Assistant Director of Mental Health & Autism

Assistant Director of Mental Health & Autism

Location: Central Office - Reigate / Hybrid Working with a requirement to travel to services.

Service descriptions: Supported living, Crisis Intervention, Specialist services, and multisite management.

Salary: £75,000.00

The Assistant Director of Mental Health & Autism is responsible for overseeing the operations of Active Prospects' Mental Health and Autism services, ensuring that support provided is tailored to individuals, flexible, and promotes independence and personal development. This role requires creativity, enthusiasm, a strong commitment to values, and significant strategic management experience in health and social care commissioned provision.

As part of the Senior Care Leadership Team, you will also be responsible for ensuring that services within Active Prospects comply with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, Care Act 2014, the Mental Health Act 2025 (and any future updates), and maintain regulatory standards across every area. It involves leading and shaping the culture service according to our organisational values and behaviours.

Key Responsibilities

• To lead and manage operations of Mental Health and Autism services across Active Prospects, and development and application of operational best practice.
• Drive positive cultural change, embodying and promoting the values and behaviours of Active Prospects by empowering people to reach their full potential by leading an aspiring life; implement and lead wellbeing outcomes to measure and drive the impact of support delivery.
• Safeguarding, incident management, clinical support, managing multidisciplinary teams and risk management to individuals and Active Prospects.
• Manage voids, referrals, marketing opportunities, experience of cost models, local council and health commissioning frameworks and tenders.
• Lead on the care systems within the designated areas to ensure utilisation of support staff is in line with delivery of contracts, support hours, and to analyse trends and concerns including under or over provisions of budgets.
• Develop partnerships with local and national health and social care organisations, lead on social value and collaboration initiatives that benefit Active Prospects and share relevant knowledge internally.
• To deputise in the absence of the Director of Care.

Summary of what we are looking for

We seek a professional who has significant experience in developing and providing health and social care services for people living with mental health conditions and autism, especially those who have spent extended periods in hospital. The ideal candidate will also possess commercial finance expertise, understand the political context within Adult Social Care and ICB NHS partners, and can effectively build relationships to drive actions and results.

You will demonstrate exemplary leadership in promoting innovation and implementing best practices, drawing on extensive senior management experience and a thorough understanding of dual diagnoses within neurodiverse groups.

Your expertise will encompass mental health, self‑harm prevention, and suicide prevention initiatives, consistently excelling in fostering collaboration between health and social care sectors.

A proven collaborator, you will bring strategic insight through partnership with colleagues and stakeholders, playing an integral role in Active Prospects’ ongoing improvement, achievement of strategic goals, and delivery of high-quality services for those we support.

The Assistant Director will actively pursue opportunities for further qualifications and lifelong learning while maintaining up-to-date knowledge and skills. Demonstrating a proactive commitment to best practice, you will effectively engage with broader social care networks at both local and national levels. You are adept at recognising and leveraging both planned and organic opportunities to extend Active Prospects’ reach and growth throughout the Southeast region.

Benefits

• Cycle to Work scheme
• Blue light card - we cover the cost
• Free Access to Employee Assistance Programme
• Maternity, Paternity and Adoption leave enhanced pay
• Flexible working

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