Head of Service (Nurse Lead)

TCES provides specialist education and therapeutic support for children and young people with complex special educational needs, disabilities and social, emotional and mental health needs. Our developing Outreach Service supports young people who cannot currently access a school site, delivering integrated education, nursing, therapy, safeguarding and family work across home, community, hub and online settings.

About the role

Reporting to the Director of Clinical Services, you will provide strategic, operational and nursing leadership for a safe, clinically governed therapeutic education outreach service across London. As the service’s senior nurse, you will oversee complex referrals, formulation, care planning, high-risk review, escalation and clinical governance while leading service mobilisation, workforce development, quality assurance and partnerships.

The service works alongside—and does not replace—statutory crisis, emergency medical or inpatient provision.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the mobilisation, safe growth and continuous improvement of a consistent Outreach Service across East and West London.
• Provide visible senior nursing leadership to a dispersed multidisciplinary workforce.
• Lead or oversee referral triage, assessment, formulation, care planning, case review and evidence-based pathway decisions.
• Maintain senior clinical oversight of higher-complexity cases, including clear risk, safety, escalation and crisis arrangements.
• Chair multidisciplinary and high-risk reviews, securing clear decisions, ownership and timescales.
• Ensure education, nursing, therapy, safeguarding, family work and multi-agency input are aligned within one integrated plan.
• Own the outreach clinical governance framework, including incident review, audit, supervision, quality assurance and learning.
• Recruit, develop and support a capable workforce, setting clear expectations for caseloads, professional practice and accountability.
• Build effective relationships with CAMHS, inpatient and crisis services, social care, commissioners, local authorities and education leaders.
• Use data, outcomes and stakeholder feedback to improve safety, experience, effectiveness and operational performance.
• Oversee workforce planning, resource allocation and package scoping to support safe and financially sustainable delivery.

About You

You will be an NMC-registered nurse with the professional credibility, judgement and leadership presence associated with a senior Band 8a, Matron-level role or above. Your registration may be in mental health, children’s, learning disability or another relevant nursing field, supported by substantial experience in complex clinical services.

You will have:

• Substantial post-registration experience with children or young people who have complex mental health, neurodevelopmental, behavioural, safeguarding or social care needs.
• Senior clinical leadership experience, including responsibility for clinical quality, risk, complex decision-making and staff support.
• Experience of mental health assessment, formulation, safety planning, safeguarding and escalation.
• Confidence leading multidisciplinary meetings and working across organisational boundaries.
• Strong understanding of clinical governance, professional accountability, information sharing and community-based risk management.
• The ability to provide calm, compassionate and authoritative leadership in situations involving uncertainty or elevated risk.

We welcome applications from senior nurses with transferable leadership experience gained in settings such as A&​E or emergency care, multi-ward or complex operational environments, community or outreach services, crisis or home-treatment teams, Tier 4 CAMHS, inpatient services, step-down pathways or intensive support services. Direct CAMHS experience is valuable but is not the only route into the role.

Important Information

• Salary: £79,163–£86,663 per annum.
• Contract: Permanent, full-time.
• Location: London, with regular travel across East and West London and other TCES locations.
• A current NMC registration and successful completion of safer-recruitment and safeguarding checks are essential.
• Interviews will be held w/c 26th October.

Ready to lead something different? Join TCES in shaping an ambitious, integrated service for children and young people with complex needs. We welcome applications from suitably qualified nurses from a range of clinical backgrounds and will consider transferable senior leadership experience alongside direct CAMHS expertise.