Positive Behaviour Analyst

Part time fixed term maternity cover opportunity in PALMS!

We are seeking to appoint a Positive Behaviour Analyst who is a motivated and forward thinking clinician committed to supporting children and young people (CYP) and their families across Hertfordshire and the full PALMS’ team. You will have experience of assessments and a range of evidence based interventions to support the needs of CYP accessing this mental health service.

PALMS works across Hertfordshire providing a specialist multi-disciplinary approach. PALMS is one of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) which offers individually tailored support for CYP, aged 0-18 who have an intellectual disability and/or are autistic, helping families to manage behaviours of concern, toileting, feeding and sleeping concerns which have not benefitted from community interventions and/or to support mental health needs which cannot be met with reasonable adjustment by other CYPMH services. Interventions include intervention workshops, intervention groups, individual therapy, parent as therapist sessions, and a family clinic. PALMS aims to keep CYP with their families thereby improving outcomes for all family members. PALMS predominantly applies narrative, systemic, positive behaviour, and bio-psycho social models adhering to the STOMP / STAMP and Transforming Care Agendas.

*Proposed interview date: 16th November 2026*

Main duties of the job

The ideal candidate will be:

• Dedicated to supporting CYP with an intellectual disability and/or are autistic and their families.
• Passionate about and have a desire to contribute to change in a vibrant NHS team
• Collaborative in their approach to work with families, networks, and other services
• Able to work both in a team environment and autonomously
• Able to maintain a high degree of professionalism when working in settings where there is a highly emotive atmosphere.
• Flexible in their approach and have resilience under pressure
• Working towards or already have professional registration for their speciality

Working for our organisation

The PALMS team is well regarded, friendly, cohesive and proactive with excellent outcomes. We value feedback and empower all team members to contribute to the continuous development of the service and their own professional development and welcome innovation and change.

A big thank you for considering joining us at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

You’ll find it a great place to work with many benefits offered to you as a member of our staff

We put our patients, their families and carers at the centre of our vision - Outstanding Services and Healthier Communities

Our staff are proud to be Caring, Pioneering, and Inclusive in their work to help achieve the Trust vision

We welcome diversity in our workforce and are interested in applicants from all backgrounds and ages

We don’t want you to miss out so we’d like you to know that if we have a high level of interest in this role, the vacancy may close prior to the advertised closing date, so please make your application as soon as possible -

You’ve made a great decision to apply to join to HCT - we’re looking forward to taking the next steps of the journey with you.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This is a part time, fixed term position of 0.5WTE for 9 months.

We are committed to supporting flexible working options for staff and welcome discussions on flexible working patterns to support our staff to maintain a healthy work life balance.

We can offer you:

• Regular clinical and professional supervision
• Regular appraisal, personal development planning and opportunities for continuing professional development. This includes specific support with regards to fulfilling the PALMS’ role.
• Opportunities to work closely and meet regularly with a multi-disciplinary team and learn from other evidence based frameworks and approaches.
• Opportunities to provide clinical supervision and line management to other members of the PALMS team as appropriate.

A full valid driving licence and access to a car insured to use for business purposes is essential (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Applicants to be aware that PALMS work within the ULEZ zone and any charges due to non-compliant vehicles cannot be reimbursed by the Trust.

Interviews will be run either in person at one of our bases or using Microsoft Teams, full details and instructions will be provided to successful candidates.

HCT will prioritise recruitment of workers living in England under the new immigration rules for care workers effective from 9 April 2025. Employers must first prove that they have attempted to recruit a worker from within England who needs new sponsorship. This ensures that those who came to the UK to pursue a career in adult social care can do so.

The use of AI is monitored and if you have used it then you are required to declare this, as well as what type of AI tools you have used and for what purpose. We reserve the right to further test your individual knowledge and skills in relation to the requirements for the post through robust and thorough interview and assessment.

Other Criteria

• Willingness to travel across Hertfordshire
• The right to live and work in the UK.
• For this role staff are required to hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car to use with business insurance (unless the member of staff has a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Qualifications

• Relevant postgraduate qualification or working towards qualification in ABA/PBS, or equivalent.
• Certified as a UKBA(cert), UKiBA, or working towards certification with the UK Society for Behaviour Analysis (UKSBA)

Experience

• Give examples of supporting individuals who are Autistic and/or those with learning disabilities
• Give examples of applying ABA and PBS approaches
• Show where you have experience of assessing and supporting behaviours of concern, toileting, sleeping, and feeding using behaviour analysis and Positive Behaviour Support
• Give examples where you have supported children who are pre-verbal and/or experience significant communication difficulties.
• Evidence multidisciplinary working
• Experience within Child Learning Disability and/or CAMHS services
• Experience of supervision and line management
• Experience of delivering intervention groups and/or training
• Experience of audit, service evaluation or research. Personal Attributes

Knowledge & Skills

• Give examples where excellent written and verbal skills have been used
• Showcase and knowledge of behavioural assessment and intervention
• Demonstrate your understanding of neurodiversity and learning disability
• Have you dealt with safeguarding and risk assessment? Demonstrate your understanding of these
• Give examples of your strong organisational and IT skills

We will communicate any interview arrangements with applicants via e-mail so it is advisable that you check the email address you give on your application on a regular basis.

Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band. All new appointments (excluding Medical & Dental roles) are subject to a 26 week probation period.

We are proud to be an armed forces friendly employer and support the employment of the armed forces community, including veterans, spouses and partners. For more information, contact hct.armedforcesrecruitment@nhs.net

Applications from qualified job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications, subject to you meeting minimum criteria of the role and salary threshold. Please visit the Gov.UK website for detail.

If applicable to the role, staff are required to hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car to use with business insurance (unless the member of staff has a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

In submitting an application form, you authorise Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Electronic Staff Record Inter Authority Transfer process should you be appointed to the post.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Kayleigh Rodbard Job title Positive Behaviour Analyst and Clinical Lead Email address hct.palms@nhs.net Telephone number 01727 582122

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