Job summary
- Main area
- Child Learning Disability Psychology
- Grade
- Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job ref
- 001-PST037-0725
- Employer
- Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Woodland House
- Town
- Cardiff
- Salary
- £63,150 - £73,379 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 27/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Highly Specialised Practitioner Psychologist 8b (Children with LD)
Band 8b
WHO WE ARE:
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of the largest Integrated Health Board in the UK, employing over 16,000 staff and providing over 100 specialist services. Serving a population of around 500,000 people living in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, we are focussed on the health and care needs of our local population whilst also working with our partners to develop regional services. Together we are committed to improving health outcomes for everyone and to delivering excellent care and support.
Our mission is “Living Well, Caring Well, Working Together”. We have recently refreshed our strategy, Shaping Our Future Wellbeing, which sets out the Health Board’s Vision for improving the health and wellbeing of the populations we serve by 2035 through the delivery of our strategic objectives; Putting People First, Providing Outstanding Quality, Delivering in the Right Places, and Acting for the Future. We have challenging times ahead, but we are confident that by tackling these challenges together, we can support people to live healthier lives and reduce the unfair differences in the prevalence of illness and health outcomes we see in our communities today. We aspire to deliver outstanding care and treatment for people when they need it, where they need it; care that compares well with the best in the world, but to do so, we need to transform how we deliver services over the next decade and beyond.
We are a values-driven organisation and out goals will only be realised if our values are at the heart of everything we do. Created by colleagues, patients and their families and carers, our values are:
· We are kind and caring
· We are respectful
· We have trust and integrity
· We take personal responsibility
OUR REGION:
Wales has much to offer with miles of stunning coastline, UNESCO world heritage sites and beautiful countryside. Cardiff, the thriving Welsh capital, has something for everyone. It is a fantastic city to live and work in with an abundance of sports, arts and cultural attractions. Situated to the west of Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan offers a combination of beautiful Welsh countryside and a dramatic natural coastline, as well as charming towns including Penarth and Cowbridge. Those seeking more culture may find themselves drawn to the National Museum, St Fagan’s Museum of Welsh Life or the Millennium Centre, home of the Welsh National Opera. Whether city life or rural living, Cardiff and the Vale offers the best of both worlds.
Please be advised that there is a temporary top up for Bands 2 and 3 to reflect the incorporation of the top up to the living wage of £12.60 per hour - £24,638 per annum.
This temporary top up will be in place until the annual pay uplift for 2025/26 is confirmed
Job overview
We are looking to recruit a Highly Specialised practitioner psychologist to lead our tertiary response for highly complex Children and Young People with a Learning Disability.
The Child and Adolescent Learning Disability Service (CALDS) in Cardiff & Vale has recently undergone considerable expansion, growth and change, developing new multi-disciplinary models of working whilst creating new opportunities for staff to come and join us in this venture. Our work-force has recently greatly expanded and there is a wealth of support (both formal and informal), supervision, CPD opportunities and expertise available within our specialty. It is a very exciting time to join our passionate team.
You will be joining a well-established and highly motivated wider Child Psychology service, working closely with other practitioner psychologists, assistant psychologists and trainee clinical psychologists. We encourage and support Continued Professional Development and offer excellent opportunities for professional development, consultation and supervision. We actively encourage post qualification training in highly specialist psychological therapeutic interventions.
Full clinical and management professional support and supervision will be available from within the specialty and we support and encourage research and audit opportunities.
Main duties of the job
You will lead on combining multiple agencies to provide a timely response to children who presenting with highly risky behaviour or in risky and complex situations. You will have skills and experience in containing system anxiety, developing highly complex formulations and identifying and managing clinical risk. The role will involved liaison with health colleagues, multi-agency teams and services and legal and safeguarding, including the Court of Protection.
You will have line management and supervision responsibilities for psychology staff in Learning Disability. You will work closely with the consultant lead psychologist to promote service initiatives, take a major role in enhancing multi-disciplinary team work and work with the wider network to further the knowledge and skill base as related to Learning Disability.
The role will provide you with wide ranging experiences, supporting and enabling your professional development. The role includes providing psychological assessments and interventions, staff and multi-disciplinary consultation and supervision, innovation, service/systems improvement work, staff skills training, research and audit, team formulations.
The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this role; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.
Working for our organisation
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of the largest Integrated Health Boards in the UK, employing over 17,000 staff, providing over 100 specialist services. Working across 6 hospital sites, we have a diverse range of career opportunities to offer. Serving over 500,000 people living in Cardiff and the Vale, we are focussed on the health and care needs of our local population whilst working with our partners to develop regional services. Together we are committed to improving health outcomes for everyone, delivering excellent care and support.
Our mission is “Living Well, Caring Well, Working Together”, and our vision is that every person’s chance of leading a healthy life should be equal. Our 10-year transformation and improvement strategy, Shaping Our Future Wellbeing, is our chance to work collaboratively with the public and our workforce to make our health board more sustainable for the future.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click “Apply now” to view in Trac
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- D. Clin psych and further relevant qualifications e.g. PBS, systemic
Desirable criteria
- Further qualifications in therapies e.g. Systemic therapy and leadership
Skills
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable skills in working with cyp and families, working with cyp with LD and working systems
Desirable criteria
- Relevant skills in working with cyp with LD and complex needs, in multi-agency settings
Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant experience of working with cyp with LD
- Experience of supervising others and line management
- Demonstrable leadership experience e.g. team lead
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working with systems, cyp with LD and complex needs,
- Team leadership experience for cyp with LD team
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Good knowledge of psychological theory and models relevant to working with cyp with LD
Desirable criteria
- Well developed knowledge of leadership models, team working,
Applicant requirements
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.
Welsh language skills are desirable
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Rebecca Collins
- Job title
- Learning Disability Consultant Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 02921 836789
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