Head of Therapy (Addiction)NHS

Job summary

The Head of Therapy is Gordon Moodys senior therapy subject matter expert, providing organisation-wide clinical and professional leadership across our therapeutic services.

This is a senior leadership position combining clinical governance, people leadership, service development and strategic oversight, while maintaining some direct involvement in complex clinical work.

You will lead and develop our therapy workforce, ensure consistently high standards of clinical practice, oversee safeguarding and clinical risk, and help shape the future direction of Gordon Moodys treatment programmes.

You will work closely with the Clinical Director and wider Senior Leadership Team, translating organisational strategy into high-quality, safe and effective treatment.

Main duties of the job

Key Responsibilities

Provide organisation-wide clinical leadership for therapeutic practice, ensuring high standards of governance, safeguarding, risk management, quality assurance and continuous improvement. Act as Gordon Moodys Designated Safeguarding Lead, oversee complex cases and support clinical audits, peer reviews, policy development and regulatory preparation.

Lead the delivery and development of therapeutic services, translating strategy into effective clinical practice. Provide expert advice to senior leaders, deputise for the Clinical Director when required, and monitor service activity, outcomes and clinical quality.

Maintain a small caseload focused on complex or high-risk cases.

Line manage and supervise Gambling Therapists, support clinical decision-making, deliver training, and contribute to recruitment, induction, workforce planning and professional development.

You will be an experienced, accredited therapeutic professional with a degree in CBT, Counselling, Psychology or a related discipline, a recognised Clinical Supervision qualification, and at least three years experience in addiction or a comparable mental health setting.

You will be a visible, compassionate and credible leader who is trauma-informed, inclusive, evidence-led, collaborative and committed to continuous improvement.

Job description

Head of Therapy

Reporting to: Clinical Director

Direct reports: Gambling Therapists and other clinical staff as allocated

Hours: 35 hours per week

Location: Redditch, with organisation-wide responsibility and travel to services as required

About Gordon Moody

At Gordon Moody, we believe in second chances and helping people build lives free from gambling-related harm. For more than 50 years, we have provided specialist treatment and support to people whose lives have been significantly affected by gambling.

Our services combine clinical expertise, evidence-based treatment and compassionate, person-centred care. We help people achieve meaningful and lasting recovery in a safe, respectful and non-judgemental environment.

We are looking for an experienced Head of Therapy to provide organisation-wide leadership for therapeutic practice and help shape the continued development of our clinical services.

The role

The Head of Therapy is a senior clinical leadership role responsible for the quality, safety and effectiveness of therapeutic practice across Gordon Moodys residential and remote services.

As our senior therapy subject matter expert, you will provide professional leadership to therapists and wider clinical teams, ensuring treatment remains evidence-based, person-centred, trauma-informed and responsive to people experiencing gambling-related harms and associated mental health difficulties.

Working closely with the Clinical Director and Senior Leadership Team, you will translate strategy into high-quality clinical delivery, combining strategic leadership with clinical credibility.

You will also maintain a small clinical caseload where appropriate, particularly involving complex or high-risk presentations.

Key responsibilities

Clinical leadership and practice

Provide specialist expertise in the assessment, formulation and treatment of gambling-related harms, behavioural addictions and co-occurring mental health difficulties.

Lead or advise on complex and high-risk cases, ensuring appropriate treatment planning, review and escalation.

Deliver and oversee evidence-based individual and group interventions, including CBT, motivational approaches and appropriate integrative therapies.

Maintain a limited caseload and model excellent therapeutic practice, trauma-informed care and recovery-focused working. Ensure continuity of care across assessment, treatment, transfer, discharge and aftercare.

Clinical governance, safeguarding and risk

As Designated Safeguarding Lead, you will provide organisation-wide oversight of safeguarding, suicidality, crisis escalation and clinical risk.

Lead therapy-related clinical governance, including audit, policy review, peer review, supervision frameworks and quality improvement.

Ensure safeguarding and clinical risk concerns are identified, documented, escalated and reviewed appropriately.

Maintain compliance with safeguarding legislation, professional standards, regulatory requirements, commissioner expectations and Gordon Moody policies.

Monitor clinical quality indicators, treatment outcomes and service performance and use findings to drive improvement.

Support inspections, audits, commissioner reviews and external assurance activity.

People leadership and development

Line manage Gambling Therapists and other allocated clinical staff, including objectives, one-to-ones, appraisal, wellbeing, capability and performance.

Provide expert clinical supervision and ensure clinicians receive supervision appropriate to their role, registration, competence and caseload complexity.

Lead reflective practice and support clinicians with complex formulation, therapeutic decision-making, professional boundaries and risk.

Develop and deliver training for clinical and wider teams. Promote staff engagement, inclusion, psychological safety and a compassionate, accountable culture. Support recruitment, induction, workforce planning, retention and succession planning.

Service delivery and operational leadership

Lead therapeutic services so access, assessment and treatment are timely, safe and effective.

Work with service leads to maintain appropriate staffing, caseload oversight and consistent clinical practice.

Ensure therapists follow agreed processes for assessment, care planning, record keeping, clinical meetings, handovers and outcome monitoring.

Oversee delivery against service standards, programme requirements and commissioner expectations. Support effective referral, transfer, discharge and onward-care arrangements.

Deputise for the Clinical Director when required.

Strategy, service development and partnerships

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, you will provide expert advice on therapy, clinical risk, workforce and service development.

Work with the Clinical Director and senior colleagues to design, review and diversify treatment programmes.

Ensure service development is informed by evidence, service-user need, outcomes and relevant policy. Support alignment with national gambling harms treatment frameworks and wider mental health priorities.

Represent Gordon Moody in clinical networks, commissioner discussions, partnership meetings and external forums.

Act as a subject matter expert in gambling harms, addiction treatment and therapeutic practice.

Contribute to strategic planning, business development and organisational change.

Outcomes, evaluation and learning

Report on programme activity, completion, outcomes, quality and effectiveness to senior leaders, commissioners and stakeholders.

Lead or contribute to programme evaluation, clinical audit, policy development and service-related research.

Use clinical data, service-user feedback, audit findings and research evidence to identify improvement priorities.

Maintain current knowledge of gambling treatment, addiction, mental health and therapeutic innovation and translate learning into practice.

Facilitate in-house clinical training.

About you

We are looking for an experienced therapeutic professional who combines strong clinical credibility with confident, compassionate leadership. You will be comfortable working strategically while remaining connected to frontline practice, with sound professional judgement and a strong understanding of safeguarding, clinical risk and complex presentations.

You will be able to build trust, influence others, challenge constructively and create an environment in which clinicians can learn, develop and deliver excellent care.

Essential qualifications and experience

A recognised postgraduate or doctoral therapeutic or mental health professional qualification, such as CBT, counselling, clinical or counselling psychology, or mental health nursing.

Current accreditation or registration with BABCP, BACP, HCPC, UKCP or another relevant recognised professional body.

A recognised clinical supervision qualification and evidence of current continuing professional development.

Significant post-qualification experience, including at least three years within addiction and/or mental health services.

Experience of complex and high-risk presentations, including safeguarding concerns, suicidality and co-occurring mental health difficulties.

Ability to integrate other appropriate therapeutic approaches.

Proven experience of line managing qualified therapists or other registered clinicians.

Experience of leading clinical teams and contributing at senior leadership level.

Strong experience of clinical governance, audit, quality assurance and improvement.

Detailed knowledge of safeguarding, clinical risk assessment, crisis escalation and relevant legal and regulatory responsibilities.

Experience of monitoring outcomes and performance information and using findings to improve services.

Excellent communication, influencing, analytical and relationship-building skills.

Ability to work effectively with service users, staff, commissioners, NHS services, regulators and external partners.

Competence in electronic clinical or patient record systems. Safeguarding Level 3.

Desirable experience

Experience within gambling harms services and/or other behavioural addictions.

Experience across residential and remote or community treatment settings.

A leadership, management, quality improvement, research or service evaluation

About us

At Gordon Moody, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to rebuild their life free from gambling harm.

For more than 50 years, we have been at the forefront of gambling addiction treatment in the UK, providing specialist, life-changing support to people whose lives have been profoundly affected by gambling. Our work combines expert clinical care, evidence-based treatment and compassionate, person-centred support to help individuals achieve meaningful and lasting recovery.

We are best known for our specialist residential treatment programmes, but our support goes far beyond a place to stay. We take a holistic approach to recovery, recognising the emotional, psychological, practical and social challenges that can accompany gambling addiction. Every person is treated as an individual, with care tailored to their circumstances, experiences and goals.

What makes Gordon Moody special is our people. Our dedicated teams bring together professional expertise, compassion and a genuine belief in the possibility of change. We create safe, respectful and discreet environments where people can feel understood, supported and empowered to move forward.

Recovery is rarely a simple journey, but with the right support, lives can be transformed. At Gordon Moody, we are proud to give people the specialist care, dignity, confidence and hope they need to build a healthier future.