Autism ADOS Assessor for Children - Exeter/South West England
Paloma Health · Paloma's Exeter (Devon) Clinic · £68,000–£70,000 (stated in the posting)
Time commitment: Full-time employment is preferred, though we can also offer part-time (minimum of 3 days per week, which can consist of 2 days in clinic and 1 day remote if preferred).
Location: This role is in-person based in our Exeter clinic - The Senate, Southernhay Gardens, Exeter EX1 1UG
Reporting to: Autism Service Team Manager.
About Paloma
In 2024, our founders, Mark and Darshak, were shocked to find that children needing an NHS autism or ADHD assessment were waiting 4-10 years for these assessments. Delayed assessments result in children being more likely to develop mental health conditions and fall behind in education. Furthermore, the much-needed pre/post-assessment support (outside of ADHD medications) is typically not funded by the NHS.
These long waits have built up due to increased recognition and understanding of neurodevelopmental conditions and a lack of investment and innovation within the NHS to meet the growing demand.
Mark and Darshak, with their 25 years of combined NHS experience, including building services that have treated over 1,000,000 patients in obesity & ophthalmology, founded Paloma to change this. Our mission is to make NHS autism and ADHD assessments and care accessible within 4 weeks of a GP referral, and, in turn, help every child achieve their potential.
As of May 2026, we have successfully reduced waits to 3 months by;
- Taking a product-first approach to redesign the care pathway to give families a more consumer-like experience of care
- Our in-house product, engineering and AI team building our own autism and ADHD specific electronic patient record and AI documentation tool to free clinicians from their significant documentation burden to re-focus on supporting families
- Investing in expanding the clinician workforce and upskilling them in new ways of working.
We are proud that Paloma is:
- Loved by families, with 4.9 out of 5 Trustpilot and Google ratings
- Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered and quality-focused
- Clinically-led, with a team of 130 people, including over 80 clinicians supporting families through their assessment journey. We are hiring 100+ more roles over the next 12 months.
- A community of passionate, mission-driven and innovative team members who challenge the status quo and test and learn from new ideas and approaches.
- Backed by leading healthcare investors Triple Point and Heal Capital
What’s next?
- Whilst we have reduced wait times, it is estimated that up to 500,000 children are still waiting for an NHS autism or ADHD assessment. We won’t rest until this comes down.
- We want to build new services to support families and children diagnosed with autism or ADHD who feel lost after their assessments when the NHS is no longer there for them.
The Opportunity
Paloma Health has developed a new gold-standard autism assessment pathway and our own Patient Record software system, which allows us to offer:
- An exceptional service and timely assessments, as well as clear strengths and needs-based outcomes, regardless of whether an autism diagnosis is made.
- High assessor role satisfaction by improving the experience of delivering assessments. For example, we are building an AI tool to streamline diagnostic report writing, which we know is a pressure of the role.
You will work as a member of a multidisciplinary assessment team, delivering:
- In-person child observations at our Exeter clinic
- Peer MDT diagnostic decision-making, with the support of the senior clinical MDT where required
From a cultural perspective, you are:
- Comfortable working in a dynamic environment and embracing change
- Excited about using new technologies in your role
- Always looking for ways to improve our staff and patient experience
We commit to supporting your development and well-being, including:
- The Paloma Clinical Academy programme supports all clinicians at all stages of their careers to develop (e.g. to our Senior Assessor role) and cross-skill (e.g. into ADHD when we launch that).
- 1 protected day per month for assessor team training, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), clinical supervision and reflection.
- Quarterly development conversations with clear career progression pathways.
- Clear weekly timetables that support a role mix across appointments, administration, development, and team building.
About you
You are a registered nurse, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, social worker or practitioner psychologist skilled in ADOS assessments.
You want to be part of an always-learning environment that embraces software and AI tools, and you will help us go further and faster with your positive and collaborative attitude.
Responsibilities:
- Conduct high-quality child observations as part of an autism assessment.
- Act in accordance with our Safeguarding Policy, including conducting a risk assessment where necessary.
- Keep up to date with mandatory training and your professional qualification requirements, including CPD.
Qualifications and experience:
Required:
- By background, you are either a:
- NMC-registered Nurse
- HCPC Registered Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Arts Therapist, or Practitioner Psychologist
- Social Work England Registered Social Worker
- Completion of a recognised ADOS-2 course is required for NMC, HCPC and Social Work England registered applicants. Clinical Psychologists would be considered without having completed ADOS-2
- At least 6 months of experience delivering children’s observations within an autism assessment process. This can be EITHER working with children 5 to 18 years of age OR 2-4 years of age, OR the full age range.
- Good time management skills, including caseload management
- High-quality parent and patient communication skills
- Enhanced DBS with barred list check (as you will be working with children)
Desirable:
- Experience in conducting risk assessments within an autism assessment service
- Evidence of Safeguarding training (Level 3 and above)
Why join Paloma?
You will be part of a mission-driven organisation that’s transforming access to autism and ADHD care in England. For all employees, we offer:
- A strong and positive culture that prioritises team building, transparency, and career development. This includes protected time and budget for team connection and learning.
- Comprehensive compensation, including:
- Total compensation of £68,000 to £70,000 per year, made up of base and variable components for:
- HCPC-registered Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, and Arts Therapists
- NMC-registered Nurses
- Social Work England registered Social Workers
- Total compensation of £70,000 to £72,000 per year, made up of base and variable components for:
- HCPC-registered Practitioner Psychologists, including Clinical Psychologists, Educational Psychologists and Counselling Psychologists
- Annual salary reviews, ensuring they are competitive
- 5% employer pension contribution
- For employees working at least 0.8 FTE:
- Equity compensation through Share Options in Paloma Health
- Optional Private Medical Insurance and Employee Assistance Programme
- Home Office Equipment Allowance
- Professional Registration Fees Allowance for clinicians
- A unique annual leave benefits package which includes:
- 37 days of annual leave. This is 28 standard days, plus eight bank holidays, plus your birthday off.
- Option to buy an additional 5 days per year (giving a maximum of 42 days)
- Where required, 2 days per year of special leave, for events that can happen in life, whether personal or family-related
- Additional benefits include:
- A premium performance company laptop
- NHS discounts, including the Blue Light Card (as we are an NHS provider).
Equality & Diversity
Paloma Health is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and throughout the application process. We do not discriminate based on any protected characteristic.
Accommodations
We’re glad to accommodate candidates who need adjustments throughout the hiring process. We encourage you to be open about the adjustments you need so we can adapt our interview process.
Safer Recruitment & Pre-Employment Checks
Paloma Health ensures that supporting people to be safe is at the heart of our work and a key priority across all areas of the organisation. As part of our pre-employment checks, you will be asked to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Depending on your role within the business, this will be at either an Enhanced, Standard, or Basic level. We are committed to safer recruitment practices and expect all applicants to share our dedication to safeguarding. Our recruitment processes are designed to ensure we appoint individuals who are aligned with our values and who will contribute to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for everyone we work with.
Application process
Please apply via our website. We understand that applying for a new job requires a significant amount of effort, and we appreciate your time. We look forward to reviewing your application.
Join us and be part of our journey to revolutionise access to NHS autism and ADHD care!