Job summary
- Main area
- Health & Justice
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 22.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 333-D-HJ-1919
- Employer
- Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- HMP Downview
- Town
- Sutton Surrey
- Salary
- £61,631 - £68,623 per annum inc HCAS (pro rata if P/T)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 09/11/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 21/11/2025
Employer heading
Senior Psychologist - Options OPD Service
NHS AfC: Band 8a
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
This is an exciting opportunity to join and help develop our expanding Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Services for women. Options is a treatment and support service running primarily modified forensic Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Programmes, offering treatment for service users who have been identified on the Personality Disorder Pathway. Additionally, we offer 1:1 EMDR therapy, we offer staff training, consultation and formulation services to our probation and prison colleagues who work alongside us to support and progress women safety through their sentence plan, in preparation for their move into the community.
Service users report many improvements in the way they manage emotions and relationships. “I’ve noticed genuine changes in my behaviour since doing Options. I’ve learned new ways to deal with problems and think about things better. I am more able to think before I react to things.”
You will be joining an established staff team of psychologists and prison officers, all of whom have interest and skills in team working, personality disorder and neurodiversity. The expanded service includes an increase in psychologists and an arts therapist.
Main duties of the job
· To provide psychologically informed care and interventions to service users of the OPD services, including the delivery of specialist individual and group therapy including outreach support and stabilisation with women at HMP Downview
· To work with the team to support women on the Offender Personality Disorder pathway and to promote a trauma informed, risk cognisant, environment and service
· To develop and support psychological formulations that enhance staff’s ability to support the women in their sentence progression
· To provide training and participate in audit and research that aims to improve the service
· To supervise prison and qualified and pre-qualification NHS team members including trainee psychologists
Working for our organisation
By joining CNWL you will be joining a large department of psychologists and psychological therapists that provide an array of mental health and OPD services across London and the home counties. Our staff are dynamic and welcoming and the networking and CPD opportunities are central to our services ethos. We have active research forums and promote our services and work through academic and clinical forums. All staff receive regular supervision and are supported with career aspirations and progression.
Click here to find out more about Psychology at CNWL
Excellent staff benefits, our benefit packages are amongst the best in London and include:
· Health and 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.
HMP Downview is in easy reach of London and the surrounding areas. The prison offers free use of onsite leisure facilities and free parking for all staff.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached detailed job description & person specification.
We are a friendly team and encourage any prospective candidate to contact us with any questions and/or to book an informal visit.
Person specification
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria
- Doctoral level training in clinical, forensic or counselling psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, equivalent to that accredited by the BPS
- HCPC Registered as a practitioner psychologist
- Evidence of post-qualification specialist training, experience and developing expertise in a specialist area of clinical practice relevant to this role.
Desirable criteria
- Pre- or Post-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
Essential criteria
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity 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 representing psychology within context of multidisciplinary care
- Experience of the application of applied psychology in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnosis, people with additional disabilities etc)
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in secure environments and/or forensic mental health.
- Experience of using a trauma informed approach.
- Lived experience of mental health Issues.
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES
Essential criteria
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
- Can demonstrate competence in supervision of junior qualified psychology and MDT staff and professional psychology trainees.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour
- Broad knowledge of models of assessment, management and treatment of offenders with mental health difficulties and personality disorders
- Ability to work intensively with people who present challenges in the complexity of their problems and needs, including sexual and violent offending and self-harming and suicidal behaviours.
- High level of ability to plan and organise clinical service provision to meet service demands, and to maintain high quality professional practice.
- Experience of software e.g. SPSS, EXCEL
- Evidence of continual development of specialist knowledge and skills through engaging in relevant study and Continuing Professional Development relevant to the forensic population.
Desirable criteria
- Ability to write reports for varied audiences, including courts and purchasers of services.
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
- Louise Minchin
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical & Forensic Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
If this sounds like the job for you and you would like some more information, please contact Sarah Wilkins (w/c 27th October) [email protected] or Sarah Linturn [email protected] (w/c 3rd Nov)
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
PLEASE NOTE ANY CANDIDATE WISHING TO APPLY FOR ANY OF OUR ROLES IN SURREY WILL BE SUBJECT TO VETTING CLEARANCE. WHICH REQUIRES YOU TO HAVE BEEN A RESIDENT IN THE UK FOR A MINIMUM OF 3 YEARS. CANDIDATES WHO DO NOT MEET THIS CRITERIA NEED NOT APPLY.
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