Clinical Specialist

About Paloma

Paloma’s mission is to make children’s autism and ADHD assessments and care available on the NHS within 4 weeks of GP referral. We are making this happen by redesigning care pathways, building new software & AI tools, and training the next generation of assessors. Mark & Darshak founded Paloma out of frustration that families are waiting 2‑10 years for NHS children’s autism and ADHD assessments.

We are growing incredibly fast to meet the need for autism and ADHD care, and we have:

• Grown our fantastic team to 90 people, and are hiring approximately 100 more over the next 12 months
• Raised £5m pre‑seed funding from leading healthcare investors, helping us invest in our technology and our team
• Achieved financial sustainability

How is Paloma Health different?

• We are clinically‑led, Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered, and rigorous in recording our outcomes and family experiences.
• Our in‑house product & engineering team ensures we can give families a more consumer‑like experience of healthcare and free our clinicians from documentation so they can focus on supporting families.
• Our strong culture, including transparency, a sense of community, and supporting staff career development.
• The experience of our founders (Dr Mark Jenkins & Darshak Shah), who have previously built tech‑enabled NHS obesity and ophthalmology services.
• Being backed by leading healthcare investors allows us to move fast.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a passionate and experienced clinician in children’s autism assessments to act as an Autism Assessment Clinical Specialist. Your role is to clinically supervise a team of 8‑10 Autism Assessors and ensure high‑quality, multidisciplinary autism diagnostic decision‑making within this team. You are not the line manager; that function remains with the Team Manager, allowing you to focus on clinical quality. Your typical day will include leading group and individual discussions of cases, reviewing clinical cases, and delivering developmental histories and child observations on a monthly basis. If you have prior experience in ADHD, you can also act as a Children’s Autism and ADHD Clinical Specialist, working with a team of assessors conducting a mixture of ADHD and combined autism and ADHD assessments. Successful performance may lead to promotion from Clinical Specialist to Clinical Lead.

About you

• Comfortable working in a dynamic environment and embracing change
• Excited about using new software and AI tools in your role
• Always looking for ways to improve our team’s working environment and the experience of care for families

Responsibilities

• Deliver a mix of group and 1‑to‑1 clinical supervision to an 8‑10 person autism assessor team through daily discussions.
• Lead on high‑quality diagnostic decision‑making within this team.
• Stay up‑to‑date with the latest clinical and government guidelines and best practices regarding children’s autism assessments.
• Each month deliver a small number of developmental histories and observations directly to keep close to our pathway.
• Undertake all required Continuing Professional Development to maintain your professional registration (we run one development day per month to support this).

Qualifications and experience

Required:

• Current healthcare professional registration with HCPC, NMC or GMC.
• At least 4 years of experience delivering children and young people’s autism assessments (pre‑ or post‑qualification).
• Able to evidence strong autism diagnostic decision‑making in children.
• Evidence of strong time‑management skills to ensure families receive prompt outcomes.
• High‑quality communication skills, putting team members and families at ease.
• At least 2 years of experience undertaking clinical supervision with children’s autism assessors.
• Able to evidence strong ADHD diagnostic decision‑making in children.

Benefits

• A strong and positive culture that prioritises staff well‑being.
• Protected time and budget for team connection, learning, and community‑building.
• Salary depends on clinical background and experience, starting at:

• £75,000 for nurses, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists
• £80,000 for clinical psychologists
• Very competitive salaries for medical doctors, including associate specialists, Consultant Paediatricians or Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists

Equality & Diversity

Paloma Health is an equal‑opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and throughout the application process. We do not discriminate based on any protected characteristic.

Accommodations

We’re glad to accommodate candidates who need adjustments throughout the hiring process. We encourage you to be open about the adjustments you need, so we can adapt our interview process accordingly.

Safer Recruitment & Pre‑Employment Checks

Paloma Health ensures that supporting people to be safe is at the heart of our work and a key priority across all areas of the organisation. As part of our pre‑employment checks, you will be asked to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. This role is patient‑facing, so you will be required to complete an Enhanced level. We are committed to safer recruitment practices and expect all applicants to share our dedication to safeguarding.

Application process

Please apply via our website. We understand that applying for a new job requires a significant amount of effort, and we appreciate your time. We look forward to reviewing your application. Join us and be part of our journey to revolutionise access to NHS autism and ADHD care!

Seniority level: Mid‑Senior level

Employment type: Full‑time

Job function: Health Care Provider Hospitals and Health Care