Psychological Professional Lead

Overview

Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas. The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for three consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT. Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced 8C consultant psychological professional to join the Here for Staff staff support service in NELFT. The post holder will manage, lead, co-ordinate and take overall responsibility for the work of psychological professionals in the Here for Staff Service. This will include leading on the delivery of a highly responsive and evidence-based service to staff members and teams, involved in patient safety incidents and to devise, in collaboration with multi-disciplinary team members, appropriate packages of care to support challenging and complex scenarios. The post holder will hold a clinical caseload and offer debriefings, post-incident case reviews and facilitate support to those attending complex and emotionally challenging patient safety groups, such as PSIG.

Main duties and responsibilities

• To manage, lead, co-ordinate and take overall responsibility for the work of Psychological Professionals in the Here for Staff Service, including day-to-day operational management, guidance and support to the Psychological Professionals, management and clinical supervision, monitoring and maintaining high standards of service delivery and clinical leadership.
• To hold, monitor, manage and be accountable for a budget and ensure financial targets related to CQUINs are achieved.
• To contribute to the development and implementation of innovative recruitment, retention and career progression strategies, ensuring NELFT is an attractive employer for Psychological Professionals in the Here for Staff Service.
• To ensure equitable access to evidence-based psychological provision and that outcomes are systematically measured.
• Supporting debriefing at PSIG groups and supporting managers to offer a consistent approach following patient or staff safety incidents.
• Providing support to staff following suicides, serious investigations and legal proceedings; ensuring a consistent model of supportive/debrief sessions following incidents.
• Working for our organisation: Our Values

Management of resources

• To work closely with the Deputy Director of Psychological Professions to ensure services are monitored, reviewed and adapted to meet changing service user needs and commissioning/reporting requirements.
• To oversee the delivery of best possible clinical and care quality standards and objectives, implement service changes with measurable outcomes and timescales.
• To ensure systems are in place to monitor and respond to stakeholders’ feedback and involve service users, carers, community organisations and other key stakeholders in decisions on service development and improvement.
• To facilitate the development of clinical guidelines, protocols and patient-related policies in partnership with clinicians and managers to promote safe and effective care.
• To participate in local and national clinical networks to promote evidence-based developments.

Human Resources Management

• To promote strong and effective leadership within a care quality structure built on open engagement, appreciative enquiry and learning.
• To develop and implement a leadership structure that safely devolves decision making close to the point of care delivery.
• To ensure effective performance management with structured supervision and annual appraisals with personal development plans.
• To ensure statutory and mandatory training compliance and provide learning opportunities within financial constraints.
• To ensure staffing levels and skill mix meet patient and service needs within best practice and financial constraints.
• To ensure fair and consistent treatment of staff within organisational policies; undertake disciplinary investigations when required.

Person specification

• Essential criteria: UK Professional Registration as a psychological professional; minimum of 6 years post-qualification experience in a senior designated post within staff support or relevant service areas.
• Desirable criteria: Evidence of service transformation in challenging environments.
• Experience: Training and experience in debriefing, rapid crisis support and trauma-specific interventions; managing services and developing new areas of work.
• Desirable criteria: Experience in managing complex team dynamics and conflict management.

Benefits

• Work environment with equality and diversity initiatives and wellbeing support; flexible working opportunities and support for parents and carers.
• Acknowledgement as a Top 10 Family Friendly Employer by Working Families Charity.
• Employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, wellbeing conversations and wellbeing ambassadors.
• Details of wellbeing and benefits offered are provided in the linked information; flexible working arrangements including job share or part-time options can be discussed.