Job summary
- Main area
- Acute Inpatients Service - Working Age Adults
- Grade
- 5
- Contract
- 2 years (Fixed term)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 173-29526-ACUTE
- Employer
- Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Acute and PICU Psychology
- Town
- Leeds
- Salary
- £32,073 - £39,043 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 03/07/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 03/08/2026
Employer heading
Higher Assistant Psychologist
5
Job overview
We have an opportunity for an Assistant Psychologist to join the acute care psychology team within our Inpatient Service. The service provides care for adults of working age experiencing acute mental health crises warranting inpatient admission. It comprises six wards including a PICU across two sites each staffed by a multidisciplinary team including but not limited to Nurses, Psychiatrists, Occupational Therapists, Psychological Professionals, Physiotherapists and Dietitians.
The post holder will work under the supervision of a qualified Psychologist, to support the delivery of psychologically informed care within acute adult mental health inpatient wards. This includes contributing to assessment, formulation, intervention and service development, with a strong emphasis on multidisciplinary (MDT) working.
The Assistant Psychologist will support the integration of psychological approaches and trauma informed care into ward practice working directly and indirectly with people with complex presentations mental health needs including high levels of risk. This will require a daily presence on the wards to contribute to multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings, support the development of psychological formulations, care plans, and psychological interventions. You will have the opportunity to work with professionals from a range of backgrounds including medical, nursing and occupational therapy.
Main duties of the job
Supporting ward multidisciplinary teams with formulation and care planning from admission to discharge from the service.
Delivery and evaluation of ward-based psychologically informed interventions under the supervision of a qualified Psychologist.
Supporting the audit and evaluation of ongoing service development initiatives.
Supporting the delivery of staff training initiatives.
The successful applicant will have experience of working psychologically in mental health or learning disability settings, delivering individual or group interventions, and developing and using formulations with service users and teams. They will be able to develop good rapport with people with complex mental health needs and have enthusiasm for working within an inpatient setting.
The role is for a fixed term of two years.
Applications from people with BAME backgrounds are particularly welcome.
Working for our organisation
The Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) is the main provider of Mental Health and Learning Disability services in Leeds. We also provide specialist inpatient services in York and some highly specialised services across the country. As a teaching trust with strong links to local universities, we are a centre of excellence for teaching, research and development.
There are many benefits of working for LYPFT including fantastic employee wellbeing support, 27 - 33 days annual leave, flexible working and remote working arrangements, the NHS Pension Scheme, coaching, support and opportunities for career development and training and education support alongside a range of exclusive discounts and payment schemes including for cars, extra leave days and more NHS Discount Offers.
We also have a bank department, offering variety of roles in nursing, allied health professions, healthcare support worker and administration clerical. Permanent employees are automatically added to bank.
Applicants should be aware that individuals requiring a visa to work in the UK, the Trust only provides sponsorship for registered healthcare practitioner roles (this does not include Healthcare Support Workers). This is an essential requirement, and the Trust is unable to offer you a role if you do not meet Trust requirements for sponsorship and Home Office requirements for a visa.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You must have an upper second-class degree eligible to hold Graduate Basis Chartered Membership (GBC) with the BPS to be offered this post. To maintain anonymity at shortlisting, proof of this will be requested as necessary after application and before interview. If you pass to the stage of shortlisting, you will be contacted by the recruitment team and asked to either forward a confirmation email from the BPS or a letter from your UK university confirming your degree meets the GBC requirements. Please ensure this proof is available as time scales will be short and the interview will be withdrawn if proof is not available.
Interviews will take place in person at the Becklin Centre on Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th August
We recruit people based on their values and qualifications (where required) and believe that their lived experience is an advantage, this means that together we are as diverse as the communities we care for. Simply put, when we employ caring people who act with integrity and have the right skills, we can give those with mental health challenges, learning disabilities and neurodiversity high-quality care and support to live fulfilling lives, and make our staff feel purposeful, happy and valued.
All our information is available in accessible formats. Please contact the Recruitment team [email protected]
Attached to this advert is our candidates guide to values-based recruitment and supporting guidance on how to make a successful application.
If you require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Recruitment Team or see the attached candidate guide to reasonable adjustments.
To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you’ll need, look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading.
So that you’re even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, you’ll need to take time to read the Candidate Guide to Values Based Recruitment. This document provides you with information to help you apply.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Honours/conversion degree in psychology conferring Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) as verified by UK university or BPS, achieving an upper second-class award or higher, or a further post graduate degree e.g. Masters or Doctorate.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working as an Assistant Psychologist or equivalent role in a care/health setting.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates involvement in and understanding of psychologically informed formulation.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates positive attitude towards and understanding of working in a multi-disciplinary team.
- Demonstrates a positive attitude towards service users with complex needs.
Values
Desirable criteria
- Tell us about a time when you spotted something small going wrong and did something to stop it becoming a bigger issue.
- Tell us about a time when you realised a colleague or someone you know needed a bit of support and you offered to help.
- Tell us about a time when you showed someone kindness or understanding.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Simon Kennedy
- Job title
- .
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07980 957945
List jobs with Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Allied Health Professions or all sectors