Head of Psychological Services in Slough

Location: HMP Thameside, London SE28 0FJ
Salary: £73,838 per annum, plus company car, annual bonus, private medical cover, and London weighting
Schedule: Permanent, 40 hours per week, Monday–Friday – flexible working
Ready to impact a better future?
As a Head of Psychological Services in our HMP Thameside team, you’ll lead the strategic direction of psychological care, shaping a safer, more rehabilitative environment for colleagues and those in our care. Your expertise will drive innovation, influence culture, and ensure the highest standards of practice in line with British Psychological Society (BPS) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) codes.
You’ll see the positive impact of your work every day – supporting individuals through complex psychological challenges, reducing harm, and helping them on their journey towards rehabilitation. Your leadership will not only transform services but also create a lasting legacy, fostering growth and positive change for the future.
You’ll Be Entrusted To
What you’ll do as Head of Psychological Services

• Provide strategic leadership and development of Psychological Services, including line management of the department
• Lead on complex risk assessments, risk management plans, and psychological input for high-risk or vulnerable individuals
• Review cases, advise on parole directions, and act as a professional witness in hearings and multi-agency meetings
• Contribute to rehabilitative culture strategies, safer custody initiatives, and young offender approaches
• Offer expert consultancy to senior management and multidisciplinary teams on psychology services, trauma-informed practice, and evidence-based interventions
• Deliver professional supervision for Forensic Psychologists in Training and support their progression toward chartered status
• Conduct research, data analysis, and present findings to inform practice and policy
• Ensure compliance with HCPC and BPS standards, maintain continuing professional development, and uphold professional registration
• Provide timely psychological reports and input across the prison regime

Does this sound like you?
You’ll be a great fit for this role if you have…

• Chartered status with the British Psychological Society and registration as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council
• Significant post-qualification experience, ideally within a prison environment
• Previous experience of managing people or leading a team
• Ability to achieve Security Clearance and enhanced vetting
• Experience of conducting a range of psychological assessments and writing parole reports (desirable)
• PCL-r certification, experience of Offending Behaviour Programmes, and supervising Forensic Psychologists in Training (desirable)
• On the Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors (RAPPS) with BPS (desirable)

Discover all you need to keep growing
We’re one of the top 1% of international employers, so you can have confidence you’ll be part of a highly supportive culture with leaders you can count on to help you achieve your goals. From mentoring and training to our focus on internal progression, we’re proud to offer clear development opportunities – and the support and tools to help you seize them.
What We Offer

• Holidays: 25 days plus bank holidays (and the option to buy up to five additional leave days each year)
• Pension: Up to 6% contributory pension scheme
• Bonus: A performance-based bonus scheme
• Company car: A company car or cash alternative
• Private medical insurance
• Training and development: Over 1,100 internal courses available, funding for qualifications and apprenticeships (including L3 Team Leader and L5 Operations Manager apprenticeships), mentoring opportunities, and a focus on internal progression
• Health and wellbeing: Employee Assistance Programme, Bupa Anytime HealthLine, wellbeing app, 30% off at Serco-managed leisure centres, and 24/7 access to a virtual GP service
• Discounts: Discounts across around 1,000 retailers, from food and clothing to days out, entertainment and travel
• Charity: Paid volunteering day, tax-free charitable giving through Payroll Giving Scheme, donate your pennies from your monthly pay to the Serco People Fund Charity
• Employee networks: Our networks support inclusion and connection by providing spaces for collaboration, learning, and belonging. They represent and empower diverse groups including LGBTQIA+ employees, women, parents and carers, people with disabilities, veterans, and people from all cultural backgrounds.

Let’s impact a better future, together. Apply today.
About Serco
At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services. We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone. By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks – SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging.
Apply
Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment. At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview. For help with your application please contact j&icareersUK@serco.com.
At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the ‘Ban the Box’ pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on j&icareersUK@serco.com to discuss.