Speech & Language Therapy Advanced Practitioner - Expert at Hand

Job overview

1 Year NHS Secondment Opportunity Three Posts Available

📍 Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) 📍 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough (C&P) 📍 Hertfordshire

Are you a visionary Speech and Language Therapist in the NHS ready to influence change at scale?

This is a unique opportunity to become one of the first Advanced Practitioners leading the delivery of the national SEND Reforms across the Central East region. As an Early Adopter, giving successful candidates the chance to shape, test and influence this exciting new role from the very beginning. There will be 3 roles across Central East ICB footprint, which will give the advantage of working in collaboration with peers to develop the role.

Working across health, education and local authority systems, you will provide strategic clinical leadership to strengthen the Speech and Language Therapy workforce, improve outcomes for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs, and support SEND reform across your local area.

Stakeholder panel will take place on 9th November. Successful candidates will be invited to formal interviews on 12th November 2026.

Please note that successful candidates may be employed by East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (BLMK/Cambs and Peterborough) or Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (Herts).

Main duties of the job

You will:

✅ Shape a brand-new regional role as part of a nationally significant programme

✅ Influence workforce strategy across health, education and local authority partners

✅ Create sustainable solutions for workforce shortages and service pressures

✅ Work directly with Integrated Care Boards, universities, commissioners and education leaders

✅ Lead innovation in placements, apprenticeships and workforce development

✅ Develop system-wide approaches that improve access to Speech and Language Therapy expertise for children and young people aged 0–25

✅ Become part of a pioneering network of Advanced Practitioners driving change across the country.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

JOB PURPOSE SUMMARY:

Provide consultant-level strategic clinical leadership for Speech and Language Therapy across education, SEND and workforce development, improving outcomes for children and young people aged 0-25. Act as the senior accountable professional lead for the SaLT education and workforce agenda, delivering sustainable workforce models, clinical standards and system change across health, education and local authority partners.. Influence commissioning, investment and service transformation through expert clinical advice, workforce intelligence and population-level evaluation.

RESPONSIBILITIES / ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Work with a high degree of professional autonomy.
• Generate, lead and translate evidence to influence strategic decision making.
• Design and champion approaches that optimise the contribution of SaLT support workers and the wider workforce.
• Provide expert clinical advice to commissioners, senior leaders and partner organisations.
• Build partnerships with NHS providers, ICBs, local authorities, education settings, HEIs, professional bodies, parent carer forums and young people.
• Lead workforce supply, placements, apprenticeships, supervision frameworks, career pathways and succession planning.
• Provide leadership for supervision, educator capability, workforce quality and advanced practice development.
• Use population health intelligence, workforce data and evaluation methodologies to identify inequalities and inform strategic priorities
• Produce complex reports, business cases and recommendations for senior boards and stakeholder groups.
• Facilitate co-production with children, young people, families and carers.
• Maintain consultant-level clinical credibility through limited direct clinical practice and professional supervision activity.
• Design and oversee system-wide workforce models that increase access to SaLT expertise in mainstream education and support long-term workforce sustainability.
• Lead strategic partnerships with Higher Education Institutions, early years and education providers.
• Act as an educator, supervisor, coach and mentor. Develop system understanding of SaLT workforce supply and demand. Act as the senior clinical authority for the programme of work and be accountable for the quality, safety and strategic direction of recommendations provided to system leaders.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.