CAMHS Practitioner, AAP

Job summary
Do you have expertise in autism and a passion for improving the diagnostic journey for young people and their families? Join our Autism Assessment Pathway (AAP) and help shape an innovative, high-quality service for young people aged 13+ across Bedfordshire and Luton.

We are seeking a skilled and motivated clinician with strong autism knowledge, the ability to work autonomously, and an interest in service development. You will be part of a supportive multidisciplinary team within the CAMHS Neurodevelopmental Team, contributing to assessments, service improvement and positive outcomes for young people.

As part of Bedfordshire CAMHS, you'll join a large, dynamic service with strong links across specialist teams and partner agencies. We are committed to staff development, offering tailored CPD opportunities, quality improvement projects, service-user involvement initiatives, and opportunities to develop leadership skills.

Our Bedford clinics are easily accessible from North London, Milton Keynes and Northampton. ELFT offers attractive recruitment packages and a strong commitment to career development.

If you'd like to make a real difference at an exciting time of service growth and innovation, we'd love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job
This post is based within our specialist Autism Assessment Pathway (AAP). We are seeking experienced clinicians skilled in delivering standardised autism assessments using tools such as ADOS, 3Di and ADI-R.

The AAP sits within the CAMHS Neurodevelopmental Team (NDT), which provides assessment and intervention for children and young people with autism and/or intellectual disabilities. The NDT is part of Bedfordshire CAMHS, a large and dynamic service that includes emotional and behavioural teams, CAMHS Schools, LAC, parent-infant psychotherapy, paediatric, GP, adolescent mental health, crisis and eating disorder services, as well as embedded staff in Early Help, CDC and social care.

The successful post holder will work autonomously within a supportive multidisciplinary team, delivering high-quality assessments and contributing to service development. We offer tailored CPD, quality improvement projects, service-user participation opportunities and chances to develop leadership skills through acting-up roles.

Our Bedford clinics are easily accessible from North London, Milton Keynes and Northampton. ELFT offers attractive recruitment packages and is committed to supporting staff development, innovation and career progression.

About us
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Details
Date posted: 23 October 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 363-SSLB8334960
Closing date: 01 November 2026

Job responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive specialist autism assessments using standardised tools such as ADOS, 3Di or ADI-R or other tools to suit the needs of the young person.
• Write confidential reports for families and other professionals containing the diagnostic details.
• Convey sensitive, complex and sometimes unwelcome information to clients and other professionals and manage this as constructively as possible.
• Be a resource of specialist advice related to Autism, delivered in both individual and group format to young people and their families.
• Provide consultation and training on Autism to other professionals.
• Undertake additional training as required by the role.
• Undertake clinical audit and research activities.
• Liaise with and, where appropriate, participate in joint work with other members of the NDT team and other clinicians in CAMHS.
• Offer and provide a liaison and consultation service to primary care clinicians and other key agencies working with children, young people and their families/carers referred with NDT and ID issues, and their co-morbid mental health problems.
• Ensure the needs of the client group are paramount, and be aware of and adhere to local, trust-wide and HCPC guidelines relating to Child Protection and safeguarding.
• Ensure acceptable levels of safety for self and advise other colleagues when necessary. Adhere to the lone worker policy and update training in breakaway techniques when necessary.
• Maintain accurate clinical records in accordance with service standards and record and maintain patient data in local database systems (RiO) and the trust wide electronic CPA database.
• Help to develop standards underpinned by theory and research.
• Keep up to date with appropriate legislation in line with CAMHS and be responsible for personal development and education in line with statutory, mandatory and professional requirements.
• Establish effective interpersonal channels of communication.
• Be involved in audit and research projects undertaken by the service, and work within professional and ethical frameworks established by national bodies.
• Ensure documentation and care plans are comprehensive and of the highest standard in line with Trust policy, and record and report clinical information as required.
• Provide service related information to senior managers and staff to aid day-to-day service management and future planning.

Person specification
Essential:

• A qualification and professional registration in Child Psychotherapy, Clinical Psychology, Family Therapy, Nursing, Social Work, Speech and Language Therapy, or Occupational Therapy.
• Evidence of successful completion of post graduate courses relevant to Autism.
• Evidence of successful completion of post graduate diagnostic training such as ADOS, 3DI.
• Experience of providing specialist assessment, psychological formulation and interventions using evidence based models of care.
• Experience of developing and delivering specialist training programmes and/or supervision of other staff groups.
• Experience of participating in audit, evaluation and research activities and contributing to policy and service development.
• Knowledge of current national guidelines and policies relating to CAMHS, workforce development initiatives, and national transformation priorities such as Future In Mind.
• Knowledge and experience of Child Protection policy and practice.
• Self-motivated, assertive and flexible, with proven resilience for the demands of specialised therapeutic work.

Desirable:

• Relevant specialist CAMHS trainings or qualification.
• Experience of working with a range of CYP in a CAMHS setting.
• Knowledge of development in inter agency partnership and in depth knowledge of CAMHS issues including assessment and interventions.
• Knowledge of The Mental Health Act 1983 (amended 2007), the Children's Act and other appropriate legislation.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see the NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: East London NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Bedford CAMHS, 9 Rush Court, Bedford, MK40 3JT, United Kingdom
Employer's website: Apply through our website

For questions about the job, contact:
Clinical Team Lead: Lucy Pedrick, lucy.pedrick@nhs.net, 01234893300

East London NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice is available on the Trust website.