Clinical Psychologist

Main area Obesity Services Grade Band 7 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (Secondment for Internals considered. November 2026 to November 2027) Hours Part time - 30 hours per week Job ref 339-ASCR2346-BAL

Site Southmead Hospital Town Bristol Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 08/10/2026 23:59

North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) have merged as of 1 st July 2026 to become Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. This creates an exciting future that brings together the best of both organisations. As a single, strong and sustainable organisation, we will not only be able to deliver better outcomes for our patients and fairer care for our population, but it will also provide greater opportunities for our people.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust recognise the value of a healthy work-life balance. When applying, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate flexible working, so your work life fits around your home life.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within the Trust. Our job adverts may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received.

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Job overview

The post holder is a member of the Psychology Services department at Southmead Hospital, located within both the weight management and bariatric surgery teams.

They provide expertise in the assessment and behavioural management of weight and also in supporting patients who are working towards either medical and/or surgical weight management. Responsibilities include assessments of people referred to the service and the provision of psychological interventions in both group and one-to-one format. The post holder is part of multidisciplinary teams made up of staff who are passionate about this area and who aim to offer deep compassion to people who may have experienced high levels of weight stigma.

The main themes of the work include disturbances in relationships with food and eating, body image and self-esteem difficulties, emotion regulation and coping with the long-term psychological effects of trauma. This is predominantly with people attending as outpatients, but there can occasionally be some inpatient-based work as well. The post demands the flexibility to adapt work across these different areas as priorities change, such as with the incorporation of new pathways within the service.

Main duties of the job

To conduct psychological assessments of patients referred to the service who are living with obesity and other long-term health conditions, including the assessment of risk to enable appropriate risk management plans to be drawn up.

To be able to draw together multiple sources of assessment information, identifying critical components, in reaching an interpretation and rationale on which interventions can be planned and carried out.

To deliver psychologically informed interventions in a 1-1 and group format to people living at higher weights.

To convey sensitive and complicated information in both verbal and written formats as appropriate, sometimes in an atmosphere of uncertainty and/or conflict involving patients, their relatives, and fellow professionals.

To work collaboratively and effectively alongside multidisciplinary colleagues and provide input to teams in the surgical care directorates, regarding outpatients and also some limited ward-based work. This may include offering support to colleagues as well as supervision to staff working within the service (e.g. other Allied Health Professionals, Assistant or Trainee Psychologists).

Working for our organisation

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations,operatingfrom three main sites at Southmead, Bristol citycentreand Weston.

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer.Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

In addition to the main duties listed above:

• Undertake teaching and training of colleagues about specialist psychological aspects of clinical work and case management as appropriate.
• To liaise with other disciplines and agencies working in the specialism to promote effective interventions and ensure best practice is shared.
• To manage competing demands by organising and prioritising a patient workload with other demands including supervision, training, governance, and professional commitments.
• To participate in clinical/caseload management supervision and appraisal processes with the Psychology service lead, that incorporate the aims and objectives of both the service and the trust.
• To maintain an up-to-date knowledge base related to the clinical areas covered, including relevant local and national policy, and engage in continuing professional development that enhances delivery of effective work within the service.

Person specification

Doctoral Degree in Clinical/Counselling Psychology or equivalent

• Doctoral Degree in Clinical/Counselling Psychology or equivalent
• Doctoral Degree in Clinical/Counselling Psychology or equivalent - pending

Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council

• Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council
• Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council - pending

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.

BFT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.

If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

By applying for this post, you are agreeing to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

IMPORTANT:

Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date.

Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.

As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.

When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.

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