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Job Title: Chief Medical Advisor (SCS2)

Organisation: Department for Work & Pensions (DWP)

Salary: Circa £145,000

Locations: London, Leeds, Sheffield (hybrid, 60% in the office)

Key Benefits: Civil Service pension scheme (28.97% employer contribution), 25 days annual leave (+9 days of Bank Holiday leave)

Application Closing Date: Monday 2nd March, 10am

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is seeking a permanent Chief Medical Advisor. This is an SCS2 grade role and an outstanding opportunity to work in the largest Civil Service Department that touches the lives of citizens the length and breadth of the UK.

This is a unique opportunity for a senior medical professional to provide expert advice to inform policy, legislation, and delivery decisions at the UK’s biggest public service department, where we administer the State Pension and a range of working age, disability and ill health benefits to around 20 million claimants and customers.

This role will be the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for Clinical Governance and Clinical Profession. The postholder will build strong relationships with senior leaders, including the Permanent Secretary, ministers, and external stakeholders, ensuring clinical advice is accurate and of the highest quality. The role requires strong team leadership, promoting an inclusive environment for clinicians to encourage development and growth while ensuring compliance with legislative requirements.

As the Department’s most senior medical professional, you will provide expert advice on clinical policy and clinical governance matters to DWP Ministers and senior leaders across DWP including the DWP Executive team. The role will also work closely with other clinical teams across government as well as external organisations such as regulatory bodies, external providers and charities.

The Department has an ambitious reform agenda including priorities set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper and the Pathways to Work Green Paper and a focus on tackling rising youth inactivity.

As Chief Medical Advisor you will bring professional expertise to complex problems, influencing right at the heart of decision making. You will be a strong relationship builder, able to work effectively across a large and complex organisation, and operate as an inspiring leader.

This role has four major components:

1. Leading a team of approximately 50 colleagues providing clinical advice across DWP, you will act as the Department’s expert on clinical policy matters and work with officials across the Department to ensure Ministers receive the highest quality advice on clinical policy.
2. Provide the in-house clinical advice relating to disability, work, and health within DWP for Ministers and the Executive team.
3. Operate as Head of Clinical Profession, where you will be responsible for training, appraisal, and revalidation of c.200 clinicians in DWP, ensuring they are in good standing with their regulatory body. There is also a dotted line of professional responsibility to 5,500 healthcare professionals within contracted provider organisations.
4. As SRO for Clinical Governance, you will oversee the DWP Caldicott Guardian and Clinical Safeguarding Lead, providing final sign-off for sanctions and waivers on behalf of the Secretary of State.

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate their knowledge, experience and skills against the following essential criteria:

• Excellent strategic thinking skills, with the ability to understand both complex policy detail and high level, strategic connections across a broad portfolio and an outstanding eye for critical detail.
• Experience of delivering practical and innovative responses to complex issues and responding to unplanned circumstances.
• Strong technical skills relevant to clinical safeguarding with expertise in occupational health or functional medicine.
• Evidence of exceptional leadership and ability to lead multidisciplinary clinical education teams and / or programmes to ensure understanding of all roles across the 5,500 strong clinical profession, including the ability to motivate and inspire an experienced and diverse clinical team.
• Ability to demonstrate credibility to inspire the respect of both internal and external stakeholders at Director level and above.

Applicants must also meet the following qualification and membership requirements:

• A clinically active doctor with license to practise with GMC.
• Candidates must meet minimum ‘Continuing Professional Development’ (CPD) requirements (i.e. be up-to-date) in accordance with the requirements of the appropriate recognised professional body.
• Medical qualification MBChB or equivalent.

It is desirable that applicants hold a faculty of medical leadership recognition to ensure profession leadership is credible.

A detailed candidate pack is available for more information on the vacancy.

Prior Civil Service experience is not a pre-requisite, however, applicants must demonstrate the ability to operate at scale in a complex environment. DWP are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity in our organisation, we welcome applications to help us reflect the citizens we serve.

This role can be based in the following DWP Hub locations: London, Leeds, or Sheffield.

Hybrid working policy: The expectation is that that this role would require the successful candidate to be in the office more than 60% of the time. Travel to other DWP and official locations including London is required which may include overnight stays.

Alongside your salary, the Department for Work and Pensions contributes 28.97% towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Applicants will be required to provide an up-to-date CV and supporting statement (up to 1,250 words) detailing how you meet the role’s requirements. You will also provide a completed online diversity monitoring form.

The closing date for applications is Monday 2nd March 2026 at 10:00am.

In addition to Security Check (SC) level clearance, this role will also be subject to an Enhanced Check. Candidates who do not already have this level of clearance can have this undertaken post-appointment. In all cases the appointment remains conditional on this level of security clearance.

DWP is recognised as a Disability Confident Leader, demonstrating the departmental commitment to attracting, recruiting and retaining disabled people and supporting them in achieving their full potential. We run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria for the advertised role. This vacancy is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

As Community Coordinator, you will be welcoming everyone who walks through our doors, running fun and inclusive activities, and helping people access the support that they need. 

This role is a demanding, people-focussed position and the successful applicant will have an outstanding ability to relate to and draw the best out of our community at The Oasis Centre.

What you will be doing:

· Giving a warm, genuine welcome to everyone who visits the Centre

· Planning, preparing, and running fun, engaging, and inclusive community activities in our free café

· Helping people find the right support by signposting them to services within the Centre

· Responding calmly and wisely to issues that present themselves, offering reassurance and support

· Welcoming visiting organisations and ensuring they feel part of the Oasis culture

· Living out and actively modelling the values of Oasis every day

· Setting the tone of a safe, respectful, and uplifting environment by challenging negative behaviours appropriately

· Supporting the wider Oasis team with other tasks when needed

What we’re looking for:

· An Occupational Requirement exists for the post-holder to be a practicing Christian in accordance with Section 2 of the Equality Act 2010

· A natural “people person” warm, approachable, and welcoming

· A great communicator who can connect with people from all walks of life

· Patient, kind, and trustworthy, someone who can be relied on

· Organised and self-motivated, able to take initiative

· Calm under pressure and confident in handling conflict well

Person Specification:

E = Essential D = Desirable

1. Education/ Training

GCSE Maths and English minimum 5 or above (High C and above) (E)

2. Experience

A minimum of 2 years relevant experience (this can be from a wide variety of backgrounds) (D)

Experience of working with disadvantaged people (D)

Experience of communicating effectively and persuasively using a variety of media (D)

Experience of working within a small-medium charity (D)

Experience of working in a community setting (E)

3.       Essential Skills

Excellent organisational skills: including goal setting, prioritising competing demands and meeting deadlines (D)

A clear communicator at all levels, with excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to write clear and comprehensive reports. (E)

Ability to work independently and to identify and prioritise own workload (E)

Ability to work as a supportive and productive member of a team (E)

Flexibility to deal with constantly changing circumstances and a cool head under pressure (E)

Excellent conflict resolution skills (E)

Good interpersonal skills (E)

Confident at networking and building up productive relationships (D)

4. Relevant Aptitudes

Compassionate with a heart for the disadvantaged (E)

Flexible and occasionally willing to work outside of usual working hours (E)

5. Personal

Willingness to uphold the vision, mission and values of The Oasis Centre (E)

Approachability: a friendly, welcoming and caring nature (E)

An ability to relate to, include, and bring the best out of The Oasis Centre’s community (E)

An ability to positively interact with all of our community, volunteers and staff (E)

6. Beliefs

It is an Occupational Requirement for the post-holder to be a practicing Christian in accordance Section 2 with the Equality Act 2010 (E)

Catch22 exists to help build a society where everyone has a good place to live, good people around them, and a fulfilling purpose. We call these our '3Ps'.

We achieve this in two ways. First, we improve lives on the frontline through delivery of public services. Secondly, we use our knowledge to change 'the system', to fix the complex web that can trap and disempower those it was set up to help. With the heart of a charity and the mindset of a business, we are uniquely placed to deliver on this challenging agenda.

Our Young People & Families (YP&F) Operational Hub delivers a wide range of integrated support services designed to help resolve complex difficulties experienced by young people and their families/carers.

Support is provided to people who find themselves in a range of circumstances; they may be missing from home or have emotional, housing or substance misuse issues. We also support families where parents/carers are experiencing domestic abuse, substance misuse, emotional issues, homelessness or unemployment. Whatever the situation, we work alongside young people and their carers to find a way of stabilising their lives.

Redthread is a hospital based youth work service, working alongside NHS staff and other professionals in emergency departments.

Our experienced, specialist youth workers engage with and support young people, aiming to support them with their needs in hospital and post-discharge. We often meet young people at a moment of change and work with them to find a positive way forward.

We provide long-term, holistic support. We consider every aspect of a young person’s life and build support around them.

About the Mental Health Youth Work Service Pilot

The prevalence of reported mental health challenges in children and young people living in England have been increasing.  In addition, research tells us that children and young people facing such challenges with their mental health are more likely to self-harm. For some children and young people, A&E Departments may be a first point of contact with healthcare services following self-harm. While in recent years the number of attendances by children and young people for mental health needs and/or self-harm have stabilised, there was a sharp increase in attendances following the pandemic. For children and young people who have gone to A&E for support with their mental health, such as following self-harm, waiting a long time in A&E can be hard. A&E Departments are often very busy and loud places and there is not always access to secluded space for those who have gone to A&E when experiencing difficulties with their mental health.

Children and young people who are also neurodiverse may find the environment particularly challenging and overstimulating while they are waiting to access care and support. This pilot aims to strengthen the offer of support to young people aged 11-18 in A&E, and also consider the wider social and emotional wellbeing needs of those individuals whilst in that environment and following discharge by ensuring there is follow up support for a variety of services.

The Mental Health Youth Work Service model has been informed by young people with experience of hospital attendances after self-harming, and their feedback has been used to shape the care we aim to deliver.

The service runs across two hospital sites in London: King’s College Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital. There will be a team consisting of one Senior Youth Worker and a Youth Worker embedded in each site.

Job Description

Where you fit in

This is an exciting new service working in partnership with King’s College Hospital Accident and Emergency Department. The project is a pilot that aims to provide specialist Youth Work support for young people presenting to a hospital because of their mental health, and specifically where they attend because of self-harm.

The Senior Youth Worker will lead on the Mental Health Youth Work service embedded within the A&E department. This will involve line management responsibilities for the Mental Health Youth Worker, partnership working to build relationships both internally within the hospital and externally in the local community, and with both statutory and non-statutory partners.

The Senior Youth worker will be expected to support and build trusting relationships with young people who present with acute needs and are often in a crisis. They will manage a caseload of their own, with contact taking place both in the hospital and post-discharge in the community.

The Senior Youth Worker will ensure the integration of the service at their respective hospital A&E department, and work alongside the Team Leader in reporting, monitoring and evaluation requirements

Main Duties & Accountabilities

• Lead the delivery of the Mental Health Youth Work service for young people aged 11-18 who attend the A&E department. Ensure that all young people are assessed holistically and care plans are tailored, trauma-informed and empowering, with the aim of reducing further harm.

• Line manage the Mental Health Youth Worker, providing guidance and direction through regular contact and meetings, case allocation, caseload oversight and one-to-one supervision, both formally and informally.

• In collaboration with the other Senior Youth Worker, provide overall support to the team to develop and improve skills, including assessment and recording, to ensure that Redthread’s model of intervention is delivered consistently.

• Promote high levels of wellbeing for staff members who are working with young people who have experienced acute and chronic mental health challenges

• Hold a caseload and work with young people with often complex needs, in a range of settings, including in A&E, in the community, face-to-face and virtually where required, and promote their personal, educational, health and social development through all interactions

• Assist with the on-going development of the service model to ensure that young people and other stakeholders gain the maximum benefit from Redthread’s interventions

• Along with the team, tailor and design youth work resources that are specific to the young people we are working with

• Contribute to the training programme that Redthread provides for hospital staff, including informal microteaching and more formal presentations.

• With support from the Team Leader, maintain strong working relationships within the Hospital, and NHS staff ensuring that Redthread youth workers are fully embedded in the health setting and are working with clinical staff to deliver a service that meets the needs of young people, including promoting the service within the hospital and attending appropriate internal meetings

• Assist in building and maintaining strong working relationships with Redthread stakeholders, project partners and with other agencies working with young people and to represent Redthread at external meetings as required.

• Ensure that as a team, you are proactive in researching and networking with other organisations working with young people in the area served by the hospital to ensure that the Youth Workers have a good knowledge of other services and projects that may be of interest to the young people we work with or appropriate for us to refer to.

• Attend multi-disciplinary team meetings in hospital, working with ED staff and CAMHS teams to support and safeguard young people

• Maintain a good level of professional knowledge of the issues affecting young people, particularly related to their mental health needs and self harm.

• In all areas of the work, apply an in-depth understanding of safeguarding responsibilities when working with children and young people, and provide guidance to your team members that adheres to Redthread’s Safeguarding policy and procedures and safeguarding policies of respective NHS Trusts.

• Ensure information resources such as client forms, databases and contact files are kept fully up-to-date and secure, in line with GDPR, the Data Protection Act and our Confidentiality Policy and Consent Policy. Maintain high-quality recording of interventions with young people on our database, Salesforce, in line with Redthread’s best-practice requirements. (Training will be provided.)

• Collect and record evidence of project outcomes and young people’s achievements, to ensure the completion of monitoring forms and project progress reports as required.

• Work as part of a team to continue to develop the programme’s monitoring and evaluation in order to facilitate internal reflection and learning, and to demonstrate its effectiveness and impact to external stakeholders.

 • To ensure that the Youth Worker accurately captures and records data on the CRM system. To ensure that it can be used to identify trends and provide insights. To use these insights and trends to shape service delivery and share information with partners.

• With support from the Team Leader and oversight from the Service Manager, produce monthly and quarterly reports as required by funders and to inform leaders of the operational performance of the organisation.

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential:

Relevant level 3 or 4 qualification in health & wellbeing, youth provision or similar or demonstrable equivalent experience

Desirable:

A degree-level qualification in social work, youth work, social science, education or another relevant field
Qualifications in counselling and/or mental health first aid for young people

KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• A thorough knowledge and understanding of the physical, social and emotional developmental needs of young people • Understanding of the issues faced by young people living in inner city areas • An awareness of child protection and safeguarding issues and knowledge of current best practice within the youth work sector • Knowledge of Mental Health systems and processes and the function of statutory services such as CAMHS • Knowledge of the specific needs of young people who self harm • A knowledge of best practice in case recording

Desirable

• Knowledge of capacity and consent issues including Gillick competence • Knowledge of solution-focused brief therapy tools or a similar counselling methodology. • Knowledge of psycho-education tools appropriate to share with children and young people who also may be neurodivergent • Knowledge of health inequalities and how these can affect different groups/individuals

EXPERIENCE

Essential

Significant professional experience of working with vulnerable young people in a range of activities and settings • Experience working with young people in a health and well-being context, especially with young people experiencing mental health challenges • Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team • Experience of leading and managing a project to enable growth and continuity • Experience in developing and maintaining excellent relationships with partner organisations • Experience in planning and delivering training

Desirable

• Experience of working in a London borough • Experience in leading, managing, supporting, and motivating a team in their work • Experiencing of developing a project’s processes, procedures, and policies • Experience of monitoring and evaluation systems to measure programme impact

SKILLS & ABILITIES

Essential

• Resilient and reflective • Well-developed verbal and written communication skills and an ability to interact young people on a one-to-one basis within a range of contexts • Ability to plan and manage own workload • Accurate data entry and record keeping and monitoring processes Ability to use up-to[1]date IT systems • Able to analyse and evaluate information and provide effective management oversight of high-risk complex cases. • Able to oversee cases using an electronic database

Desirable

• Leadership and management skills to enable the team to have a clear sense of direction, feel motivated and have a clear understanding of how their own roles contribute to and enhance the work of the organisation • Able to provide supervision, guidance, and support to youth work teams, particularly around task allocation, setting priorities and personal development
 

OTHER

Share Catch22 values
Awareness of and commitment to Equality & Diversity
Willing to travel and work flexibly
Desire to develop and undertake training as required
● Enthusiasm for Redthread’s work
● Approachable, self-motivated and committed to continuous personal development
● A commitment to and understanding of equal opportunities as they apply to all aspects of Redthread’s work

Additional information

Those interested in applying for this opportunity should review the Job Description & Person Specification to find out more.

When applying please be cautious over the answers you provide. If you select “NO” to the screening question regarding Right to Work in the UK, your application will automatically be closed. 

Contract: Permanent

Hours & work pattern: 37 hours per week, with regular evening and weekend shifts required. Evening shifts cover the hours of 1pm to 9:00 pm 

Salary: £32,917.50 per annum

Location: King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London. With regular travel to other Redthread sites and offices when required.

Screening: Successful admission to post subject to enhanced DBS check and employer Right To Work in the UK check. The post-holder must have right to work in the UK. Catch22 does not currently provide a licence to sponsor visas but please see this register to see those that do.

To Apply: Please provide your CV and cover letter, along with the completion of the screening questions to express your interest in this opportunity. Please note, in the interest of safer recruitment and ensuring that applicants are a right fit for the role, submitted applications must contain a CV, satisfactory responses to the screening questions, and information detailing interest in the role, to be considered for this position.

Closing date: Thursday 19th February at 5pm

Interviews will be held in week commencing 2nd March

AI generated applications are not acceptable and could lead to a disqualification of your current and future applications across Catch22 jobs. In order to ensure that applications are fair, genuine, and representative of the candidate applying, our teams may use a number of tools to identify occurrences where candidates have not given an honest response during the application process. 

Catch22’s Commitment to Ban the Box

Catch22 is proud to have “Banned the Box”. This means that we do not ask for candidates to disclose criminal convictions at the application stage. Instead, we invite disclosures at interview stage, and encourage them at the offer stage. 

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See the benefits of working for Catch22 here.

See the benefits of working for Catch22 here.

Unless otherwise stated, interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, so early application is strongly advised.

At Catch22 we value equality, diversity and inclusion. We are wholeheartedly committed to the principle of equality of opportunity, both as an employer and as a provider of services. Diversity and Inclusion is part of what we do every day, working to deliver our vision to build a strong society where everyone has good people around them, a purpose, and a good place to live.

Catch22 is committed to rigorous safeguarding and safer recruitment practices; ensuring that every individual within the organisation has been safely and appropriately checked.

Please note, we will conduct an online search as part of our due dilligence checks for successful candidate(s). This will involve a search of all publicly available information online and in social media. 

Overview

CGL Buckinghamshire Children and Family Worker

Change Grow Live are a charity dedicated to the belief that we can make a difference to our Service Users lives, offering support and respect in a safe environment, treating each person as an individual and working with them to find the right treatment and care options.

Our core values are ‘Be open, be compassionate and be bold’ and our team members apply these daily to achieve our mission of helping people change the direction of their lives, grow as individuals, and live life to its full potential. 

An exciting opportunity has arisen within our Buckinghamshire Service for you to join a dynamic team committed to supporting children and young people who have been affected by someone else’s drug and/or alcohol use. The role of a Children and family Worker will support children and young people under the age of 18 on a one-to-one basis in a confidential space. The role will deliver a wide range of interventions/ education though activities, such as games, arts and crafts and emotional wellbeing resources. The role will utilise a young person-centred approach, empowering them to explore situations which they feel they have little control over to support them to lead a safe, happy, and healthy life.

The role will work in partnership and liaise with other young people services throughout Buckinghamshire, to provide holistic support to young people accessing the service. We need to record information about what we do, so enjoying a bit of admin work and attention to detail is important, but most of the time you’ll be enjoying working with young people from all backgrounds, making a difference to their lives. You will be required to work flexibly across operational sites as required so must hold a full UK driving license and have access to a car. Don’t worry, there is a wide array of training and development opportunities to help support you in your work.

Where: This role will be based across Buckinghamshire County

When: We're looking for the right person to join our team ASAP on a permanent contract

Hours: Full Time, 37.5 per week

Full Time Salary: £27,861.26 - £32,002.35 per annum, pro rata

Full-time hours at Change Grow Live are 37.5 hours per week. For part-time roles, the salary and payments will be pro rata based on contracted hours.

Responsibilities

About the role: 

• To holistically support CYP affected by parental substance misuse, using a range of interventions including group work, 1:1 work, whole family interventions, safety planning and safeguarding working closely and proactively with the family unit to support positive and sustainable outcomes.
• Identify families in conjunction with other agencies, who will benefit from a Think Family / Whole family approach, negotiating participation and engagement with the programme of care.
• Identifying and responding effectively to potential safeguarding issues. 
• Reducing drug and alcohol related harm to young people and the wider community. 
• Working with young people to support positive, holistic outcomes in relation to their health and wellbeing, enabling them to lead safe, healthy, and purposeful lives: reducing risk and increasing resilience 
• Working flexibly across sites where required

About you: 

• Experience of working with young people and knowledge of the issues they face 
• Knowledge of safeguarding concerns in relation to children and young people and the Fraser Competence framework 
• Have an excellent understanding of drug and alcohol issues and experience of working within a related field 
• Knowledge of working with evidence-based practice around young people’s substance misuse treatment services and methods, including relevant best practice guidance 
• An accomplished communicator, both verbal and written with a high degree of personal IT competency 
• Be able to accurately update and maintain records and to work to deadlines for the submission of information, e.g., reports 
• Have excellent team working and interpersonal skills, maintaining a highly cooperative approach to supporting colleagues in delivering service objectives 

What we will give to you: 

• 25 days holiday (+ bank holidays) rising by 1 day for each years’ service “Capped at 30 days” 
• Paid ‘Wellness’ hour each week along with a ‘Wellness’ hub and Employee Assist Programme 
• Contributory pension scheme 
• A great selection of benefits incl. discounts for shopping, cinema, holidays, etc. 
• A friendly and supportive team 
• Training, career development & progression opportunities 
• Refer a friend scheme.

Please ensure that when completing your application form and supporting statement, you reflect on the details outlined in the job description. This will help us understand how your skills and experiences align with the requirements of the role. 

Direct applications only — we will not be engaging agencies for this vacancy.

Please note: This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK at the time of application. For applicants with time-limited visas, unfortunately, we are unable to support new visa applications or extensions. 

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high number of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. 

Salary Range (pro rata if part time)

CGL points 23 to 28 (£27,861.26 - £32,002.35)

ILW / OLW /Fringe

N/A - Outside London Weighting Area

Interview Date

2/3/2026

Closing Date

20/2/2026

This post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an enhanced level.