Job summary
- Main area
- Health & Justice Services
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8c
- Contract
- Fixed term: 9 months (This is a maternity cover post.)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 333-D-HJ-1850
- Employer
- Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- LPP Community headquarters
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £85,431 - £97,148 per annum inc HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 17/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Clinical Lead for London Women’s MHTR Service Consultant Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 8c
CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.
Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.
We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page
Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.
CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.
Job overview
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is a Top Employer Award Winner and works in partnership to provide responsive and dependable primary care, mental health, intellectual disability and substance misuse services to the diverse and culturally rich communities we serve.
In our quest to deliver patient-focused quality care we are looking to recruit a highly motivated, innovative and enthusiastic Clinical Lead for London Women’s MHTR Service Consultant Psychologist to lead and develop the pan-London Women’s Mental Health Treatment Requirement service to reduce custodial sentences and improve the wellbeing of women in the criminal justice system with mental health needs. This is a London Pathways Partnership (LPP) service, jointly provided by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Foundation Trust and voluntary sector partner Together for Mental Wellbeing.
Our motto is “Caring NOT Judging” so by working in partnership with the criminal justice system and other agencies, we provide responsive, dependable and high-quality primary care and mental health services to those who may have offended and those at risk of offending in the communities we serve, to improve their health status and to encourage social inclusion.
Why not see what our staff say about working within our award winning teams: https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/health-and-justice/find-out-what-its-work-health-and-justice
Main duties of the job
The Women’s Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) Service is funded via a partnership between the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I), Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and Office of Health Improvement and Disparities. MHTRs were introduced by the Criminal Justice Act in 2003, recognising that for many individuals who offend, mental health and substance misuse issues underpin their offending behaviour. Treatment requirements offer courts an alternative to short custodial sentences and aim to prevent reoffending by addressing underlying vulnerabilities and improving quality of life. This service aims to increase the use of primary and secondary care treatment requirements as part of a community sentence, offering psychologically informed interventions and advice. The MHTR Service will also provide the courts with information and confidence to sentence to robust and effective treatment requirements.
LPP are looking for someone to cover the current post holder’s maternity leave from December 2025 for approximately 10 months. The role will be responsible for operational service delivery across all courts in London. The successful candidate will hold a small complex clinical caseload and be responsible for supervision of the clinical team.
Working for our organisation
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust offers its staff ongoing career progression through:
· Monthly supervision
· Annual personal development plans/appraisals
· Access to internal and external training opportunities.
Excellent progression through various career pathway opportunities such as but not limited to:
· Support & guidance with Revalidation
· Hidden Gem & annual award ceremonies
Excellent staff benefits, our benefit packages are amongst the best in London:
· Health & wellbeing services
· Season ticket loans
· Cycle to work scheme
· The trust also values its staff and you are entitled to become a member of MyTrustBenefits. MyTrustBenefits is an online portal for all CNWL staff, as well as their family and friends. It offers over 1400 discounts at hundreds of retailers nationwide. Save money on your weekly food shops, toiletries, cosmetics, cinema, meals out, holidays, travel and entertainment. You can also access free online courses on a variety of topics, professional and personal, ranging from business management, languages, law and teaching.
All of our sites in Surrey offer free use of the onsite leisure facilities and free parking for staff.
As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To be responsible for the organisation, management and clinical leadership of high-quality specialist Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) services, namely the OPD services at HMP Highdown and CNWL’s community OPD provision in London. These services are all provided by the London Pathways Partnership, a consortium of five NHS Trusts (including CNWL) who work in partnership to deliver a network of services to complex and high-risk service users in London and the Southeast. The services at HMP High Down include a Progressive Psychological Informed Planned Environment (PIPE) for men with Learning Disabilities and an OPD outreach service. The community services currently include an OPD Integrated Community Service and a specialist primary care Mental Health Treatment Requirement service for women.
To organise psychological and OPD provision, through staffing and model development to ensure equitable and evidence-based services with robust referral and transition policies and procedures that compliment sentence planning and consistent with OPD strategies and guidelines.
To develop an effective co-working relationship with the HMPPS partners so that the OPD services are effectively co-led and staff training and supervision is co-facilitated.
To supervise psychologists and OPD clinicians within OPD and keep staff abreast of the latest guidance and new ways of working.
To provide teaching and training of junior staff, psychology students & trainees, specialist nurses, other staff.
To participate actively in both departmental and Trust matters concerning Care Quality.
To contribute to the maintenance and development of OPD services within the Trust and LPP to the highest standard.
To take an active role in the local Senior Management Teams and (when appropriate) to wider Health & Justice and LPP Services.
To contribute to business development across Health & Justice and LPP through writing tenders, presenting on new business bids, designing appropriate service models for cost-effective and quality care.
Where appropriate, to lead on investigations to support disciplinary action or complaints and incident reviews.
To lead on the provision of high-quality service reports and to represent the OPD services in contract review meetings and national OPD and commissioning forums.
To lead on audit, policy and service development for designated services and to contribute to and develop research within the Offender Personality Disorder Service Line
Person specification
Skills
Essential criteria
- Skills in complex formulation. To provide an accurate overview and assessment of presenting problems to informal treatments by identifying key targets for change.
- Significant experience of teaching, training and providing professional/clinical supervision
- Ability to contain and work with organisational stress and to contribute to staff wellbeing.
- Skills in risk assessment and management.
- Ability to demonstrate strategic leadership and management skills.
- Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies relevant to the Specific Care Group/Service
- Knowledge of a broad range of psychological phenomena, an interest in models of service delivery, and an ability to articulate the value added by applied psychology and psychological therapy services within the context of multidisciplinary services.
- A commitment to initiate and lead the evaluation of services, for both multiprofessional and uni-professional audit, and a wish to continue to develop expertise in the service area.
- Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
- Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour
- Ability to develop and use complex multimedia materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
- Ability to articulate and interpret clearly the role of the profession of applied psychology based upon a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy.
- Skills in providing specialist psychological consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups
- An understanding of the social determinates of health inequalities and relevant psychological theory and practice
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Doctoral level training in clinical, counselling or forensic psychology or equivalent, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
- Evidence of significant post-qualification specialist training, experience and developing expertise in a relevant specialist area of clinical practice HCPC Registered as a practitioner Psychologist
- Formal training in the supervision of other psychologists
Desirable criteria
- Attendance at relevant management training courses and events
- Pre- or Post-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other relevant fields of applied psychology
Experience/Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Assessed extensive experience of working as a qualified psychologist, including significant post-qualification experience within the Specific Care Group/Service.
- Extensive experience of providing successful clinical leadership within a multidisciplinary mental health/OPD provider context
- High level knowledge of national policy frameworks and initiatives and the mental health economy within which the Trust services are provided
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology
- Experience of the successful professional management of qualified and pre-qualified applied psychologists
- Demonstrable knowledge of the theory and practice of leadership and management in mental health services
- Further training in leadership and management in mental health services
- Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological practice
- Experience of successfully representing the profession and/or services in local or regional policy forums, across services or at equivalent level
- Experience of the application of applied psychology in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework.
- Experience of multi-professional management of teams or services within the designated care group.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of severity, across the full range of care settings including out-patient, community, primary-care, in-patient and residential care settings including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for service users' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
- High level of knowledge and skills in neuropsychology and evidence of further practice and/or training since qualification.
- Evidence of significant expertise in clinical risk management
- Significant experience of teaching, training and providing professional/clinical supervision
- Knowledge of legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the specific client group and mental health
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC
- Experience of working together with service users to ensure that they are equal partners in service design, evaluation, research and training
Desirable criteria
- Published audit or research
- Experience of using a trauma informed approach
- Further training in leadership and management in mental health services
- Interest in teaching and training psychological approaches to clinical care
Attitudes, aptitudes personal characteristics
Essential criteria
- Demonstrate support for the values and beliefs of the Care Group and those of the Trust
- Demonstrate an understanding of the practices of Human Rights in the delivery of this role
- Ability to travel across sites
- Punctual and flexible across hours of work when required.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Caoimhe McAnena
- Job title
- Consultant Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
We are a friendly team and encourage any prospective candidate to contact us with any questions and/or to book an informal visit. Please contact Caoimhe McAnena with any queries [email protected]
You can also find more information on our services and the work we do within the Health & Justice Directorate please do take a look at our new website https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/health-and-justice
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