Clinical Lead for Mental Health ServicesNHS

Job summary

We are looking for an inspirational and highly skilled Clinical Lead for Mental Health Services to provide clinical, professional and operational leadership across our mental health services, including Cypress Hospital, Supported Accommodation, Community Services, Devon Mental Health Alliance and BeWell.

This is a key leadership role within the organisation, offering the opportunity to influence service development, drive improvements in quality and safety, and ensure people receive compassionate, effective and recovery-focused support.

About the roleWorking closely with the Director of Quality Improvement, Service Delivery & Deputy CEO and the wider Senior Leadership Team, you will provide visible and effective leadership across a range of inpatient and community-based services.

You will take delegated responsibility for service quality, clinical governance, safeguarding, risk management, workforce performance and operational delivery, ensuring our services meet the highest professional, regulatory and organisational standards.

Main duties of the job

You will:

• Provide strong clinical and professional leadership, promoting evidence-based, trauma-informed and recovery-focused practice.
• Oversee complex assessments, care planning, admissions, transitions and discharges, ensuring people receive safe and person-centred support.
• Provide specialist guidance on complex mental health needs, risk management, safeguarding, capacity and clinical decision-making.
• Lead and develop managers and multidisciplinary teams, promoting a positive culture of accountability, learning and continuous improvement.
• Maintain oversight of clinical governance, incidents, complaints, audits, CQC compliance and service quality.
• Build effective relationships with NHS partners, commissioners, local authorities and other external organisations.
• Monitor service performance, staffing and delegated budgets, ensuring resources are used effectively while maintaining safe and high-quality services.
• Lead service development and improvement initiatives, using evidence, feedback and outcomes to make a meaningful difference.

Job description

Clinical Lead for Mental Health Services

The postholder will provide visible clinical and operational leadership across the charity's mental health services. As a registered professional, they will ensure assessment, care and support planning, risk management, safeguarding, record keeping and professional practice meet legal, regulatory, contractual and organisational requirements.

1. Scope and Key Accountabilities

Lead Cypress Hospital, Supported Accommodation, Community Services, Alliance across multiple locations.

Support the leadership of BeWell, as required.

Hold delegated accountability for safe, effective and person-centred service delivery.

Provide clinical, professional and operational leadership to a multidisciplinary workforce, including professional oversight for unregistered staff.

Lead referral, assessment, admission, transition and discharge arrangements.

Ensure effective management of clinical, operational, environmental, safeguarding and workforce risks.

Maintain safe staffing, effective rotas, clear escalation and out-of-hours arrangements.

Lead and develop managers and designated staff, with clear roles, supervision, professional boundaries and accountability.

Ensure compliance with CQC requirements, legislation, contracts, professional standards and organisational policy.

Manage delegated budgets and resources, provide assurance and lead measurable service improvement.

2. Main Duties and Responsibilities

2.1 Strategic and operational leadership

Translate strategy and values into clear operational plans, annual objectives and measurable priorities.

Maintain oversight of service activity, caseloads, staffing, incidents, risks, quality, outcomes and operational pressures.

Promote consistent, integrated and recovery-focused practice across services and with external partners.

Make timely decisions in complex or uncertain situations and escalate significant concerns promptly.

Lead service planning, development and improvement; provide regular quality, safety and performance reports.

Contribute to organisational strategy, policy, business planning and governance; deputise in agreed areas and participate in the on-call rota.

2.2 Clinical and professional leadership

Promote evidence-based, trauma-informed, strengths-based and recovery-focused practice.

Provide specialist advice on complex mental and physical health needs, risk, capacity, safeguarding, care planning and deterioration.

Ensure professional decisions are lawful, least restrictive and balance autonomy and positive risk-taking with protection from avoidable harm.

Promote multidisciplinary formulation and decision-making, timely escalation and appropriate physical healthcare.

Maintain professional registration and support registered staff with professional development, supervision and reflective practice.

2.3 Assessment, care planning and risk

Lead robust referral and assessment processes covering mental and physical health, capacity, medication, self-harm and suicide, substance use, violence, vulnerability, safeguarding, environmental risk, compatibility, staffing needs and personal goals.

Ensure admission decisions are multidisciplinary, documented, evidence-based and confirm the service can safely meet need, with required resources or adjustments identified.

Ensure safe transitions, lawful information sharing and transparent decisions where referrals are unsuitable.

Ensure each person has a current, accessible and person-centred care or support plan developed with the person and reviewed after significant change or incidents.

Ensure risk assessments are current, dynamic and proportionate, with triggers, protective factors, controls, contingencies, escalation routes and responsibilities clearly recorded.

Escalate risks that cannot be safely managed and ensure significant risks are reflected in governance arrangements.

2.4 Safeguarding, capacity and human rights

Ensure adult and child safeguarding concerns are recognised, reported, referred and documented promptly, with immediate protective action where required.

Support safeguarding enquiries, implement learning and monitor themes through governance.

Ensure compliance with the Mental Health Act 1983, Mental Capacity Act 2005, Care Act 2014 and relevant human-rights duties.

Ensure decision-specific capacity assessments, lawful best-interests decisions, access to advocacy and least-restrictive practice.

Escalate potential unlawful restrictions or deprivation of liberty.

2.5 Workforce, staffing and communication

Line manage managers and other designated staff, setting clear expectations, responsibilities and professional boundaries.

Lead recruitment, induction, probation, retention, supervision, appraisal, development and fair performance management.

Ensure clear coordination between management and clinical supervision, supporting wellbeing while maintaining standards and accountability.

Oversee safe staffing and rotas based on assessed needs, risks and competencies; monitor vacancies, absence, leave, training, agency use and expenditure.

Ensure safe lone-working, escalation and out-of-hours arrangements and identify significant workforce risks.

Maintain structured meetings and communication, with recorded decisions, named actions, owners and timescales.

2.6 Maintain effective clinical governance and review incidents, complaints, safeguarding, audits, workforce data and service-user feedback.

Ensure incidents and near misses prompt immediate protective action, proportionate learning responses and safety actions with owners, deadlines and evidence of completion.

Support Duty of Candour, relevant Patient Safety Incident Response Framework arrangements and a just, restorative learning culture.

Maintain continuous CQC readiness, clear evidence of quality and outcomes, accurate notifications and timely responses to regulatory findings.

Support the Registered Manager and Nominated Individual and escalate potential regulatory breaches.

Monitor action plans arising from inspections, audits and non-compliance.

Ensure effective governance arrangements operate consistently across all services, with clear lines of accountability, escalation and assurance.

Maintain oversight of service-level risk registers, ensuring risks, controls, gaps and mitigating actions are accurately recorded, regularly reviewed and escalated where necessary.

Provide timely, evidence-based assurance reports to the Director, Senior Leadership Team and relevant governance committees, clearly identifying areas of compliance, emerging risk, gaps in assurance and required action.

Ensure governance actions arising from incidents, complaints, safeguarding concerns, audits, inspections and quality reviews are assigned to named leads, monitored to completion and evaluated for impact.

Promote effective triangulation of qualitative and quantitative information, including incidents, feedback, outcomes, workforce data, audit findings and performance information, to identify themes, variation and opportunities for improvement.

Ensure policies, procedures and clinical standards are implemented consistently within services, with compliance tested through audit, observation, supervision and review of practice.

Contribute to the development and review of organisational policies, quality standards, clinical governance frameworks and Board assurance arrangements.

2.7 Records, involvement and partnership working

Ensure records are accurate, contemporaneous, person-centred and distinguish fact, opinion, reported information and decision rationale.

Maintain confidentiality, lawful information sharing and safe electronic systems; audit standards and address shortfalls.

Ensure people using services are involved in decisions and service development, with accessible feedback, complaints, advocacy and co-production arrangements.

Involve families and carers appropriately, subject to consent, confidentiality and legal requirements.

Develop effective relationships with commissioners, NHS partners, local authorities, primary care, pharmacies, housing, safeguarding, police, advocacy and voluntary-sector partners.

Represent the charity professionally and escalate delayed, fragmented or unsafe pathways.

2.8 Finance, improvement and assurance

Manage delegated budgets, monitor staffing and operational expenditure, address variance and contribute to financial planning and business cases.

Use resources effectively while protecting safe staffing, service quality and value for money.

Lead measurable quality improvement using incidents, audits, complaints, feedback, outcomes and performance data.

Involve staff and people using services in designing and testing change, demonstrating impact rather than action completion alone.

Develop dashboards covering quality, safety, workforce, care, outcomes, activity, finance and improvement actions.

Analyse complex information, identify variation and provide accurate assurance, escalating significant concerns immediately.

2.9 Freedom to act

Work autonomously within professional standards, organisational policy and delegated authority.

Make complex decisions about service delivery, staffing, risk and quality and determine immediate protective action where required.

Require assurance and action from managers and staff, challenge unsafe practice and escalate legal, financial, regulatory or reputational concerns.

Remain accountable for professional and management decisions and seek specialist advice when required.

About us

About Step One CharityStep One is a charity dedicated to supporting people experiencing mental health challenges, helping them to build confidence, develop independence and achieve positive changes in their lives.

We provide a range of mental health services, including inpatient care, supported accommodation and community-based support. Our approach is centred around the individual, recognising that everyone's journey is different and ensuring that the people we support are treated with dignity, compassion and respect.

Our teams are made up of dedicated, skilled and compassionate professionals who share a commitment to making a meaningful difference. We value collaboration, openness and a supportive working environment where colleagues are encouraged to share ideas, develop their skills and contribute to improving the services we provide.

Working at Step One means being part of an organisation where people matter. We encourage a positive, inclusive and learning-focused culture, with a strong emphasis on teamwork, professional development and delivering high-quality care and support.

We are proud of the work we do and the difference our colleagues make every day. Joining Step One offers the opportunity to be part of a committed team, contribute to the development of our services and help people move forward in their lives.