Operational Lead -CAMHS MHST

Job overview

The successful candidate will bring proven experience of leading MHST teams across both primary and secondary school settings. You will provide expert leadership, coaching, and guidance to developing teams, ensuring high-quality, compassionate practice while maintaining accountability for meeting key performance targets.

A key aspect of the role will be supporting the development of processes and operational frameworks to enable effective service delivery, alongside fostering a positive, values-based culture that supports staff development and wellbeing.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a growing service aligned with the national MHST programme, expanding into secondary schools, alternative provision, and supporting children and young people who are electively home educated.

You will join a dynamic and supportive senior leadership team within Children’s Services, Mental Health Directorate, working collaboratively with existing leads and managers to deliver this next phase of development. A strong focus on quality improvement and innovation will be essential.

This is a countywide role, with a primary base in the west of Cornwall to support the next phase of expansion.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide high-quality operational leadership across CYP services, working closely with Heads of Service, the Associate Director, and the Director of Mental Health. They will build strong links across the wider directorate and partner organisations to support seamless, joined-up care pathways.

A key focus will be developing collaborative relationships with health, education, voluntary sector and local authority partners to ensure accessible, early preventative mental health support for school-aged children. This is a pivotal role within the CYP directorate, requiring a passion for delivering innovative, responsive services that provide best value and achieve positive outcomes for children, young people, and their families across Cornwall.

This job is currently only open to people who already work for the NHS in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly. We are committed to supporting our dedicated staff, so only current employees of the following organisations can apply:

• Cornwall Foundation Trust
• Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
• Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board

If you do not currently work for one of these NHS organisations, your application will not be considered at this time.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To view a detailed job description and person specification including the main responsibilities of this role please see ‘supporting documents’.

Please note: If you are an internal candidate and wanting to apply for this position as a secondment opportunity. Before applying, please ensure you have discussed the post with your current line manager and obtained their agreement to support your release for the duration of the secondment.