Mental Health Clinical Lead - 24/7 Services

24/7 Clinical Lead

Location: Australia (national remit) 

Service Coverage: 24/7 mental health services (counsellor, psychotherapist, psychologist pathways) 

Role Purpose 

The 24/7 Clinical Lead is accountable for the operational delivery, clinical governance, and quality assurance of all mental health services delivered across counsellor, psychotherapist, and psychologist pathways, including 24/7 access, stepped care models, and evidence-based interventions. 

The role ensures services are delivered safely, consistently, efficiently, and at scale, in alignment with: 

• NICE and Australian PHN stepped care best practice 
• Australian regulatory and professional standards 
• Client, funder, and contractual requirements 

By owning day-to-day operational clinical leadership, this role enables the Clinical Director to focus on executive strategy, innovation, and organisational growth. 

Key Responsibilities 

1. Service Implementation & Operational Oversight 

• Lead the operational implementation and ongoing delivery of mental health pathways across counsellors, psychotherapists, and psychologists, ensuring adherence to approved clinical models, stepped care frameworks, and escalation protocols. 
• Partner closely with the Director of Operations to ensure: 
• Policies, procedures, SOPs, and clinical guidelines are embedded and maintained 
• Workforce capability supports 24/7, high-volume, national service delivery 
• Define, monitor, and report on KPIs, SLAs, and quality metrics, ensuring alignment with clinical best practice, safety, and client expectations. 
• Work collaboratively with finance and operations to ensure: 
• Cost-effective resource allocation 
• Budget discipline 
• Sustainable, scalable service delivery models 
• Ensure operational execution consistently balances: 
• Clinical quality 
• Access and timeliness 
• Efficiency and scalability 

2. Clinical Governance & Regulatory Compliance 

• Act as the primary clinical representative in client and internal governance forums. 
• Lead or contribute to internal and external governance structures, including: 
• Clinical governance committees 
• Audit and assurance activities 
• Board and executive reporting 
• Ensure all mental health pathways comply with: 
• Australian regulatory and registration requirements 
• Accreditation and audit standards 
• Evidence-based practice and international best practice 
• Oversee clinical escalations, complaints, and incidents, ensuring: 
• Timely investigation and root-cause analysis 
• Risk mitigation and corrective actions 
• Organisational learning and service improvement 
• Analyse safeguarding incidents, clinical risk trends, and population-level presentations to inform: 
• Pathway refinement 
• Risk controls 
• Clinically sound, customer-centric improvements 

3. Outcomes, Quality & Risk Management 

• Set and oversee measurable clinical outcomes and performance targets across all mental health pathways. 
• Establish systems for the collection, analysis, and reporting of: 
• Clinical outcomes (PROMs) 
• Patient and client experience 
• Safety and quality indicators 
• Lead routine service evaluation, including: 
• Clinical audits 
• Utilisation and outcomes reviews 
• Stakeholder feedback loops 
• Drive continuous quality improvement initiatives, embedding learning into everyday practice. 
• Maintain oversight of clinical risk management, safety reviews, and quality assurance frameworks across all services. 

4. Stakeholder, Client & External Engagement 

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across: 
• Insurance 
• Education 
• Corporate and enterprise clients 
• Provide clear, timely, and transparent reporting to: 
• Clients 
• Internal leadership 
• Governance bodies 
• Represent the organisation in external governance, oversight, and review forums. 
• Support the Clinical Director and Chief Clinical Officer (CCO) with: 
• Client presentations 
• Board and executive reporting 
• Clinical insights for regulators, funders, and partners 

5. Team Leadership & Workforce Development 

• Provide clinical leadership to multidisciplinary teams across 24/7 counsellor, psychotherapist, and psychologist services. 
• Lead, mentor, and develop clinicians and emerging clinical leaders to foster: 
• Clinical excellence 
• Accountability 
• Learning and innovation 
• Work in close partnership with operations to ensure: 
• Workforce planning aligns with service demand 
• Supervision, training, and CPD frameworks support quality and staff wellbeing 
• Promote a culture of: 
• Psychological safety 
• Evidence-based practice 
• High professional standards 

6. Strategic Implementation & Continuous Improvement 

• Translate Clinical Director priorities into operational implementation plans with: 
• Clear timelines 
• Defined KPIs and SLAs 
• Identify emerging risks, service gaps, and trends in mental health delivery and advise on: 
• Strategic adjustments 
• Resource allocation 
• Drive operational excellence by identifying inefficiencies and implementing improvements that enhance: 
• Clinical quality 
• Cost-effectiveness 
• Client and patient experience 

Required Experience & QualificationsEssential 

• Registered and qualified mental health professional with current Australian registration (AHPRA or relevant regulatory body). 
• Significant senior clinical leadership experience within mental health service delivery. 
• Demonstrated expertise in: 
• Stepped care models 
• Evidence-based psychological interventions 
• Clinical governance and risk management frameworks 
• Proven experience leading large-scale, mixed-discipline mental health services, including 24/7 models. 
• Strong track record managing: 
• Clinical escalations and complaints 
• Multidisciplinary teams 
• Budgets, resources, KPIs, and SLAs 
• Experience engaging with clients in insurance, education, corporate, or enterprise environments. 

Preferred  

• Practising, registered Psychologist, preferably: 
• Clinical Psychologist, or 
• Psychologist with doctoral-level qualification (PhD or Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent). 
• Demonstrated track record of senior leadership in: 
• 24/7 mental health service delivery 
• Crisis, escalation, and safeguarding oversight 
• Experience working across: 
• EAP 
• Medicare Better Access 
• PHN-commissioned or stepped care services 
• Strong familiarity with: 
• NICE-aligned models adapted to the Australian context 
• Recovery-oriented and trauma-informed practice 

Key Competencies 

• Strategic thinker with strong operational execution capability 
• High-level clinical judgement and decision-making under pressure 
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills 
• Strong people leadership and workforce development capability 
• High standards of integrity, confidentiality, and professionalism 
• Pragmatic, collaborative, and outcomes-focused 
• Data-informed with a commitment to continuous improvement 

Impact of the Role 

This role is critical to strengthening governance, improving efficiency, and delivering safe, effective, evidence-based mental health care at scale across counsellor, psychotherapist, and psychologist pathways in Australia.