Head of NHS Partnerships

Location: Hybrid working: three days in the London office and two days remote. We consider alternative requests if this is not possible for you. Office: 140 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1LB

About Paloma

In 2024, our founders, Mark and Darshak, were shocked to find that children needing an NHS autism or ADHD assessment were waiting 4-10 years for these assessments. Delayed assessments result in children being more likely to develop mental health conditions and fall behind in education. Furthermore, the much-needed pre/post-assessment support (outside of ADHD medications) is typically not funded by the NHS.

These long waits have built up due to increased recognition and understanding of neurodevelopmental conditions and a lack of investment and innovation within the NHS to meet the growing demand. Mark and Darshak, with their 25 years of combined NHS experience, including building services that have treated over 1,000,000 patients in obesity & ophthalmology, founded Paloma to change this. Our mission is to make NHS autism and ADHD assessments and care accessible within 4 weeks of a GP referral, and, in turn, help every child achieve their potential.

As of May 2026, we have successfully reduced waits to 3 months by:

• Taking a product-first approach to redesign the care pathway to give families a more consumer-like experience of care
• Our in-house product, engineering and AI team building our own autism and ADHD specific electronic patient record and AI documentation tool to free clinicians from their significant documentation burden to re-focus on supporting families
• Investing in expanding the clinician workforce and upskilling them in new ways of working.

We are proud that Paloma is:

• Loved by families, with 4.9 out of 5 Trustpilot and Google ratings
• Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered and quality-focused
• Clinically-led, with a team of 130 people, including over 80 clinicians supporting families through their assessment journey. We are hiring 100+ more roles over the next 12 months.
• A community of passionate, mission-driven and innovative team members who challenge the status quo and test and learn from new ideas and approaches.
• Backed by leading healthcare investors Triple Point and Heal Capital

What’s next?

Whilst we have reduced wait times, it is estimated that up to 500,000 children are still waiting for an NHS autism or ADHD assessment. We won’t rest until this comes down. We want to build new services to support families and children diagnosed with autism or ADHD who feel lost after their assessments when the NHS is no longer there for them.

The opportunity and what you will bring to it

Do you want to make a meaningful difference in increasing access to NHS children’s autism and ADHD care? Paloma Health is rated 4.9/5 on both Trustpilot and Google by families for the fantastic NHS care they receive.

We are looking for a Head of NHS Partnerships to drive greater access for the families we serve by convincing commissioners of the access, quality, and efficiency benefits of working with Paloma. Our co-founders have over 25 years of NHS market access experience, placing us in a strong position that you will build on.

You will bring a deep understanding of what NHS commissioners look for in their providers, and a track record of growing contract value. This is an individual contributor role; you own the commissioner relationships and outcomes that you drive. With success in the role, you can grow into our Commercial Director, taking on responsibility for other revenue streams and a team if required.

Responsibilities

• NHS contract management and new business
• Be the first point of contact in contract management for our NHS commissioners
• Partner with our BI and operations team to demonstrate Paloma’s high-quality care delivery in our contract review meetings
• Build the case for Paloma to achieve our targeted contract values
• Advocacy and partnership
• Champion the needs of families and children waiting for an NHS autism or ADHD assessment
• Partner with commissioners to understand their needs and how Paloma can help.
• Work with marketing and business intelligence to develop convincing stories and materials that position the benefits of working with Paloma
• Understand the national landscape for children’s autism and ADHD services, and partner with our CEO and Exec Chair on the national level influencing and campaigns

Qualifications and experience

Required:

• A compelling communicator with an evidenced track record of building strong relationships with NHS commissioners
• Proven experience in securing revenue in a commercial role at a healthcare provider
• Strong knowledge of NHS commissioner/provider contracting mechanisms

You will be part of a mission-driven organisation that’s transforming access to autism and ADHD care in England. For all employees, we offer:

• A strong and positive culture that prioritises team building, transparency, and career development. This includes protected time and budget for team connection and learning.
• Salary of £85,000 per year, with some flexibility based on experience
• Annual salary reviews, ensuring they are competitive
• Equity compensation through Share Options in Paloma Health
• Private Medical Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• A unique annual leave benefits package which includes: 37 days of annual leave. This is 28 standard days, plus eight bank holidays, plus your birthday off. Option to buy an additional 5 days per year (giving a maximum of 42 days). Where required, 2 days per year of special leave, for events that can happen in life, whether personal or family-related
• Additional benefits include: A premium performance company laptop, NHS discounts, including the Blue Light Card (as we are an NHS provider).

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. Depending on your role within the business, this will be at either an Enhanced, Standard, or Basic level. We are committed to safer recruitment practices and expect all applicants to share our dedication to safeguarding. Our recruitment processes are designed to ensure we appoint individuals who align with our values and will help maintain a safe and supportive environment for everyone we work with.