Associate Network Director of Psychological Therapies in Oldham

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Associate Network Director of Psychological Therapies

NHS AfC: Band 8d

Main area Adult Mental Health Psychological Therapies Grade NHS AfC: Band 8d Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 311-O769-26

Site Trust HQ Town Oldham Salary £94,356 - £108,814 PA, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 30/10/2026 23:59

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

This is an exciting opportunity to join our leadership team both within Psychological Therapies and our Mental Health Network. The post holder will become part of the collective leadership team for the network, with an additional specific remit around the leadership of psychological therapies/professions within the network. The post holder will join our Mental Health Network leadership team to provide strategic leadership to our acute and community pathways.

They will work closely with the Chief Psychological Professions Officer, the Mental Health Network senior leadership team, the Locality Operational Managers and Commissioners. They will be part of a collaborative and compassion focused leadership team, taking a trauma responsive approach to delivering services. The role has a strategic focus which will require liaison with the wider system, contribution to quality improvement and transformation agendas and leading on the implementation of national guidance and policy in relation to the delivery and governance of psychological therapies.

It is also expected that the post-holder will retain a small caseload and provide a specialist clinical role within a psychological service.

They will deputise for the Chief Psychological Professions Officer as and when it is appropriate. The post holder will join our Gold on call rota.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will join the senior leadership team in the Mental Health Network. They will be part of a collaborative and compassion focused leadership team, focusing on:

Setting Strategic Direction – developing service strategies and plans for improvement that promote consistency in standards and outcomes across our footprint.

Delivery and Performance – ensuring accountability and governance are in place within the network and support delivery of the Trust Big Ambitions, strategic objectives, and statutory requirements.

Leadership and Support – creating the right culture and environment for high performance.

The post holder will provide clear leadership and will be a role model for the delivery of the trust values and culture. They will provide clinical and professional leadership for all psychological therapies staff within the Network and across the Trust where indicated. They will additionally provide clinical and professional advice on psychological practice and provide assurance on the delivery of psychological approaches both within the Network and across the Trust.It is also expected that the post-holder will retain a small caseload and provide a specialist clinical role within a psychological service. They will deputise for the Chief Psychological Professions Officer as and when it is appropriate. The post holder will join our Gold on call rota.

Working for our organisation

We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.

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’re really proud of our#PennineCarePeopleand do everything we can to make sure we’re a great place to work.

All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.

If you come and work for us we will offer a range of benefits and opportunities, including:

• Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
• Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance
• Access to Continued Professional Development
• Involvement in improvement and research activities
• Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service
• Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Financial accountability and budget holder responsibilities for the Network where appropriate and for delivering financial stability and value improvement plans contributing to the Trust overall financial performance.

Undertake an active role in the Trust’s transformation programmes, ensuring services can demonstrate continuous improvement in both quality for patients and cost efficiency.
Responsible for good people management practices across the Network including supervision and IPDR compliance, CEST, CPD and maximising potential through talent management and succession planning.

Develop, maintain, and manage effective relationships with a range of stakeholders internally and externally, across all disciplines and including service users, carers and the media. The post holder will need to be visible to front line staff as well as to the Board.

To work independently to ensure delivery of quality services within the Network working within policies, protocols and professional standards particularly with regard to psychological therapies.

Provide expert professional advice on matters related to the conduct competence and capability of registered psychological professionals within the Network. All employees are required to be a member of a professional body where indicated and are required to hold relevant registration and must comply with the standards and guidelines of their professional practice, education and conduct and must act at all times within the boundary of the code of conduct.

Deputise for the Chief Psychological Professions officer as required and provide strategic clinical leadership and accountability for an element of the CPPO trust wide portfolio (to be agreed with the CPPO)

Support the Network to develop and embed service user and carer involvement across the Network ensuring people with lived experience are involved in all aspects of decision making and service redesign.

Ensure robust processes are in place across the Network for ensuring the quality and safety of psychological services, working with relevant corporate services to support the systems in place to manage adverse incidents, complaints, inquests, claims and safety alerts. Utilise these systems to support the review of clinical standards and provide assurance.
Contribute to the development of service strategies and business cases for all services within the Network, and lead on those for psychological therapies .Ensure the engagement of the psychological therapies workforce in developing network business plans and service improvements

Facilitate co-ordination of supervision and training placements and support recruitment, professional self-regulation and continuing professional development.

To attend the psychotherapeutics committee meetings and ensure the implementation of the work plan as it relates to the designated network and their clinical pathway

To be responsible for the development of psychological approaches and interventions and roles to support care delivery across the Network

This is a clinical/professional role, and the post holder is expected to deliver direct patient care in order to maintain professional competence, authority and credibility.

To provide a specialist clinical service directly to clients and through the provision of expert advice, consultancy, and supervision to professional colleagues, both within and external to the trust

To represent psychological therapies services at strategic meetings both within health and multi-agency partnerships, contributing to the formulation of long terms, strategic plans which impact across services both within and outside the NHS. This entails influencing agencies and service delivery beyond the area of psychological therapies where there may be a range of opinions and the highest level of decision–making skill and negotiation needed.

Develop outcomes‑based approaches and measurement to support high quality evidence‑based care and good outcomes for service users

To work closely with the Chief Psychological Professions Officer and the Associate Network Directors of Psychological Therapies to ensure the development and governance aims of psychological therapies services are met within and across the Trust.

To provide highly developed specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to psychological therapies services based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neurological tests (including fine manipulation of the test material) self‑report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect observations and semi‑structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client’s care.

To formulate plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s mental health problems based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

To be responsible for implementing a range of highly specialised psychological interventions for individuals, families, carers and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses, in order to develop specialised programmes of care

To make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

To exercise full responsibility and autonomy for the treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed as a psychologically based standard care plan, ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and interventions, communicating with the referral agent and others involved with the care on a regular basis.

To work collaboratively with service users, patients, carers, family members as appropriate who are referred to the service to ensure that clients receive the best information possible about psychological services, enabling them to make informed decisions

To undertake risk assessment and risk management for the relevant individual clients and to provide both general and specialist advice for psychologists and other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.

To provide specialist advice, supervision, training and consultancy to other professions and healthcare staff regarding psychological needs, and treatment and management approaches for clients within, or referred to, psychological therapies services.

Lead the implementation of policy as related to psychological services across the designated Network and the care pathway. To develop policies where required for psychological therapies services across the Trust and work collaboratively across pathways and to ensure an effective, consistent policy framework is in place.

To be responsible for responding and reviewing relevant national guidance as these affect the provision of psychological therapies services and recommending services changes / developments in response to the guidance.

To be accountable and responsible to the Chief Operating Officer for psychological therapies and the senior Network team for budgets that remain at a network level including for training and equipment budgets within the network pathways in line with Standing Financial Instructions.

To identify service priorities and advise on the level of psychological therapies service provision within the designated network and care pathway and ensure that there is equity of access to services.

To ensure that systems are in place for the recruitment to, retention within, and professional development of all psychological therapies services within the designated pathway and contribute to the workforce plans. Ensure all psychological therapies services staff within the designated Network has an annual appraisal and personal development plan.

Take part in any disciplinary /capability /performance hearings, chair panels as required.

Ensure that the issues of equality and diversity are positively progressing resulting in an environment free from discrimination and equal to all.

To ensure arrangements for the provision of training placements for commissioned training across the Trust. To support the development of placements for not directly commissioned training courses.

To ensure that there is representation and link with education commissioners, academic institutions and other Trusts to develop and support the needs of the psychology and psychological therapy professions.

To explore the development of new roles within psychological therapies to further expand the contribution of psychological therapies.

Ensure that psychological work is informed by research, effectiveness and quality and lead the development of Audit and / or R&D programme across the network linking with educational institutions as required

Proactively work to develop capability and capacity in psychological professionals to undertake research and innovation work including involvement in the Research and Innovation group.

Participate and lead in local, regional and national research, audit and evaluation programmes as appropriate and as indicated by the Trust Strategy

This job description is not exhaustive but is intended to give an overall picture of the role. Other duties within the general scope of the post may be required from time to time.

Person specification

Skills

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
• High level ability to communicate effectively at both written and oral level complex, highly technical and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and a wide range of lay and professional persons within and outside the NHS
• Highly developed skills in providing consultation to other professional and non professional groups
• High level skills in clinical and professional supervision
• Ability to think and plan strategically at a clinical and service level, where interventions may impact on a range of services and individuals and require longer term objectives and planning
• Ability to provide teaching, training, advice, consultation and supervision to meet the needs of a wide range of lay and professional people, using a range of formats and materials
• Ability to effectively respond to, and cope with, complex client, team and system dynamics and environments, where this may involve high levels of emotional and psychological stress and distress
• Ability to articulate and represent psychological therapies services perspectives in a range of clinical and professional fora

Qualifications

• Eligibility for graduate membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS)
• Post-graduate doctorate in clinical psychology, (or equivalent for those trained before 1996) as accredited by the BPS including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological theories and lifespan development psychology
• HCPC registered as a practitioner psychologist (clinical)
• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice

Experience

• Assessed substantial experience of working as a Clinical Psychologist
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups across the whole life course, in various settings including outpatient, community, primary care inpatient and residential care settings. Also including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and threats of physical abuse
• Experience of providing a range of complex psychological assessment and interventions using information derived from a variety of sources and requiring highly developed analytic and interpretative skills.
• Experience of staff, team and service management
• Experience of working within environments involving exposure to significant professional, clinical and ethical challenges.
• Experience of effective multi‑agency and disciplinary team working and networking.
• Experience of clinical and professional management of qualified and pre- qualified clinical psychologists and other psychological therapists
• Experience of representing the profession or service in local policy fora
• Experience of teaching, training and / or professional and clinical supervision
• Experience of strategic service development and evaluation

Knowledge

• Knowledge of legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the client group and mental health
• Awareness of relevant professional guidelines and standards for the provision of psychological services and ability to interpret and implement the same in practice and service delivery

Pennine Care are committed to the ‘Get ahead on Flex’ pledge initiative to support the right to request flexible working for all colleagues. “We can work flexibly, as a modern and model employer, flexible and less than full-time working isn’t a barrier to progress in the NHS – it is commonplace”. To support a positive experience for all colleagues we are committed to considering all requests for flexible working, in line with service needs.

We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the communities we serve. We actively encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds to help us grow, innovate, and improve.

If you wish to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.

If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact us on 0161 716 3181 as early as possible so we can support you.

Please note:

• We do not accept unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Hiring managers should not be contacted directly.

We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. If you have a disability or long‑term health condition and need extra time or adjustments to complete your application, please contact us as soon as possible. We will ensure you are not disadvantaged where a reasonable adjustment is appropriate.

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 Jayne Taylor Job title Chief Psychological Professions Officer Email address jayne.taylor19@nhs.net Additional information

Please contact Dr Jayne Taylor (Chief Psychological Professions Officer) on jayne.taylor19@nhs.net for further information and informal discussions about the role

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