Job summary
- Main area
- Psychology Practitioner
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Fixed term: 10 months (End 31 March 2025 (extension possible))
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 334-CLI-7239149
- Employer
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Psychology in Hostels Office and Partner sites around Lambeth
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £61,927 - £68,676 per annum inclusive of HCAs
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 24/06/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Practitioner Psychologist, Psychotherapist or Psychological Therapist
Band 8a
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.
We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.
We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.
The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.
As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.
Job overview
The SLaM Psychology in Hostels (PIH) Service is an innovative multi award-winning specialist homeless psychology service. For 12 years PIH has led in the development of ‘Psychologically Informed Environments’ (PIEs) delivering ‘Trauma Informed Approaches’ and developing best practice for working with socially excluded populations across Lambeth and Westminster in partnership with the third sector.
We are seeking a Band 8a Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to work across the Psychology in Hostels (PIH) Team and the Integrated Health Network (IHN) in Lambeth.
The post holder will primarily be based with the IHN, providing clinical leadership and psychological input to a multi-disciplinary team delivering trauma-informed, wraparound care for people experiencing multiple disadvantage. One day per week will be spent with the PIH team to support fellow clinical psychologists, promote psychologically-informed approaches to homelessness, and engage in reflective practice.
Main duties of the job
As Clinical Lead for the IHN, you will hold an operational leadership role within IHN, and supporting PiH Leadership. You will provide clinical leadership (not line management) to a multi-disciplinary team comprising: 1x psychologist, 3x drug and alcohol workers, 2x peer support workers, and 2x nurses. You will will supervise junior Psychologists within PiH.
You will develop effective relationships with managers and leadership of non-SLAM NHS and Social Services teams in Lambeth, supporting the development of new ways of working together and ensuring high levels of cooperation in the interests of our clients.; and take a lead on developing operational policies, procedures, operating and governance structures, service design and embedding.
You will provide both direct psychological support—including assessment and evidence-based interventions—and indirect support, such as reflective practice, training, consultation, and service development work with partners and commissioners.
Working for our organisation
About the location:
This post will be based across Lambeth, working at and within sites operated by our partners delivering homelessness sector services.
Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2). We also provide services and operate across other locations, such as London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; and substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Lambeth, Greenwich and Wandsworth.
Benefits:
We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package, feel valued and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance.
Some of our benefits include:
- Generous pay, pensions and leave packages dependent on the role and length of service.
- Work life balance, flexible working and supporting a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
- Career development with plenty CPD opportunities such as mentoring, coaching, collective leadership and other talent programmes.
- Accommodation, our staff benefit from keyworker housing at selected sites.
- NHS discounts via the Health Service Discounts website.
Other benefits include:
- Counselling services
- Wellbeing events
- Long service awards
- Cycle to work scheme
- Season ticket loan
- Childcare vouchers
- Staff restaurants
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Key Responsibilities:
Clinical
- To provide a high level of clinical expertise in supporting the psychological needs of clients.
- To ensure services are fair and equitable and meet the needs of the diverse populations we support.
- To support the development of care pathways for an excluded population.
Teaching, training, and supervision
- To provide specialist training in psychological and trauma-informed approaches to care for other professionals.
- To provide clinical supervision for psychological work undertaken by qualified psychologists and others.
Management, recruitment, policy and service development
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To hold an operational leadership role within PIH.
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To develop effective relationships with managers and leadership of non-SLAM NHS and Social Services teams in Westminster, supporting the development of new ways of working together and contributing to the development of service level agreements, ensuring high levels of cooperation in the interests of our clients.
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To work with the leads/managers of PIH and MDT homeless partners, including CMHTs, acute mental health services and other NHS services to develop care pathways and to plan and deliver services that are integrated around the needs of service users
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To take a lead on developing operational policies, procedures, operating and governance structures, service design and embedding.
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To utilise change management and partnership development models; ensuring rapid and successful development of new services model across sites and partner organisations.
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To identify any aspects of the service which could be improved and contribute to the service development on an ongoing basis.
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Research and service evaluation
- To contribute to the development of services through undertaking service evaluation and audit.
General Responsibilities
- To ensure own Continuing Professional Development
- To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of key legislation
A full Job Description and Person Specification is attached to the advert.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession and extensive demonstrable practice in this field (e.g. professional Doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology or other relevant professional doctorate or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/ supervised practice/ additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration.
- Registered with professional body as appropriate to discipline HCPC/APC/ BPC/UKCP/BACP/ BABCP/ADMP-UK.
- Additional training beyond entry-level qualification in a specialised area of psychological practice through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent) OR a combination of specialist short courses and/an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice–based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by a registered body and/or an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma or higher.
Desirable criteria
- Additional training in relevant specialist psychological models (Psychodynamic, MBT, DBT, CAT, Systemic, Narrative).
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of post qualification highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in relevant speciality and/or client group e.g. Addictions/homelessness/complex trauma/psychosis/personality disorder/ mood disorder.
- Experience of consulting to, and supervising with other staff (incl. psychologists, MDT professionals and third/housing sector workers).
- Experience of specialist work with trauma and complex trauma
- Experience of working within CMHT and Acute MH Ward settings
- Experience of advocating for and delivering health care systems change for people experiencing homelessness
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Specialist practitioner skills at level 3 in at least one or more models of relevant psychological therapy (MBT, CBT/DBT, psychodynamic).
- Highly developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, highly technical and sensitive
- Skills in operational and project development and leadership
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.
- Evidence of post-qualification continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and/or HPCP.
Desirable criteria
- Specialist knowledge relevant to work in outreach, supported housing and homelessness
- Knowledge of ‘Psychologically Informed Environments’ and ‘Trauma informed Care’
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 James Peddie
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
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