Search for more NHS jobs in London
Job overview
As a HCPC registered Allied Health professional, reporting to the Consultant psychological lead for forensic services, you will supervise and line manage the clinical and professional aspects of all arts therapists working in ELFT's forensic directorate.
You will ensure that the arts therapists are supported to meet service users' needs via group, partnership working and 1:1 work. There will be scope to explore partnership working with voluntary and charitable sector organisations, to further disseminate the benefits of art therapies through supervision and consultation.
As part of the ELFT Trust wide Arts Therapies you will work as an integrated and collaborative team member upholding the Trust values, ‘We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive’ and maintaining a holistic approach to promote effective functioning of the team and patient-centred care of service users.
There will be time for clinical work and other service development activities,
Main duties of the job
- To be responsible for the overall provision of a specialist Arts Therapies assessment and treatment service for adults within the Forensic Directorate
- To be responsible for all operational aspects of the Arts Therapies Service within the Forensic Directorate and ensure that clear systems are in place and working effectively for management and productivity
- To lead in the development of the Arts Therapies service, including proposing and implementing service developments within the area served by the team and in liaison with the Directorate Management Team, Trust Strategic Lead and Professional Lead for Arts Therapies, and other Head Arts Therapists in the Trust.
- To manage and supervise the Arts Therapists and trainee Arts Therapists across the Forensic Directorate
- To provide specialist Arts Therapies assessment and treatment for own clinical caseload
- To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the Arts Therapies service and to understand and contribute research and quality improvement in relevant specialist fields
- To establish and maintain good working relationships with all other operational and clinical managers in both inpatient and community settings in the Forensic Directorate
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Policy/Service Development /Implementation 1. Implement all Trust and local policies and ensure that national policies and guidelines are translated as relevant to services. 2. Implement the Trust Arts Therapies service policies and procedures and standards in clinical practices regulator (HCPC or UKCP) and professional bodies 3. Act as an operational service manager and to be involved with local policy development to inform Arts Therapies service provision 4. Manage the Arts Therapies service including performance management 5. Contribute to the Trust-wide Arts Therapies service strategy in consultation with the Strategic Lead and Professional Heads of Arts Therapies 6. Develop the Arts Therapies service in a flexible, culturally sensitive and client centred manner, responsive to the ethnic diversity within the borough. 7. Actively encourage and ensure service user involvement in service development and ensure that service provision meets their needs and those of their carers 8. Provide professional consultation and input and represent the Arts Therapies service in local and Trust-wide forums 9. Cover as necessary relevant professional and service development meetings and groups, to contribute to directorate-wide training and clinical interest groups, contribute to the Trust-wide Arts Therapies Forum and outside agencies 10. Lead and co-ordinate quality improvement projects, audits a
Page 2 of 11 MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Policy/Service Development /Implementation 1. Implement all Trust and local policies and ensure that national policies and guidelines are translated as relevant to services. 2. Implement the Trust Arts Therapies service policies and procedures and standards in clinical practices regulator (HCPC or UKCP) and professional bodies 3. Act as an operational service manager and to be involved with local policy development to inform Arts Therapies service provision 4. Manage the Arts Therapies service including performance management 5. Contribute to the Trust-wide Arts Therapies service strategy in consultation with the Strategic Lead and Professional Heads of Arts Therapies 6. Develop the Arts Therapies service in a flexible, culturally sensitive and client centred manner, responsive to the ethnic diversity within the borough. 7. Actively encourage and ensure service user involvement in service development and ensure that service provision meets their needs and those of their carers 8. Provide professional consultation and input and represent the Arts Therapies service in local and Trust-wide forums 9. Cover as necessary relevant professional and service development meetings and groups, to contribute to directorate-wide training and clinical interest groups, contribute to the Trust-wide Arts Therapies Forum and outside agencies 10. Lead and co-ordinate quality improvement projects, audits and research activities in service evaluation and development
Financial/Physical Resources 1. Advise on budget resources with the oversight of Associate Clinical Director for Therapies and Recovery 2. Liaise with relevant service managers re business plans and budgeting requirements for the Arts Therapies services 3. Manage and monitor the budget for the ordering of Arts Therapies materials, props and instruments 4. Put in place and monitor policies and procedures to ensure the safe use of therapeutic stock and equipment in the line with health and safety requirements
Human Resources 1. Provide professional, managerial and clinical supervision and the implementation of annual appraisal of staff, ensuring that continuing professional development is maintained 2. Ensure own and Arts Therapists requirements for clinical supervision are met
- Manage all HR requirements for the service, including recruitment, induction and staff leave (sickness, study leave, annual leave, etc.) for all arts therapies staff 4. Ensure all staff maintain state registration and comply with HCPC (for Art, Music and Drama therapists) or UKCP (for Dance and Movement psychotherapists) and Trust requirements for CPD and mandatory training 5. Ensure the Arts Therapies service is recognised as a clinical training area for trainees and that standards are appropriate to meet the clinical requirements including the provision of high quality placement supervisor.
Information Resources 1. Ensure effective mechanisms are in place to ensure own and other Arts Therapists documentation and patient records meet the minimum requirements and are adequately stored in line with Trust and professional guidelines 2. Ensure that clinical activity is accurately captured and recorded and manage service statistics, submitting them as per service requirements 3. Manage, delegate and execute administration tasks required for the smooth running of the Arts Therapies service, including staff records and procurement 4. Ensure that accurate and current service information is available to users and carers and to colleagues and to provide as necessary
Clinical areas 1. Plan and develop a range of specialist arts therapies interventions provided by all members of the team and ensuring clear communication and regular evaluation of these interventions in conjunction with the MDT 2. Manage a highly complex and specialist client caseload, including arts therapies assessments and interventions for individuals and group, for own clinical caseload and for managing the clinical work of others 3. Provide a specialised evidence based interactive and dynamic and treatment techniques which use a person’s response to a variety of arts media within a therapeutic relationship 4. Independently to assess clients’ psychological needs and identify any significant risk factors and collaboratively to undertake risk assessment with other professionals 5. Promote the empowerment of clients in relation to their holistic health 6. Evaluate the effectiveness of arts interventions in conjunction with clients/carers, other professionals etc
- Oversee the provision of team advice, consultancy, teaching and training in relation to relevant client group/s and/or clinical areas 8. Support and develop arts therapies team members to deliver consultancy, teaching and training to relevant health professionals, service users, carers and other agencies as appropriate 9. Use management and clinical experience to advise arts therapies colleagues on working with clients with highly distressing and/or challenging behaviour 10. Produce clinical reports on a regular basis and disseminate to other involved professionals, agencies and the client 11. Record clinical information in the clients medical records pertaining to arts therapies assessment, interventions and progress 12. Promote and apply equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory interventions across the team that respect the clients’ customs, values, and spiritual beliefs at all times 13. Develop and maintain links with relevant, statutory and non-statutory agencies throughout the forensic directorate with particular reference to wards, community services, recovery colleges, user-led initiatives, voluntary sector organisations and work, training and education services 14. Be responsible for maintaining on the clients’ behalf an appropriate contained therapeutic environment as far as possible free from outside interruptions and disturbance 15. Ensure clients’ clinical arts based work is securely, confidentially and accessibly stored. Also that all team arts work or recordings are safely and confidentially transported to external clinical supervision and review meetings 16. At all times to be aware of the need to maintain confidentiality in dealing with clients, their treatment and care.
Research, Quality Improvement and Development 1. Initiate and take a lead for evidence-based practice in service delivery 2. Manage and co-ordinate service activities related to clinical effectiveness / governance via audit, research and evidence based practice 3. Co-ordinate quality improvement, research and development activities and undertake a personal research and development programme, maintaining personal CPD portfolio
- Ensure own professional development through regular participation in the supervision/consultation process and annual appraisal
Freedom to Act 1. Independently manage a caseload in response to client need and the changing remit of the service and supervise others to do the same 2. Independently to exercise professional and clinical judgement in complex cases 3. Consult with the Strategic Lead & Professional Head of Arts Therapies around project proposals related to Arts Therapies development in Forensic services 4. With the support of the Strategic Lead & Professional Head of Arts Therapies, initiate and manage projects relevant to the Forensic Directorate Arts Therapies service
Person specification
Other
Essential
- Ability to effectively manage frequent exposure to highly distressing /emotional circumstances
- Ability to concentrate and remain in constrained Page 11 of 11 positions for substantial periods during patient contact, teaching/supervision, team meetings, preparation of written work, etc.
- Ability to recognise, contain and work with organisational and personal stress
- Respectful approach to patients, carers, colleagues, and others
- Willingness to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively and professionally
Knowledge
Essential
- Leadership and management skills, particularly in developing a specialist service
- Skills in managing and monitoring budgets and performance data
- Skills in delivering highly specialist arts therapy assessment, intervention and management in individual and/or group formats, adapted to meet the needs of the individual or group and using theoretical models to analyse information and develop formulations upon which to base treatment
- Highly effective communication and organisational skills to include wide range of IT skills, and the ability to plan, organise and prioritise own work according to resources and service user and Service needs, and guiding others in doing the same
- Skills in effective oral and written communication of complex and/or clinically sensitive information to a wide range of recipients both within and outside the NHS, including the ability to produce letters, reports, and associated documentation appropriate to its readership, and to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance
- Skills in contributing to risk assessment and risk management planning within a multidisciplinary team
- Able to work autonomously with clinical work
- Skills in working as part of a multidisciplinary team and providing advice and consultation to other professionals and carers
- Skills in managing highly emotive and distressing situations including verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse, with professionalism
- Ability to plan and deliver teaching and training sessions; high level presentation skills
- Knowledge of the theory and practice and evidence base for arts psychotherapeutic interventions and its relationship to psychodynamic theory
- Knowledge of the Ethics, Standards of Education and Training and Standards of Practice of the HCPC and for Dance Movement Psychotherapy - UKCP
- Skills in identifying audit needs, and in undertaking audit for service evaluation purposes, including identifying appropriate outcome measures and using these for measuring clinical change and efficacy
- Awareness of diversity and cultural difference issues, and ability to provide a service that is appropriate to a diverse range of people
- Knowledge of relevant publications linked to Clinical Governance, Mental Health Act and National Service Framework for Mental Health and NICE guidelines
Desirable
- Skills in Quality Improvement Metholodogy
Experience
Essential
- Substantial post-qualification experience of providing highly specialist arts therapeutic assessment and treatment interventions for patients within forensic services with complex problems and reflecting a wide range of clinical severity and/or comorbid difficulties such as dual diagnosis, personality disorder or learning disabilities.
- Experience of leading a staff team including; workload allocation, timetable monitoring and coordination, negotiating new staffing resources, managing departmental budgets and performance targets, organising induction of new staff and students
- Experience developing a specialist service, and of liaising with a wide range of operational managers across clinical settings
- Facilitating highly specialist individual and group arts therapy in highly related clinical settings, to include co- working with less experienced staff
- Experience of liaising with multidisciplinary teams over the provision of clinical interventions
- Experience of representing arts therapies at management and service development meetings
- Experience of teaching, training, and/or supervision of others
- Experience of working in a multi-cultural setting
- Experience of audit and research processes
Desirable
- Experience of working in a range of care settings, including outpatient, inpatient and community
- Experience of working with interpreters
- Experience of recruitment and selection
Qualifications
Essential
- MA (or equivalent) Arts Therapies qualification
- For Art, Music or Drama Therapist Registration with the HCPC; For Dance Movement Psychotherapists - Full Member Registration with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
- Membership of own Arts Therapy professional body
- Training in risk assessment and risk management
- Clinical Supervision Training
- Further training in an area of psychological practice relevant to the post’s clinical area
Desirable
- Management training e.g. in appraisal skills, recruitment and retention, Core manager’s training
- Further postgraduate training in an area of clinical expertise in a related field ( e.g. forensic learning disability, Personality Disorder services,
- Further training in evidence based therapeutic approaches integrating with Arts therapies eg MBT/IPT/DBT
WhatsApp job alerts
Get instant WhatsApp alerts for Band 8 roles in London
Create your Job Clerk account first. We'll collect your alert preferences during onboarding and help you turn on WhatsApp notifications for matching healthcare roles.
Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Head of Forensic Arts Therapies with East London NHS Foundation Trust in London, London, England. It is listed as a Band 8 role. The advertised salary is £66,274 - £73,496 per annum Inc HCAs. The contract type is Fixed term: 9 months (Maternity cover). The application deadline is 24 Jul 2026.
Before you apply, compare the job description with the person specification and mirror the employer's essential criteria in your supporting information. Use the vacancy title, employer, location, salary, contract type, closing date and posted date (10 Jul 2026) to decide whether this role fits your current NHS job search. If the employer can close applications early, prepare the application before the stated deadline rather than waiting for the final day.
For more context, review related Job Clerk pages for the same profession, band or location where they exist, then use the application-support guides to tailor your statement and prepare for interview.