PAIRS Senior Specialist Clinician and Leader

This is an opportunity for a highly motivated and experienced clinician and leader to join our new developing Parent Infant Relationship Service in Kent (PAIRS). Funded by Best Start in Life through Kent County Council and delivered by Real Group Ltd. The Parent and Infant Relationship Service (PAIRS) will be providing emotional wellbeing and therapeutic support to families across Kent.

About the role

This PAIRS team is a specialist service for parents, caregivers and their infants under the age of two, as well as those expecting. We encourage experienced specialist psychologists/psychotherapists to apply. This position is open to applicants who have four years post-qualification experience; however, appropriately qualified candidates with demonstrable expertise and experience in perinatal mental health who have less years post qualification experience may also be considered.

Key tasks and responsibilities

• Clinical Excellence & Specialist Assessment
  • Specialist Assessment: Carry out highly specialist dyadic/systemic assessments, risk assessments, and formulations for parents and infants with complex attachment or bonding difficulties.
  • Intervention Delivery: Develop treatment plans and deliver Level 3 psychological/psychotherapy interventions (e.g., Parent-Infant Psychotherapy) and specialist modalities such as video feedback. Delivery of Level 2 interventions where indicated.
  • Complex Case Management: Manage a caseload of families within which the parent(s)/ caregiver(s) may be experiencing mental health difficulties, adapting interventions to meet diverse cultural and linguistic needs, including working with interpreters.
  • Evidence-Based Practice: Utilise clinical screening tools (MORS-SF, PHQ9, GAD7, GBO) and current theory/research to track progress.
• Leadership & Service Development
  • Strategic Coordination: Deliver co-leadership and coordination of PAIRS, developing care pathways and referral management systems to optimise service flow.
  • Policy Development: Liaise with senior clinical colleagues to develop, review, and implement operational policies and procedures.
  • Innovation: Identify areas for service improvement and propose changes to practices; lead service user engagement and co-production aims to integrate feedback into clinical planning.
  • Governance: Exercise delegated responsibility for managing psychological resources and ensuring systematic governance of clinical practice within the team.
• Supervision, Training & Consultancy
  • Clinical Supervision: Provide highly specialised clinical supervision to junior qualified/unqualified staff (for instance psychology assistant or trainee).
  • Doctoral Placements: Potentially act as a service supervisor for specialist clinical placements for a doctoral trainee (Child Psychotherapist/Clinical Psychologist in training).
  • External Consultation: Provide formal and informal specialist advice and consultation to midwives, health visitors, GPs, and other external agencies.
  • Training: To offer specialist infant mental health training to key stakeholders.
• Research, Audit & Dissemination
  • Audit & Evaluation: Initiate and supervise clinical audits and service-related evaluations to monitor efficacy and impact.
  • Knowledge Sharing: Disseminate service evaluation findings through professional presentations and publications to contribute to the wider field of perinatal and infant mental health.
  • Professional Development: Maintain and develop expertise in professional training and clinical supervision through continuous professional development (CPD).

About you

The ideal candidate will be a senior specialist parent infant psychotherapist or psychologist and have a significant role in contributing to the specialist interventions for families, providing psychotherapeutic treatment promoting the quality of the relationship between the parent and infant. The candidate will also be involved with leading the development of care pathways and referral management in addition to provision of consultation.

Person Specification

• Qualifications: Doctoral level Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/Child Psychotherapist (or equivalent) or fully qualified Parent Infant Psychotherapist.
• Registration: Current HCPC registration as a Psychologist or registration with BPC/ACP/UKCP as a Psychotherapist.
• Experience: At least 4 years post-qualification experience in the NHS or an equivalent practitioner role, with experience in infant mental health and an understanding of perinatal presentations. Additional training in infant mental health or parent infant interventions is desirable.
• Skills: Skilled in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment and intervention with families with children under 2 years of age and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration. Well developed IT skills and report writing skills. Skills in providing teaching and training to professional groups.
• Communication: When delivering services the ability to communicate effectively in a highly emotive, antagonistic or hostile atmosphere and to overcome barriers to acceptance/psychological resistance to potentially threatening information. Ability to work effectively and supportively in a multi-disciplinary team.
• Knowledge: Knowledge of contemporary legislation relating to the delivery of mental health and psychological services and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management with families with children under 2 years of age and in parent infant mental health. Knowledge of professional issues in psychology/psychotherapy and psychological therapies with children under 2 years of age and in parent infant mental health. Knowledge and experience of the application of clinical governance and risk management policies and procedures for the maintenance and improvement of psychological services.

Benefits

We build our team with talented, positive-thinking and experienced individuals from diverse backgrounds. Working at Real Group brings many benefits including:

• Flexible working within a friendly, supportive team.
• Pension.
• Training and professional development opportunities.
• Health and dental plan.
• Access to free mental health support.
• Salary sacrifice options for purchasing a bicycle or leasing an electric car.

Real Group is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from all.