Hackney is seeking an experienced and dynamic Clinical Team Lead to head our newly redesigned, in‑house Mental Health Service within Children and Family Services. In this pivotal role, you will manage a specialist team of therapists dedicated to supporting looked‑after children, care leavers, and young people within the Youth Justice Service.
Our service includes an established Family Therapy clinic and delivers flexible, trauma‑informed care to some of our most vulnerable children and families. Beyond direct clinical delivery, you will champion indirect support—providing high‑quality consultation, reflective supervision, and tailored training to social workers and frontline staff across the Children and Education Directorate.
Our Practice Framework: The STAR Model
Hackney is on an ambitious journey to embed a Systemic, Trauma‑informed, and Anti‑Racist (STAR) practice model. We are deeply committed to anti‑oppressive practice, actively centering the lived experiences of families and clinicians with marginalised identities. Our STAR framework ensures a sharp focus on ethnicity and race, while deeply attending to the intersections of sexuality, faith, neurodiversity, and other protected characteristics. We want our leadership to reflect and champion these values.
Key Responsibilities
- Clinical & Operational Leadership: Provide robust management, clinical governance, and strategic direction to a multidisciplinary team consisting of two Highly Specialist Therapists, 6.6FT Specialist Therapists and one Assistant Psychologist.
- Direct Clinical Intervention: Oversee and deliver evidence‑based, direct psychological interventions to children and young people across the Corporate Parenting Service (including foster care, residential care, special guardianship, care leavers, and unaccompanied asylum‑seeking children) and the Youth Justice Service.
- Workforce Consultation & Support: Embed clinical thinking across the wider directorate by facilitating reflective spaces, offering expert consultation, and delivering clinical assessments and formulations to support frontline social work staff.
- Partnerships: Maintain and develop our strong statutory partnerships with local CAMHS colleagues and NHS Trusts to ensure seamless care pathways.
About You
- Senior, registered clinician (e.g., UKCP, HCPC, BACP, or equivalent) with a proven track record of supervisory or team management experience.
- Deep expertise in working therapeutically with highly vulnerable children, young people, and their networks from pre‑birth to leaving care.
- A strong understanding of complex trauma, systemic practice, and safeguarding.
- The leadership skills necessary to lead and inspire a team, manage clinical risk safely, and evaluate service outcomes.
- A profound, demonstrable commitment to anti‑racist and anti‑oppressive practice.
An Enhanced DBS check is required for this role.
What We Offer
In return for your expertise and dedication, Hackney offers a supportive, collaborative environment committed to your professional growth. We provide robust systemic support, including external clinical supervision for different therapeutic modalities as required, alongside excellent local authority benefits.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under‑represented in our workforce.
Clinical Team Lead – Children and Families Service employer: London Borough of Hackney
Hackney Education is an exceptional employer dedicated to fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment for its staff. With a strong commitment to professional development, employees are encouraged to grow and thrive while making a meaningful impact on the lives of children and families in Hackney. The collaborative culture and focus on diversity ensure that every team member feels valued and empowered to contribute to the borough's vision of excellence in education.
