CAMHS Social Work Lead

Job overview

This is a specialist professional leadership post offering social work leadership across the CAMHS service line, with a unique opportunity to strengthen social work practice within a mental health trust.

The successful candidate will be confident, skilled, and highly knowledgeable in both child and family social work and children and young people’s mental health. A strong understanding and practical application of the law as it pertains to children and young people, including Mental Health Act 1983, is essential. The postholder will be required to provide expert professional advice, often in complex and high-pressure situations.

The role bridges operational delivery and strategic leadership, providing visible and effective social work leadership across the CAMHS service line. You will ensure the provision of an efficient, effective, and high-quality professional service that meets all statutory, regulatory, and NHS requirements relating to social work practice with children and young people.

Working collaboratively with senior leaders and multi-agency partners, the postholder will ensure social work practice aligns with wider organisational objectives and maintains the highest professional standards.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced social work leader who is passionate about improving outcomes for children, young people, and families within mental health services.

Main duties of the job

• Provide visible professional leadership to CAMHS Social Workers across the Trust.
• Strengthen professional identity and promote social work–led approaches to high-quality, inequality-reducing CAMHS services.
• Offer professional advice to operational managers, supporting effective interfaces with local authorities.
• Deliver professional supervision and leadership to CAMHS social workers Trust-wide.
• Provide strategic and practical guidance on safeguarding and Mental Health Law, including Deprivation of Liberty.
• Deliver expert advice and consultation to internal and external professionals.
• Lead development and review of local policies, operating protocols, and standard procedures.
• Represent Social Work at senior forums across CAMHS and the wider Trust.
• Contribute to the Trust safeguarding team, offering ad-hoc advice and consultation.
• Support the Deputy Head of Social Work in partnership with education providers and Skills for Care to strengthen career pathways and preceptorship.
• Contribute to Trust audit and research in key social care priorities.
• Lead responses to required developments in Mental Health Law compliance (e.g., MHA reform).
• Collaborate with Trust, South London Partnership, and local authority leads to ensure robust governance, development, and performance management of CAMHS social work services.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To provide specialist consultation to professionals and agencies outside of the Trust in relation to highly complex cases (for example, families with multi-agency involvement). This will include liaison and working with professional networks involved with complex, emotive and often conflictual issues such as those involving child protection, deliberate self-harm, violence, trauma and suicide risk.
• To promote a high level of clinical practice working jointly with other members of the multidisciplinary teams to facilitate their work with young people and families through supervision and training.
• To provide specialist consultation, advice and guidance to professionals working with families both within the service and in partner agencies, identifying priorities of action in complex circumstances, contributing to provision of a specific model of evidence-based therapeutic intervention.
• To work in partnership with other agencies to ensure that Child Protection issues are addressed effectively and within all local procedures.
• To provide effective skilled advice to a range of professionals, often at short notice under pressure.
• To provide social work cover across services where necessary
• To work in ways which are sensitive to and appropriate for the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds. This includes ability to understand therapeutic interventions to a variety of family forms including single parents, same sex couples and their families, extended families and people with mental health difficulties.
• To be able to write strategic reports and advice to contribute to CAMHS service development,
• Adhere to the Trusts reporting arrangements relating to incidents, accidents and near misses.
• To provide visible professional leadership representing CAMHS Social Work and social care within the Trust alongside the Deputy Head of Social Work, and deputising to the Head of Social Work when required.
• To provide expert support as part of the Safeguarding Team for safeguarding children including contributing to  Serious Case Reviews as required.
• Uphold Social Work England’s professional standards and codes of conduct and under annual checks with HR in ensuring Trust CAMHS Social Workers have maintained compliance with their registration under SWE.