Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Bedford

We are looking to recruit a highly motivated, innovative and inspiring HCPC Registered Consultant Clinical Psychologist to join our Senior Leadership and Management Teams in Bedfordshire & Luton. The post holder will have specific responsibility for Older Peoples' Psychological Professions within the County. The Mental Health Care of Older Peoples' Services includes CMHT, Inpatient, Memory Assessment Service and a Dementia Intensive Support Service. The post is suitable for an experienced Psychologist who champions older adults and their psychology.

You must have an excellent understanding of working systemically across and within organisational boundaries. You must be keen to embrace the privileges of working in a diverse County, have experience of working with adults with complex mental health needs and from a range of religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We develop and deliver our services through co‑production with staff and people with lived experience. We would expect you to be fully committed to partnership working and co‑production. There are opportunities for excellent CPD that supports the Trust Strategy. Much of the work is in person and you will be expected to travel across the County and on occasion to London.

Main Duties of the Job

• Provide professional, operational and clinical leadership and management of the psychological workforce with strategic and managerial oversight and responsibility for effective, robust and culturally competent psychological provision.
• Monitoring and implementation of professional standards in the practice of trauma‑informed, applied psychology and psychological therapies and interventions.
• Provide expert clinical input, leadership and consultancy within and across specialist older adults services and teams.
• Provide neuropsychological and psychometric advice, consultation and supervision creating opportunities for staff to develop neuropsychological skills.
• Hold a limited caseload of complex cases requiring specialised psychological assessment, formulation and intervention.
• Oversee the conduct of research, quality improvement, service evaluation and audits relevant to Older Adults and Dementia psychological services.
• Contribute senior psychological professions representation at the Bedfordshire Directorate Management Team and regional representation at the Trust Psychological Professions Board.

About Us

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Person Specification

Education, Qualification, Training

• Essential: Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology & HCPC Registration, Completed training course in clinical supervision, Relevant specialist post qualification training.
• Desirable: Additional training in neuropsychological assessment, interventions and supervision of others, Management and/or Leadership Training, Quality Improvement Training, Reflective Practice and/or working with group dynamics training.

Experience

• Essential: Significant experience in older adult and dementia services, Neuropsychological and therapeutic assessments, interventions, supervision of others, Application of psychology in different cultural contexts, Co‑production with service users, Supervising qualified and unqualified psychological professionals and other staff, Teaching, training, consultation to psychological professions and MDT relevant to MHCOP.
• Desirable: Recruitment of psychology and psychological professions staff, Leading or contributing to research, audit, service development, redesign and improvements in secondary mental health services that impact beyond own service area, Leadership and/or operational management roles, Representing the profession in local policy/development fora, Representing the profession in National or Professional Organisations.

Knowledge & Skills

• Essential: Highly developed skills in the effective communication of highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to a wide variety of recipients to produce comprehensive and coherent letters, reports and associated documentation, Ability to interpret, report and respond to performance and outcome data at all levels of the Trust, Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological therapies across the lifespan in complex developmental trauma, and stigmatised individuals attracting diagnoses of e.g. complex needs, personality disorder, psychosis, dual diagnosis, persons with additional disabilities, Knowledge of legislation in relation to later life mental health and dementia, Understanding of audit and clinical effectiveness issues.
• Desirable: Active research interests and record of published research, Training others in quality improvement.

Other

• Essential: Able to work to professional guidelines and Trust policy, Willing and able to travel between work sites and to community settings for the delivery of services across Bedfordshire & Luton and London, Respectful approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals.
• Desirable: Driving license, access to a vehicle and insurance for business travel.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.