As part of our contract with South East London Integrated Care Board, South London and Maudsley hold the budget on behalf of partners for complex placements for the boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark.
The Senior Mental Health Placements Manager is responsible for the strategic oversight, coordination, and quality assurance of all mental health placement services across the Trust or designated geographical area (defined broadly as Lewisham, Lambeth & Southwark). This includes proactive management of panel processes to ensure reviewing capacity is deployed in a timely manner across boroughs, using an agreed prioritisation matrix, to ensure clients are in the most appropriate placement for their needs – aiming to reduce unnecessary restrictive practices such as high package placements or enhanced observations.
This role ensures the safe, timely, and person-centred placement of individuals requiring specialist mental health-supported accommodation, residential placements, or complex care packages. The post holder will liaise closely with clinical teams, social care, commissioning bodies, and external providers to ensure seamless transitions, value for money, and effective outcomes for service users.
Strategic Leadership and Coordination
- Oversee all placement activity, ensuring high‑quality, cost‑effective, and needs‑led services including ensuring proactive panel processes are in place to ensure clients are in the most appropriate setting.
- Act as the key point of contact for mental health placement queries, escalations, and commissioning challenges.
- Lead and manage the Mental Health Placement capacity (reviewing capacity) across boroughs, including supervision, development, and performance management.
- Ensure placement reviewing capacity is deployed as per agreed prioritisation matrix, in a timely way, making impact for clients as well as on quality and financial envelope.
Placement Oversight and Case Management
- Demonstrate strong project management skills to oversee placement planning, timelines, and inter‑agency coordination.
- Coordinate the end‑to‑end placement process, from referral to review, for adults with complex mental health needs.
- Ensure all paperwork submitted to the panel is thoroughly checked for accuracy and completeness before circulation.
- Verify commissioning responsibility for each case, ensuring the individual is a Health client for the right borough in line with Responsible Commissioner Guidance.
- Maintain a strong understanding of the Mental Health Act, Care Act, and related commissioning frameworks.
- Ensure all panel meetings are accurately minuted, with clear action points recorded and followed up by the allocated care coordinator.
- Liaise regularly with care coordinators to ensure that any key changes to placements are captured, recorded, and escalated to the panel as required.
- Review due diligence data for providers and work proactively to ensure that any outstanding client reviews or cases are scheduled and incorporated into upcoming panel agendas.
- Contribute to placement review panels, safeguarding processes, and MDT meetings.
- Ensure placements comply with legal, clinical and commissioning frameworks (e.g. Mental Health Act, Care Act, CHC).
Quality Assurance and Governance
- Develop and maintain robust placement pathways, protocols and risk assessment tools.
- Monitor provider performance, undertake placement audits and meet quality standards.
- Work collaboratively with contracts and commissioning teams to raise concerns and co‑design service improvements.
Finance and Commissioning Interface
- Provide reports on spend, trends and outcomes to senior leadership and commissioning groups.
- Lead negotiations with providers and support care coordinators to ensure cost of placement reflects the care plan.
Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership Working
- Build strong working relationships with clinical teams, local authorities, housing providers and third‑sector organisations.
- Represent the Trust in regional planning groups and integrated care forums.
- Facilitate collaborative discharge planning, step‑down arrangements and prevention of delayed transfers of care.
This advert closes on Tuesday 7 Apr 2026.
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