Speech and Language Therapist Team Lead

Please note: at this stage, the role is open only to colleagues currently employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts, the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Medway Community Healthcare or working on the Staff Bank within these organisations. Nursing and AHP vacancies are also open to Student Nurses and Newly Qualified Nurses/AHPs.

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Speech and Language Therapist to join our Team Lead team as the Early Years SLT Team Lead for North West Kent.

The successful candidate will have significant experience and expertise in working with children with dysphagia, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) needs, and complex developmental needs. This role combines both leadership and clinical responsibilities, including maintaining a specialist clinical caseload alongside supporting the continued implementation and development of the Balanced System approach across the service.

Our Children's Therapies Service is an integrated multidisciplinary team providing Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Specialist Nurse Advisor, and Care Coordination services for children and young people aged 0 to 19 years across KCHFT.

We work closely with colleagues across health, education, social care, and the voluntary sector to deliver a coordinated, child-centred approach, ensuring children, young people, and their families receive high-quality, seamless care and support.

To lead the planning and coordination of the day-to-day operational management of the Early Years Team, ensuring the delivery of an effective, high-quality service.

To be responsible for, and provide oversight of, the line management arrangements for staff within the designated team.

To work collaboratively with other Team Leads to promote effective team working and ensure seamless service provision across the locality and wider service.

To work with Locality Clinical Managers to ensure workforce planning and service redesign are undertaken within the designated team, reducing inefficiencies, avoiding duplication of provision, and ensuring children and young people receive coordinated and seamless services.

To work in partnership with Locality Clinical Managers in relation to recruitment, appraisal, and the management of competency, capability, and disciplinary processes.

To ensure all staff receive appropriate clinical supervision relevant to their area of practice, supporting safe and effective care delivery and enabling the service to respond to local and national priorities and commissioning intentions.

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust is due to integrate with Medway Community Healthcare on 1 October 2026. Following integration and to align our community services to the new Neighbourhood Model of care delivery, there will be a period of consultation which may result in changes affecting some services, teams or roles. Depending on the area you are applying to work in, this could include potential changes to your role, work base, reporting arrangements, or terms and conditions of employment. Any changes would be subject to consultation and managed sensitively and in line with relevant employment processes. Please do contact the recruiting manager if you have any concerns about this so they can answer any questions you might have.

Rated ‘Outstanding’ by CQC, we deliver high-quality care that improves the health of our communities. We are looking for people who share our values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Responsive and Excellent.

We are proud to be an inclusive, welcoming organisation and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We use protected characteristic information for monitoring only and it is not seen by recruiting managers, except where applicants choose to be considered under our disability guaranteed interview scheme.

We know life outside work matters. As a flexible working-friendly organisation, we welcome conversations about arrangements that help you thrive while supporting excellent care for our patients.

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For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Karin Corrigan Job title: Locality Clinical manager Email address: Sign in to view email