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We are seeking a passionate Occupational Therapist to join an innovative Intensive Community Support Service in Newham. This nationally recognised pilot has been developed by the North East London CAMHS Provider Collaborative and Local Authority partners to address one of the most urgent challenges in youth mental health: supporting young people with complex needs to remain safely within their families, communities and local placements.

The service responds directly to longstanding system challenges, including fragmented care, delayed hospital discharges and avoidable Tier 4 admissions. With more than 3,000 discharge delay days recorded locally in a single year, this pilot represents a major investment in improving outcomes for young people.

Flexible Employment Options Designed Around You

We offer flexible employment options to suit your circumstances. You can enter this role via an NHS secondment, allowing you to retain all your NHS benefits, including your pension, annual leave, and continuity of service, while gaining valuable system leadership experience through a formal secondment agreement. You will be employed by CAMHS and based within the Local Authority.Alternatively, you can join on a fixed-term Local Authority contract, which is ideal for clinicians looking to diversify their career. We will work with you to find the option that best meets your needs.

About the Service

The Intensive Community Support Service provides intensive, wraparound therapeutic support for young people aged 13–18 with complex trauma, neurodevelopmental needs, significant emotional and behavioural difficulties, or those at risk of family or placement breakdown.

The service delivers community-based alternatives to hospital admission, helping to:

Reduce unnecessary inpatient admissions
Prevent delayed discharges
Avoid high-cost out-of-area placements
Improve placement stability through coordinated work across CAMHS, Children’s Social Care and education

About the Role

This is not a traditional inpatient or crisis role. Based within Newham Council’s Edge of Care Service, you will be part of a small multidisciplinary team delivering flexible home and community-based interventions. You will undertake specialist assessments, formulation and evidence-based therapeutic work with young people with highly complex needs.

Your practice may draw on approaches such as DBT-informed emotional regulation, CBT, motivational interviewing, Positive Behaviour Support, family and systemic practice, Non-Violence Resistance (NVR), psychoeducation and problem-solving interventions. You will also provide consultation to professional networks, support families and carers, contribute to rapid-response pathways and help shape the ongoing development of this nationally significant pilot.

About You

You will be a Occupational Therapist with experience in CAMHS or complex adolescent mental health services. You will have strong knowledge of trauma-informed practice, neurodevelopmental conditions, safeguarding, risk assessment and multi-agency working. Experience in service development, quality improvement, Positive Behaviour Support or systemic approaches would be advantageous.

Why Join Us?

Help shape a pioneering model of care with national significance and real impact
Work intensively with a small caseload making a lasting difference to the lives of some of Newham’s most vulnerable young people
Receive excellent clinical supervision and multidisciplinary support in addition to training and professional development
Gain experience in innovation, service development and system leadership
Contribute to a model that could influence practice across London and beyond

Additional Information

The role is based within Newham Council’s Edge of Care Service with close links to CAMHS. The service will initially operate across Newham before expanding into neighbouring boroughs. Community and home-based working is central to the role.

Newham Council is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, and to building a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We particularly welcome applications from people from underrepresented backgrounds, as we believe a diverse workforce strengthens our ability to deliver inclusive, high-quality services and achieve better outcomes for our residents and communities.

Interested?

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact:

Kathy Tumilty, Edge of Care Service Managerkathy.tumilty@newham.gov.uk or Pam Dudman, Clinical Leadpam.dudman@newham.gov.uk

Make a Difference

If you are an Occupational Therapist looking to be part of an ambitious, high-impact service that is transforming support for young people with complex needs while developing your own leadership and clinical practice, we would love to hear from you.

Closing date 19th July 2026

Please view JD here

IMPORTANT: If you are an LBN member of staff and applying for this role as a secondment you should note that secondments are subject to the agreement of your current employing service. Please ensure that you inform your line manager of your intention to apply for the post in the first instance.

We are committed to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all. When you apply for a job at Newham, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you share our vision and values, and you bring the experience and skills we need, that’s all that matters to us.

The London Borough of Newham has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Please attach your supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides why and how you meet the criteria for this role.

We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn.

Salary range

£54,267 per year