Assistant Director - Talking Therapies

This is a highly influential role with system-level impact, requiring confident engagement with Integrated Care Boards, Place Partnerships, Primary Care, voluntary sector partners, and service user groups.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Leading, developing, and transforming Talking Therapies services across NELFT
• Playing a pivotal role in the Talking Therapies Collaborative, working with commissioners and providers across the North East London system
• Building and sustaining strong partnerships across the wider system
• Holding senior accountability for budgets, productivity, and cost improvement programmes
• Holding senior accountability for performance
• Driving quality, safety, and regulatory compliance (including CQC and statutory responsibilities)
• Championing co-production, inclusion, and community engagement
• Developing an empowered, representative, and high-performing workforce
• Contributing to Trustwide strategy, planning, and governance
• Acting as an on-call senior manager as part of the leadership rota

Who We’re Looking For

You’ll be a senior public sector leader with a strong track record of delivering improvement in complex environments. Ideally, you will have previous experience of Talking Therapies. You will bring:

• Senior leadership experience within the NHS, local government, or wider public sector
• Proven success in leading large-scale service transformation and change
• Strong financial and commissioning acumen
• Experience of partnership working across organisational boundaries
• Credibility with clinicians, senior managers, and external stakeholders
• An inclusive, values-driven leadership style that inspires trust and confidence

Whether your background is operational, professional, or strategic, what matters most is your ability to lead with purpose, deliver through others, and improve lives.

Starting with NELFT

NELFT places a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks, which will include mandatory training, systems training, and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process, new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend a number of drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing, and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

High Cost Area Supplement Outer London (B&D, Redbridge, Havering, and Waltham Forest, CEME)

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,714 to a maximum of £5,941 p.a. pro rata for part-time).

Working for Us

Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award-winning equality and diversity initiatives, along with staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest significantly in your development because when you feel valued and supported, we can deliver the highest quality care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been recognised in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and hold a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Through our staff networks and training opportunities, we strive to foster a just and compassionate culture at NELFT.