Principal Psychologist in Walsall

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is growing and changing. We provide specialist mental health, learning disability and community services across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, and we’re hiring people who want to shape what comes next.

The Trust was formed on 1 April 2020 through the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. We’re now focused on the future with a new Trust Strategy and the Best for the Black Country programme.

We’ve got real momentum right now. New strategy, clear priorities and our Best for the Black Country work mean things are moving in the right way, fast.

Our values aren’t just posters. People are genuinely compassionate, take responsibility, treat you with respect and help you feel confident and empowered.

You’ll be looked after. Flexible working, family-friendly policies, supportive teams, proper wellbeing support and chances to learn with coaching and development.

There’s room to grow. Loads of services to explore and real space to try ideas and be heard.

It’s a good place to live. Friendly diverse communities, easy transport, good schools and colleges, shopping, food, lots to do, plenty of green space and a lower cost of living than many other city regions.

You’ll join friendly, skilled teams who look out for each other. We plan together, share caseload pressures, and celebrate wins. New starters get a warm welcome and clear induction; early careers colleagues have preceptorship and buddying; experienced staff can lead, teach and innovate. You’ll have space to do good work, speak up, and see the difference you make.

We’re 4,000+ colleagues from many backgrounds, committed to improving health and wellbeing for our communities and for each other. If you’re excited about the role but don’t tick every box, please apply. We value potential and transferable experience.

This is an opportunity for someone who is keen to use their leadership and psychological skills in a fast-paced MDT environment. The role is suitable to those who put patient care and recovery at the centre of their practice.

Taking the role as Principal Psychologist, you will offer leadership support and clinical supervision to other psychologists who work across all of the community areas; there will also be a leadership role within our Older Adult Therapeutic Team (OATs).

You will also offer your own clinical skills into the Walsall Community Older Adult team across the trust to support MDTs, engage in psychological care with patients and work systemically with the wider urgent care psychology services.

You will join a wider team of community care psychologists (clinical and counselling) who work across community mental health teams, hospital at home and OATS. This post will allow you to take a key role in further developing and enhancing the psychological offer within Older Adults community services PAN trust.

If successful in your application, you will oversee the Senior Psychologists, Assistant Psychologists and Trainee Psychologist within the service areas, offering opportunities to strengthen your own supervisory and leadership skills.

As a Principal Psychologist, there are opportunities to get involved in organisational and service development work streams, encouraging you to look beyond your team and support the wider system.

BCHFT is a relatively new organisation having formed in 2020 from two legacy Trusts (Black Country Partnership and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Trusts). Across the organisation, there is on place a strong leadership structure for psychology supported by the Divisional Leads for Psychology and the Director of Therapies. We have a robust trust wide Consultant Psychology leadership team who support strategic developments across the organisation, as well as offering support to the family of psychological professional staff.

We are highly regarded by colleagues of all professions within our services and are the ‘go to’ people for complex problems and creative ideas to make a difference to staff, patients and carers.

Qualifications, knowledge and skills

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in Applied Psychology (or its equivalent as accredited by the BPS including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology)
• HCPC registration
• Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Working as a qualified applied psychologist within the designated service including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings.
• Liaison and joint working with statutory, voluntary and private sector agencies
• Research and development experience
• Experience of training and teaching others
• Active participation in quality improvement and service governance initiatives
• Experienced in risk assessment and management
• Demonstrable evidence of Trust behaviours
• Demonstrable evidence of good communication skills
• Willing to work flexibly across all the trust wide in-patient areas
• Completed service evaluations and audits
• Experience in working on service development and re-design
• Experienced in the supervision of Applied Psychologists, Trainee Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists
• BPS / ACP membership

We may close this advert early if we receive a high volume of applications, so please apply soon. We shortlist after the closing date and will contact shortlisted candidates usually within two weeks. If you haven’t heard by then, you haven’t been shortlisted. Please check your email for updates and contact Recruitment for feedback.

Most NHS roles are paid under NHS Agenda for Change. With us - your starting point is set against the advertised band and your relevant NHS service, with progression through annual increments.

Clinical posts up to and including Band 4 are expected to hold the Care Certificate. If you don’t have it yet, we’ll support you to complete it in post.

Some roles require a Standard or Enhanced DBS check under part V of the Police Act 1997. Having a criminal record won’t automatically prevent employment. We consider the role and individual circumstances.

We are an equal opportunities employer, offer flexible working, and are a smoke free Trust.

We are an equal opportunities employer and offer flexible working. We are an anti-racist, disability-inclusive and LGBTQ+-inclusive Trust. We welcome applications from under-represented groups and people with lived experience relevant to our services, including Black and Asian colleagues, Disabled people (including non-visible disabilities such as neurodiversity and mental health) and LGBTQ+ people. Disabled applicants can request consideration under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme where essential criteria are met. You can ask for reasonable adjustments at every stage of the process.

Best for the Black Country is our improvement journey. We share a clear vision and values, lead with compassion and visibility, listen to every voice, keep improving what we do and take ownership for delivery. You’ll feel it in how teams support each other and in the impact your work has on local people. If you want to contribute, learn and progress, this is a great time to join us.