively with colleagues across the system, you will lead the continued implementation and growth of the MHST programme, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based support that responds to the unique needs of local educational communities.

As Team Leader, you will provide visible and compassionate leadership, creating a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement. You will be responsible for the effective operational management of the service, including workforce leadership, performance and financial management, service development, and quality assurance. Through strong leadership, change management, and team-building skills, you will support colleagues to thrive, ensuring the service remains responsive, effective, and focused on achieving positive outcomes for children and young people.

The MHST delivers evidence-based interventions to support emotional wellbeing, primarily within educational settings. You will lead and support a skilled multidisciplinary team to undertake comprehensive assessments, manage risk effectively, and deliver high-quality interventions that empower children, young people, and families to achieve their goals and build resilience.

Main duties of the job
You will maintain oversight of referrals, caseload management, and resource allocation, ensuring children and young people receive timely and equitable access to support. Depending on local needs, you may also maintain a clinical role and hold a caseload, providing direct support and modelling best practice.

A key aspect of the role is fostering learning and development, sharing your specialist knowledge and expertise through formal and informal training, supervision, and consultation. You will work collaboratively with colleagues, partner agencies, educational settings, and wider stakeholders to strengthen mental health support across the system and promote a whole-school approach to wellbeing.

The post holder will also be responsible for establishing and maintaining robust systems and processes that underpin safe, effective, and high-quality service delivery. This includes the use of outcome measures, audit activity, service evaluation, and the ongoing review and development of policies and procedures to ensure the service remains innovative and evidence-informed.

The service operates Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm; however, flexibility is essential, as occasional evening workshops, engagement events, and community activities may be required to support schools, families, and wider service objectives.

About us
At Children and Family Health Devon, we are dedicated to improving the physical and mental health of children and young people across Devon and Torbay. We aim to create an environment where children and young people can thrive and are committed to reducing health inequalities and providing specialised support, empowering them to lead healthy, fulfilling lives.

Our children and young people say
We would like the people who work for Children and Family Health Devon to be understanding, patient and respectful. They should be trustworthy and make us feel safe and comfortable. It is important that they use their skills and experience to listen carefully in a non-patronising and non-judgemental way. When staff are positive and friendly, they help to create an environment that is informal and without pressure.

Who we are
We are an alliance of NHS organisations led by Devon Partnership Trust. We are a group of professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, nurses and many other professions.

Join us in beautiful Devon
With access to moors, sea and cities, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy Devon. Whether you enjoy spending time in the cultural hub of Exeter, exploring the Jurassic coastline or discovering the world surfing reserve in North Devon there really is something for everyone.

Details
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
Reference number: C9369-26-0827

Essential Experience

• Extensive experience of managing a busy caseload of clients with a range of complex needs.
• Substantial experience of working at a senior clinical level.
• Working within a community childrens service setting.
• Extensive experience of providing clinical supervision and managing staff.

Desirable Experience

• Budget management.
• Extensive experience of leading a clinical team.
• Setting up or working within a new service.

Essential Qualifications

• A professional qualification at degree level or equivalent (Psychological profession, Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Speech and Language Therapist, Social Worker etc.) A teaching qualification may also be considered alongside a health qualification- such as EMHP/CWP with significant post-qualifying experience.
• Active registration or appropriate accreditation with professional body (NMC, HCPC, BACP Registered, UKCP - Registered, BABCP - Accredited).
• Training to level 3 in Safeguarding children and young people: roles and competencies for Health Care staff.

Desirable Qualifications

• Management qualification.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Applicants must have current UK professional registration.

Employer contact:
MHST Service lead, Emma Walker, emmawalker3@nhs.net

Apply through our website