Do you have Substantial experience managing health and social care staff, building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders?
Do you have substantial experience of directly leading substantial change?
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust seeks two strategic leaders to head either Adult & Older Adult Mental Health (AMH/OAMH) or Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Oxfordshire. These career-defining roles offer the chance to lead transformational change in a Trust known for innovation, collaboration, and compassionate care.
The Heads of Service will shape the future of mental health services by leading change, empowering teams, influencing strategy, and driving service development aligned with local and national priorities. They will oversee either AMH/OAMH or CAMHS pathways, uphold Trust values, and manage governance across quality, safety, finance, HR, and performance. Collaboration with other service leads and support teams is essential to meet strategic goals.
You will be an experienced operational leader seeking growth. Key qualities include adaptability, strong partnership skills, and a commitment to improving mental health outcomes across health, social care, and VCSE sectors—even in challenging contexts.
The key responsibilities of the role can be summarised as strategy, policy, and delivery in the following domains:
- Quality
- Workforce
- Finance
- Performance
- Strategic change
- Stakeholder engagement/partnership
The Head of Service will own these domains within the reporting service(s), as well as being expected to contribute significantly to the Directorate-wide approach across them.
The Head of Service will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that reporting service(s) comply with the five CQC domains:
- Safe: people are protected from abuse and avoidable harm
- Effective: people’s care, treatment and support achieve good outcomes, promote a good quality of life, and are based on the best available evidence. Caring: the service(s) involve and treat people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. Responsive: service(s) meet people’s needs
- Well led: leadership, management and governance assure the delivery of high-quality and person-centred care, support learning and innovation, and promote an open and fair culture.
Full details can be found at the CQC website by clicking on the link below:
Key lines of enquiry for healthcare services - Care Quality Commission
Please refer to the job description attached for a comprehensive list of duties
Oxford Health is a great place to work. To be able to showcase yourself when making an application, you are encouraged to read the “candidate guide to making an application” which is attached to all roles.
Please include details of qualifications (including years these were gained, particularly if we need to assess for clinical roles that these are still valid) and tailor your supporting statement to the role you are applying for, addressing the essential criteria found in the JD.
As a Trust, we provide physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset. Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people’s homes, delivering care as close to home as possible. Our vision is that no matter who or where you are, you will receive: “Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team”
Our values are: “Caring, safe and excellent”
We offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing:
- Excellent opportunities for career progression
- Individual and trust-wide learning and development
- 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
- NHS Discount
- Pension scheme
- Lease car scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Mental Health First Aiders
- Staff accommodation (waiting lists may apply)
- Staff networking and support groups
For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Katrina Anderson Job title: Service Director Email address: katrina.anderson@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk Telephone number: 01865 902759
For an informal discussion about the Adult and Older Adult Mental Health role, please contact Catherine Sage, Associate Director, 07769935831 or email catherine.sage@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk
For an informal discussion about the CAMHS role please contact Katrina Anderson on 07551 919480 or email Katrina.anderson@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk
At Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust we want to employ people not just with experience, but with the aptitude and motivation to succeed and whose values resonate with our own.
Therefore, if you don’t meet all the requirements of the role and are unsure about applying but are excited about the opportunity, please do get in touch. We will be happy to discuss the requirements in more detail ahead of making a written application.
