Job summary
Join our passionate, forward-thinking, supportive team and take a lead role in shaping high-quality community paediatric SLT services. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced clinician and leader ready to step into a senior position with real influence and autonomy.

We are excited to introduce an innovative Experts at Hand (EaH) model supporting children and young people across education & early years settings within Cambridgeshire.

The EaH model builds on local and national learning from our current model of service delivery, ELSEC, Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) and SEND reforms. It aims to improve early identification, reduce escalation to specialist services, build workforce capability and support more inclusive educational environments.

The post holder will be seconded to the position of Area & Clinical Lead for the Cambridgeshire Children's Speech and Language Therapy Service, providing day to day clinical and operational management support across the service within a geographical area. You will line manage the locality co-ordinators in your area.

If you're ready to be part of our innovative developments, inspire and shape the future of community paediatric therapy in Cambridgeshire, we'd love to hear from you.

The ability to work as part of the team & to have a flexible approach to work is essential.

Should we receive a high number of applications, we reserve the right to close this vacancy at any point after 1.10.26

Main duties of the job
The post holder will have highly developed specialist clinical skills in a relevant area of expertise. The post holder will be responsible for the independent management of a small clinical caseload of children, within their specialism. The client group for the service is children who have a range of difficulties in understanding and/or using speech, language and communication and/or feeding difficulties. The post holder will provide training at all levels including at post graduate level for professionals. They will have undertaken significant postgraduate training and will provide second opinions to other SLT colleagues. They will assume delegated responsibility for service provision, being aware of national and local initiatives, and will work with the SLT Service Lead to initiate and develop standards and policy including in interagency working. This may involve setting priorities, initiating developments and carrying out audit, in discussion with the SLT Service Lead.

About us
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.

Job responsibilities
Clinical

• To independently manage a highly specialist caseload of children who have speech, language and communication difficulties including complex cases. This caseload routinely requires multi-agency case management.
• To lead the implementation of consistent, countywide service delivery.
• To undertake a range of assessments, both standardised and non-standardised, taking account of medical, social and educational factors, which combined with highly specialist theoretical knowledge will lead to differential diagnosis.
• To plan, deliver and evaluate intervention programmes following professional guidelines and agreed service standards.
• As part of that process, to plan appropriate long term and short-term goals working towards discharge.
• To undertake administrative duties connected with the caseload including maintenance of case notes and provision of written reports, following service standards.
• To ensure that all work is carried out in close collaboration with all those involved in childrens care so that the approach to intervention and support is co-ordinated and comprehensive.
• To make onward referral as appropriate.
• To offer second opinions as required.
• To identify any variations to service delivery or demands and inform the SLT Service Lead of the likely impact on the service.
• As Area Lead, to offer flexibly short-term support for service shortfalls e.g. cover for staff vacancies for high needs cases.

Leadership & Management

• To provide effective and inspirational leadership to staff that promotes high performance for individuals and the team in the achievement of the Trusts objectives and priorities.
• To lead one of the Speech and Language Therapy area teams, being responsible for delegated line management duties.
• Ensure management of staff is consistent with the Trusts HR policies.
• To ensure all members of area team maintain compliance for mandatory training and appraisal.
• To alert the SLT Service Lead to any significant staff related issues.
• To conduct staff appraisal with team members and facilitate the development of others reflecting organisational and service priorities.
• To work with the student co-ordinator to support student placements within locality and specialist areas.
• To be actively involved in the recruitment of new staff, including leading the process if requested.
• To take a lead on the development of objectives or projects and to support peers in the implementation.
• To provide clinical leadership both within the speech and language therapy service and for other professionals.
• To interpret national and local policy relevant to service provision.
• To monitor and evaluate highly specialist service delivery and provide progress reports.
• To effectively induct new staff into the Trust/department in accordance with the Trusts induction programme.
• To facilitate the personal and professional development of staff. This involves identifying training and development needs, providing suitable development opportunities and evaluating development actions in accordance with the Trusts appraisal and training procedures.
• To monitor the level and standard of work undertaken by staff and to guide, coach and advise them as appropriate.
• To support locality co-ordinators in managing referrals to ensure that agreed key Performance Indicators are met.
• To support locality co-ordinators in service planning and delivery for their local area.
• To advise line manager on issues of service delivery including shortfall, service pressures etc.
• To assume delegated tasks as requested by SLT Service Lead, including leading working groups, policy development groups.
• To develop care protocols/packages relating to the service, in liaison with SLT Service Lead to improve patient care.
• To contribute to interagency/multi-professional team building and policy development. E.g. team working within educational settings.
• To support the SLT Service Lead in co-ordinated and effective management of the service, deputising in her absence.

Policy & service development

• To initiate, develop policy, clinical guidelines, clinical governance and service development in discussion with the SLT Service Lead; this will involve piloting of new initiatives with a view to implementing changes across the whole service.
• To develop care protocols and innovative practice in area of clinical specialism interpreting national and local initiatives.
• To be familiar with local and national standards and to work in line with these.
• To ensure that parents/carers are aware of the standards they should expect from the speech and language therapy service.

Communication

• To ensure effective communication of complex condition-related information to parents/carers regarding the assessment process, assessment findings and planned intervention, including engagement of parents/carers in intervention.
• To ensure children are involved in goal setting and decision making around their own care as appropriate to their age, developmental level and language skills. To ensure parents/carers are involved in decision making around their childs care including discharge from the service.
• To liaise effectively and consistently work in partnership with other professionals (particularly colleagues in education as well as other members of the multi-disciplinary team, including early years staff), including the development of shared goals for intervention.
• To write reports, in line with service standards, including contributions to statutory assessment and co-ordinating reports/responses from other SLT team members.
• To offer advice to others concerning support for individual children.
• To actively participate in multi-disciplinary meetings, case conferences and review meetings, agreeing and negotiating case management, recognising when there are difficulties in that process and generating possible solutions.
• To recognise how and when information may be shared within the bounds of confidentiality and the Data Protection Act.
• To chair meetings as appropriate including multi-professional meetings.

Patient and Public Engagement

• To contribute to ensuring that CCS responsibilities to engage and consult with patients and the public are met in line with statutory requirements.

Budgetary Responsibility

• Authorised signatory

Training

• To initiate the planning and delivery of training for other professionals and/or parents.
• To actively participate in and /or organise in-service training and other courses as appropriate to promote professional development in clinical specialism.
• To initiate, plan and deliver specialist training to colleagues, other professionals and parents as required.
• To identify training needs in the multi-disciplinary team needed to support the care of children on the caseload.
• To attend all Trust mandatory training.
• To undertake Child Protection training to level 3.

Human Resources

• Responsible for day-to-day management of a group of staff (management = responsibility for all or most of the following: grievance, disciplinary, appraisal, appointing panel member at recruitment, reviewing work performance and progress, work allocation and checking)
• Responsibility as line manager for Locality Co-ordinators and an Area of the Speech and Language Therapy Team.
• Development of staff.
• Maintaining own professional development and requirement to take part in appraisal.

Research & Development Activity

• To maintain and update skills and knowledge in relevant areas.
• To develop and monitor own clinical expertise through planned CPD and specific objectives.
• To initiate and undertake research/audit/outcome measures to develop the evidence base and improve the effectiveness of the service to children.
• To actively reflect on practice with peers to promote professional development and evidence based decision making.
• To advise colleagues on developments in current practice within area of clinical specialism.

Clinical and Practice Governance

• Observe and maintain strict confidentiality with regards to any patient/family/staff/records and information in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
• Any data that is taken/shared as part of a phone call, transported, or transferred electronically must be undertaken with regard to the Trust Information Governance and Information Security policies.
• The post holder must adhere to the Trust risk assessment and risk management processes.
• The post holder must adhere to infection control policies and procedures.
• It is a condition of your employment that you are currently registered with HCPC and it is your responsibility to maintain your professional registration.
• Undertake mandatory training and any other training relevant to the role as required by East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust.
• The post holder must participate in clinical and other audits as required.
• Provide patients and their families /carers with information on standards they should expect from the team.
• Participate in clinical supervision on a regular basis in line with professional and service standards.
• The post holder is required to participate in relevant emergency preparedness process for their team.

Person Specification
Qualifications & Training
Essential

• Degree or equivalent in Speech and Language Therapy
• Evidence of successful completion of short specialist courses
• Successful completion of management/leadership short courses

Experience
Essential

• Recent and extensive experience at advanced practitioner (Band 7) level in relevant area, within an NHS setting
• Extensive experience of supervising less experienced colleagues

Knowledge & Skills
Essential

• Ability to work confidently with parents/carers and to evaluate the effectiveness of that work
• Demonstrates ability to be a good team member and assume leadership skills
• Excellent negotiation and problem solving skills in complex situations and the ability to facilitate these skills in others
• Knowledge of the strategic direction of local and national NHS/Education initiatives and directives

Qualities and Attributes
Essential

• Excellent organisational skills including administrative ability and the ability to facilitate these skills in others
• Ability to manage change

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. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridge)
Address: The Oak Tree Centre, 1 Oak Drive, Huntingdon, PE29 7HN, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.eastofenglandcommunityhealthandcare.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Clinical & Service Manager SALT, Susie Robertson, susie.robertson@nhs.net

Details
Date posted: 24 September 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year per annum, pro-rata
Contract: Secondment
Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
Reference number: 448-CCYP-8316608
Job locations: The Oak Tree Centre, 1 Oak Drive, Huntingdon, PE29 7HN, United Kingdom