Clinical Psychologist/ Forensic Psychologist/ Counselling Psychologist

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Clinical Psychologist/ Forensic Psychologist/ Counselling Psychologist

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Main area Psychology Grade NHS AfC: Band 8a Contract Fixed term: 12 months (From start date) Hours

• Full time
• Job share
• Compressed hours

37.5 hours per week Job ref 311-F825-25-A

Site Heathfield House Town Stockport Salary £55,690 – £62,682 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 09/09/2025 23:59

If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople

The postholder will input into Heathfield House (Cale Green) and Bevan Place (Stepping Hill Hospital). Both units provide inpatient rehabilitation to support men with severe and enduring mental health needs, with the aim of moving towards more independent living. Men have a primary diagnosis of a psychotic illness, but may have additional difficulties with trauma, emotional regulation, substance use, forensic history, or cognitive skills. Bevan Place specifically supports men who are aged over 50, and may have additional medical needs. The rehabilitation services aim to support re-integration into the community, and work closely with the newly established Community Rehabilitation Team.

For more information about our services please visit: https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/rhsd

The post is offered at 8a, however a band 7 development post will be considered for candidates with suitable experience.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be responsible for the promotion and management of a high-quality psychology service across the units and will be supported by Assistant Psychologist provision.

The post will require you to provide psychological assessment, formulation and intervention to service users who present with complex mental health problems, alongside a possible history of trauma, substance misuse and forensic histories. The post holder will provide direct face-to-face clinical sessions and support the psychosocial intervention work of colleagues.

You will be expected to attend MDT meetings and to facilitate regular reflective practice groups to offer the MDT reflective space, develop psychological formulations and provide bespoke training. In addition, you will provide one-to-one clinical supervision to Psychologists and other members of the MDT as appropriate and dependent on experience. The post will require you to be involved in service developments including transformation work, Quality Improvement projects and governance within the service as required.

The post holder will be part of a respected psychology team within RHS that includes Clinical and Forensic Psychologists, and Assistant Psychologists. Regular supervision will be provided, as well as team meetings and peer support.

Working for our organisation

We would welcome applications for flexible working patterns, including compressed hours or a job share. We support staff to work flexibly and recognise and respect the roles our colleagues hold outside of their working hours.

All wards have adequate office space for psychology staff.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the top of our agenda. We believe that a diverse, inclusive and engaged culture is vital; that everyone\\u2019s value should be recognised and respected.

We proactively challenge injustices, and are the only Trust in the North West to publicly recognise our commitment to becoming anti-racist and supporting our transgender and non-binary colleagues. We also have thriving staff networks to make sure everyone has a voice.

Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We\\u2019re really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we\\u2019re a great place to work.

We are committed to staff development through shared learning, training and peer supervision. We are working hard in the Rehabilitation and High Support Care Hub to reduce restrictive practices, and to provide trauma-informed care.

Our trust values are:

Kindness

Determination

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification to support your application for this post. Please refer to the essential criteria in the person specification which will highlight the skills, knowledge and experience you will need to demonstrate in your application, by way of example, to give yourself the best opportunity to be shortlisted.

For further details, discussion or to arrange an informal visit please contact Dr Louisa McNair, Consultant Clinical Psychologist (Clinical Lead) on 07917 503634 or louisa.mcnair@nhs.net or Dr Suzanna Moore, Forensic Psychologist (current postholder) on suzanna.moore2@nhs.net

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

• Good honours degree in psychology. Eligibility for graduate membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS).
• Doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology or Forensic Psychology
• HCPC registered as a Practitioner Psychologist
• Further qualifications and / or training in a range of therapy models / interventions
• Further training and / or qualifications in the delivery of clinical supervision

Experience

• Experience of working in an inpatient setting (psychiatric rehabilitation / PICU / acute/secure services)
• Demonstrable experience of delivering highly specialist psychological assessments and interventions (individual and group) within an NHS mental health environment.
• Experience of working within multidisciplinary services in mental health providing therapy to service users with high levels of complexity
• Experience of providing clinical supervision to other psychological therapists
• Experience in teaching / training of other qualified mental health staff / non psychology staff
• Experience of providing line management to other psychological therapists

Knowledge

• Knowledge of the application of clinical governance and risk management policies
• Expertise in administration and interpretation of specialist psychological assessment tools
• Knowledge of procedures that maintain and contribute to the improvement of psychological services Knowledge of systems theory and organisational change

Skills and Abilities

• Willingness to work as part of a psychology team providing input into the low secure units.
• Skills in models of service delivery and an ability to articulate the value added by clinical psychology services within the context of multi-disciplinary mental health inpatient services.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment and intervention.
• Ability to contain and work with organisational stress and ability to ‘hold’ the stress of others.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and / or clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues, both within and outside the NHS
• Ability to play an active role in service development via evaluation, audit and research.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non professional groups
• Ability to prioritise work, manage waiting lists, meet deadlines and revise work plans accordingly
• A wish to continue to develop expertise in the service area

Work Related Circumstances

• Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs.
• Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust\\u2019s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
• Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.

Sponsorship – We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship.You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

What happens after your application has been received?

You will be informed about the progress of your application following shortlisting via email. Only applicants who clearly demonstrate the criteria listed in the person specification will be shortlisted for interview. Interview invites will be sent out via email.

What happens if I am offered the position after interview?

The hiring manager will make contact with you to verbally offer you the position. The hiring manager will then inform Recruitment of the decision and provide relevant paperwork. You will be sent a formal conditional offer via email.

What pre-employment checks will I need to complete?

By conducting pre-employment checks, the recruitment team will verify that you meet the pre-conditions of the role you have been offered. Pre-employment checks will be carried out according to NHS Employment Check Standards . The checks are:

• Identity verification
• Right to work check
• Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role)
• Professional registration and/or qualification check
• Occupational health assessment
• Employment history and reference validation

All applicants external to the NHS will be required to provide their HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years employment. This information will used to validate employment history and references as part of pre-employment checks.

If you are offered a position with us and you require sponsorship to support your right to work, we will review your eligibility in line with government guidance . If the role you have been offered is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not able to evidence own your right to work, your conditional offer could be withdrawn.

What happens when pre-employment checks are complete?

Recruitment will liaise with you and the hiring manager to arrange a start date for your new position. You will then be booked on to a Trust Welcome Session and be sent your Pennine Care NHS Terms and Conditions.

Other important information

• We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and recognise the importance of ensuring our diverse service user population is reflected within our workforce. Unfortunately, we know that, at present, there is underrepresentation of our communities in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from diverse communities to help us grow, learn, be better and consider brilliant innovation diverse people bring.
• If you would like to be considered under the disability confident scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria on the person specification for the post.
• If you require reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process please phone us on 0161 716 3181 at the earliest opportunity. We will support you to complete your application.
• Unfortunately we are not able to guarantee the transfer of lease cars, or cover the costs of early termination charges.
• We have a strict policy on unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Please do not contact our hiring managers directly.

We reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of applications have been received. To ensure your application is considered, please submit at the earliest opportunity.

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.

Name Dr Louisa McNair Job title Consultant Clinical Psychologist Email address louisa.mcnair@nhs.net Telephone number 07917 503634

If you have problems applying, contact

Address Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
225 Old Street
225 Old Street
OL6 7SR
Telephone 01617163181