Clinical Lead in Shrewsbury

We are seeking a registered Practitioner Psychologist to join our developing Child Sexual Exploitation Service as Clinical Lead for the Shropshire region. We are currently reviewing and renewing our clinical service provision for child sexual exploitation in residential homes and schools, so this is an opportunity to work closely with the National Clinical Lead and other Clinical Leads nationally to develop the service and lead a small team consisting of a Psychologist, Mental Health Practitioner, and Assistant Psychologist.

We are committed to developing a therapeutic, trauma-informed approach and a specialist CSE service that involves working with young people at risk of or with lived experience of sexual exploitation, but also a strong focus on developing the knowledge, skills, and confidence of residential teams and education staff. All services in the region highly value and welcome clinical support. This role will allow an experienced Practitioner Psychologist to further embed the values and principles underpinning trauma-informed practice to make a difference to the lives of young people.

You will also lead your team in renewing an assessment and intervention approach to develop understanding, support, and recovery with regard to sexual exploitation. The Shropshire region consists of:

• 11 residential Homes
• 2 Schools

This role will offer you the opportunity to lead a psychologically informed service for young people who are at risk of, or have lived experience of sexual exploitation. You will lead a team to develop clinicians, residential care, and education professionals to view the young people in light of all of their experiences, strengths, and difficulties and to offer them hope by building a sense of who they could be in the future.

We are committed to relational practice: to develop understanding of what this means, to improve what we do and how we understand and respond, and to prioritise it: Trust First. We understand the complexity of the young person’s experience and strive to make them feel safe, understood, and have a sense of belonging. We also take a contextual understanding of ‘risk’ in order to better understand the young person.

If you value relational, trauma-informed practice, are keen to support the development of a service for young people at risk of or with lived experience of sexual exploitation, and want to make a difference to the lives of the young people in our care with compassion, curiosity, and creativity, we would like to hear from you.

As Clinical Lead Practitioner Psychologist, you will lead a small team working within a specialised Child Sexual Exploitation service. You will be one of four clinical leads nationally for Cambian children’s services. The role will be varied and rewarding where you will have opportunities to hold a small caseload to provide direct work to young people where necessary, but to lead consultations, provision of reflective practice, and develop formulation-based approaches to understanding and interventions. The service is currently in a state of review and renewal, and therefore there will be opportunities to contribute significantly to the process of service development.

Responsibilities

• Lead a small team consisting of a Psychologist, Mental Health Practitioner, Assistant Mental Health Practitioner, and Assistant Psychologist
• Contribute to the development of a clinical model and culture of relational, trauma-informed, strengths-based practice
• Provide line management oversight
• Provide supervision
• Support the implementation of a clinical model to guide psychological assessment and interventions for young people
• Support in the development of psychological interventions for young people
• Oversee and complete assessments, including specialist structured professional judgment assessments and risk assessments and implementation of recommendations and actions
• Lead and deliver team-based formulations and clinical plans
• Support the implementation of plans into practice in residential care settings and schools
• Work collaboratively with National Clinical Lead and peer regional Clinical Lead to embed the above
• Work collaboratively with other professionals from education and care as well as external professionals, families, and wider systems and services in connection with the young person

Qualifications & Experience

• Experience working with care-experienced children and young people and/or sexual exploitation
• Experience within residential care, CAMHS, inpatient or complex mental health settings
• Confidence supporting young people who present with high levels of distress and risk
• Supervision or leadership experience
• Skills in formulation, consultation, and multidisciplinary working
• Experience or interest in supervision, reflective practice, and service development
• A warm, collaborative, and resilient approach to clinical work

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who is passionate about changing the lives of young people by embedding a culture of relational practice in the systems and people surrounding them and developing clinical service provision in a sexual exploitation service.