Assistant Psychologist (Essex Learning Disability - IST) in Braintree

Assistant Psychologist (Essex Learning Disability - IST)

Band 5

Main area Learning Disability Grade Band 5 Contract Permanent Hours

• Part time
• Flexible working

18.75 hours per week Job ref 367-LD&F-101766

Site Tekhnicon House Town Braintree Salary £32,073 - £39,043 Per annum, Pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 12/11/2026 23:59

Values Based Screener

At Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust we are looking for people to join us who share our values and those of the NHS. Before your application can be considered please take part on our online values questionnaire, which you can find below. When you have finished you will be sent a 'completion code' by email, which will be valid for 6 months and required to submit your application form.

We welcome all applications from all suitable candidates, unfortunately, we will not be offering sponsorship for this role.

To work in the Specialist Health Learning Disability Service, North Essex Intensive Support Teams (IST), under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist. The role is community based and includes assisting the Clinical Psychologists with a range of assessment and intervention work, as part of an inter-disciplinary team working with adults with a learning disability. There may also be opportunities for participating in training, research and service development work.

All staff should comply with the Trust’s Anti-Discriminatory Statement, Employee Charter, Trust Policies and Procedures, Code of Conduct and Equality and diversity.

Main duties of the job

Clinical responsibility remains with the Clinical Supervisor.

The Assistant Psychologist will be required to assist in planning, delivering and monitoring psychology interventions under their direction.

This will include direct and indirect work with service users and their families; contributing to the assessment of behavioural and psychological functioning; gathering, analysing and reporting relevant data and information; and assisting in compiling and writing psychological reports.

Working for our organisation

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.

Our family of over 4000 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.

The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Our Trust values are:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

These values are at the core of who we are, everything is at the core of who we are, everything is at the core of who we are…

Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?

Then please read on…

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Whilst we welcome all applications from all suitable candidates, unfortunately, we will not be offering sponsorship for this role.

The work of the assistant psychologist is across across North Essex Intensive Support Teams (IST) ( Lexden Hospital, Colchester / Tekhnicon Centre, Braintree, and surrounding communities).

You will work under the supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist and may, from time to time, include any of the following:

• To undertake protocol based psychological assessments of service users applying psychological measures, including psychometric assessments, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with service users, family member and others involved in the service user’s care.
• To assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all users of the service, across all settings where care takes place.
• To assist in the formulation and delivery of intervention plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a service user’s problems, under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist.
• To assist in the co‑ordination and running of intervention groups, activities, social skills groups, and to be an integrated member of the multi‑disciplinary team.
• To work with other staff to assess service users in preparation for multidisciplinary reviews.
• To attend and contribute to appropriate team and multiple discipline meetings.
• To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and HPFT policies and procedures.
• To maintain contemporaneous psychological records using the Trust electronic database (Paris).
• To prepare test materials and visual aids, as required.
• To perform other duties, appropriate to their grade, that may be required from time to time by the supervising Clinical Psychologist.
• To work flexibly but responsive to service user needs as agreed with the supervising Clinical Psychologist and in discussion with the relevant manager.
• Please note that this a community role and travel is required across bases and to clients' homes for example.

Person specification

TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS

• An upper second class honours degree or higher in psychology.
• Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
• Experience working with learning disability or neurodivergence, or a clear desire to do so
• Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis
• An interest in working with people with learning disability, autism, mental health problems or other disabilities.
• Experience of paid work in direct care provision.
• Experience and competence in using cognitive-behavioural therapeutic techniques or other relevant approaches.

EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

• High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive
• Ability to communicate sensitive information to service users, carers and colleagues
• An ability to interact with people with autism spectrum disorders and learning disabilities.
• An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
• High standard of report writing.
• Experience using computers for databases or data-analysis.
• Competence using IT and media equipment.

Please note, we do not charge fees for job applications, recruitment processes, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. Please see the Trust careers vacancy webpage and Trac as the only authorised routes for recruitment communications, applications and verification of job offers.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Dr Sarah Wallace Job title Principal Clinical Psychologist Email address sarah.wallace14@nhs.net Telephone number 0333 2225020 Additional information

I warmly welcome advance questions or information requests about this post and whether it suits your ways of working and interests. As these posts tend to attract a lot of applications, I would recommend requesting a video discussion only after you have been shortlisted for the role.

Please note, we reserve the right to close this advert as soon as enough applications are received.

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