Director of Therapeutic & Clinical Services

Salary: Up to £120,000 per annum, plus benefits package
Contract: Permanent | Full time
Location: UK-wide, including remote working plus regular travel
Reports to: Chief Executive / Director
Accountable to: Executive team

About The Opportunity

Livingwell Recruitment is supporting a nationwide fostering organisation with the appointment of a Director of Therapeutic & Clinical Services.

This is an opportunity to shape clinical and therapeutic practice at a national level, influencing how children with complex needs are understood and supported within foster families

Building on established clinical capability, you will lead the organisation’s therapeutic strategy and embed trauma-aware, clinically informed approaches across everyday fostering and associated children’s services. Your influence will extend across support for foster carers, workforce development, service design and partnerships with Local Authorities.

Working closely with senior leaders and advising the Executive team and Board, you will help translate clinical ambition into practical improvements that strengthen foster-family resilience and improve outcomes for children and young people.

What This Role Offers

• Salary of up to £120,000 per annum, plus benefits package.
• National influence: shape the clinical and therapeutic direction of a nationwide fostering organisation.
• Breadth of impact: improve the support children receive through both specialist provision and everyday fostering practice.
• An established foundation: build on existing clinical and therapeutic capability while identifying opportunities for further development.
• Strategic involvement: work closely with senior leaders and provide clinical advice to the Executive team and Board.
• Scope to develop services: lead improvements in practice, strengthen multidisciplinary working and contribute to partnerships with Local Authorities and commissioners.

Who This Role Will Suit

An experienced clinical or therapeutic leader who wants to influence practice beyond an individual service. You will be motivated by translating trauma-aware principles into everyday care and combining strategic leadership with practical delivery across a geographically dispersed organisation.

Key Stakeholders

Children and young people; foster carers and their families; colleagues and leaders across the organisation; clinical and therapeutic teams; fostering and social care practitioners; Local Authorities and commissioners; health, education and other partner agencies; Executive team and Board.

Key Responsibilities

1. Lead the next phase of the organisation’s therapeutic approach

• Lead the development and implementation of the organisation’s clinical and therapeutic strategy, translating organisational priorities into clear plans, objectives and deliverables.
• Build on existing clinical and therapeutic capability, identifying opportunities to strengthen practice, systems, leadership and specialist provision.
• Ensure the principles of the organisation’s therapeutic practice framework are consistently understood and applied across fostering and associated children’s services.
• Work with senior leaders and operational teams to embed clinical and therapeutic priorities into service planning, decision-making and organisational development.
• Monitor progress against agreed priorities and take action to address barriers to implementation and delivery.

2. Develop culture, infrastructure and intervention

• Lead the development of culture, infrastructure and intervention as three connected elements of the organisation’s clinical and therapeutic approach.
• Promote a culture of trauma-aware practice, curiosity, reflection and relational working across the organisation.
• Identify and develop the structures, processes, resources and professional expertise required to support clinically informed practice.
• Ensure that therapeutic interventions are accessible, appropriate and proportionate to the needs of children and young people.
• Strengthen the integration of specialist clinical provision with fostering practice and wider children’s services, ensuring that interventions complement and inform everyday care.

3. Embed clinical and therapeutic practice in everyday fostering

• Lead initiatives to embed trauma-aware and clinically informed approaches within everyday fostering practice and associated support services.
• Ensure that the impact of trauma, abuse, neglect, attachment disruption and adversity informs how children’s needs, behaviour and relationships are understood.
• Develop and promote practical approaches that enable foster carers and practitioners to respond to children in a consistent, safe and therapeutic manner.
• Work with fostering and clinical teams to strengthen the integration of clinical insight into assessment, care planning, supervision and support for foster carers.
• Promote opportunities for training, consultation, reflective practice and professional development to build confidence and capability across the workforce.
• Ensure that the child’s needs, experiences and outcomes remain central to clinical and operational decisions.

4. Develop the organisation’s response to increasing complexity

• Review and develop the organisation’s clinical and therapeutic model to ensure it responds effectively to the increasingly complex needs of children and young people.
• Ensure that clinical and therapeutic needs are identified, assessed and reviewed appropriately, with access to suitable expertise and support.
• Lead the development of approaches that enable clinical and therapeutic resources to be coordinated and deployed effectively in response to changing needs.
• Work with operational and clinical colleagues to develop support plans for children whose needs present challenges to placement stability or existing service arrangements.
• Strengthen the support available to foster carers and practitioners caring for children with complex needs, ensuring they have access to appropriate guidance, consultation and intervention.
• Ensure that decisions relating to risk, therapeutic intervention and placement support are informed by sound clinical judgement and effective partnership working.

5. Strengthen the organisation’s offer to Local Authorities and commissioners

• Work with senior colleagues to develop and communicate the organisation’s clinical and therapeutic offer to Local Authorities, commissioners and partner organisations.
• Ensure that the contribution of clinically informed fostering to children’s needs, care experiences and placement stability is clearly articulated and supported by available evidence.
• Develop constructive relationships with commissioning and partner organisations to understand local priorities, service pressures and the needs of children and young people.
• Provide clinical and therapeutic input into service proposals, partnership discussions and the development of the organisation’s wider service offer.
• Identify opportunities to develop services and partnerships that respond to commissioning priorities while remaining aligned with the organisation’s clinical approach and objectives.
• Ensure that claims about service effectiveness and outcomes are evidence-informed, proportionate and transparent.

6. Lead outcomes, evaluation and continuous improvement

• Establish and maintain an approach to clinical and therapeutic service development that is informed by evidence, outcomes and learning.
• Work with relevant colleagues to identify appropriate measures for evaluating the effectiveness and impact of clinical and therapeutic support.
• Review available data, feedback and practice-based evidence from children and young people, foster carers, practitioners and partner organisations.
• Identify trends, gaps and opportunities for improvement, translating findings into changes to practice, service design and delivery.
• Promote reflective practice and the sharing of learning across clinical, therapeutic, fostering and social care teams.
• Contribute to organisational reporting and decision-making by providing a clear account of progress, outcomes, challenges and areas requiring further development.

7. Lead clinical quality, governance and safeguarding

• Provide leadership and oversight for clinical quality and governance within the remit of the role, ensuring that appropriate standards and assurance arrangements are maintained.
• Promote safe, ethical and accountable clinical and therapeutic practice in accordance with relevant professional standards, legislation, regulation and organisational policies.
• Ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place for clinical supervision, consultation, record-keeping, risk management and escalation.
• Work closely with safeguarding and operational leaders to ensure that clinical and therapeutic considerations inform safeguarding practice, risk assessment and decision-making.
• Review clinical and therapeutic policies, procedures and practice arrangements to ensure they remain appropriate as services develop.
• Monitor and respond to identified risks, incidents, concerns and areas of poor practice, ensuring that learning is captured and improvements are implemented.
• Provide appropriate assurance and advice to senior leaders regarding clinical quality, safeguarding, professional practice and service risks.

8. Lead and develop clinical and therapeutic teams

• Provide strategic leadership to clinical and therapeutic teams, ensuring clear direction, priorities, responsibilities and expectations.
• Build effective working relationships between clinical professionals, fostering teams, social care practitioners and other relevant functions across the organisation.
• Support the development of professional capability, reflective practice and collaborative working across a geographically dispersed organisation.
• Identify workforce development needs and work with relevant colleagues to strengthen clinical skills, knowledge and confidence.
• Promote a culture of accountability, learning, innovation and continuous improvement, supporting colleagues to contribute to the development of the organisation’s clinical approach.
• Ensure that clinical and therapeutic resources are aligned with organisational priorities and deployed effectively.
• Encourage collaboration and consistency across services while recognising and responding to the different needs of local teams and the children they support.

9. Develop services and strengthen partnership working

• Identify and lead opportunities to improve the quality, accessibility, coordination and effectiveness of clinical and therapeutic services across fostering and associated children’s services.
• Ensure that clinical and therapeutic expertise informs service design, operational planning and the development of new approaches.
• Lead or contribute to service development initiatives, ensuring that proposals are assessed, implemented, reviewed and refined in light of evidence and experience.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams and external partners to improve coordination around children and families and reduce gaps or duplication in support.
• Clarify the contribution of clinical and therapeutic services within wider care and support arrangements, promoting effective communication and shared understanding between professionals.
• Ensure that service developments remain aligned with organisational strategic priorities, the needs of children and young people and appropriate quality and governance requirements.

10. Provide strategic advice and contribute to organisational leadership

• Provide clear, balanced and evidence-informed clinical and therapeutic advice to the Executive team and Board on strategic priorities, emerging needs, service quality, risk and outcomes.
• Contribute to organisational strategy, business planning and decisions regarding service development, resource allocation and investment.
• Ensure that clinical and therapeutic considerations are appropriately represented in organisational decision-making and the development of wider services.
• Advise senior colleagues on opportunities, challenges and risks associated with the development and delivery of clinical and therapeutic provision.
• Work across the organisation to ensure that clinical ambition is translated into realistic, sustainable and appropriately governed plans.
• Represent the organisation’s clinical and therapeutic approach in relevant external discussions and partnerships, promoting professional credibility and constructive collaboration.

Standard Responsibilities

All employees, irrespective of their role and level of seniority within the organisation, are expected to:

• Participate in an annual performance review programme.
• Work at all times in accordance with organisational policies and procedures and statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Uphold the organisation’s commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
• Undertake other duties as assigned, consistent with the scope and seniority of the role.