Job summary
- Main area
- Assistant Psychologist
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 4
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (from start date)
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 311-F917-26-A
- Employer
- Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Various sites across the trust
- Town
- Greater Manchester
- Salary
- £27,485 - £30,162 per annum, pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 14/04/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Assistant psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 4
If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople
https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/values
Job overview
I am Vicky, the Consultant Clinical Psychologist for the Learning Disability (LD) Care Hub. At the LD care hub we serve adults aged 18+ years and with some provision to children and young people. The LD care hub includes Radcliffe Place which provides short-term accommodation and therapy for people with a learning disability, aged 16 to 25 years, from across Greater Manchester, as well as five community teams across the footprint of Pennine Care. We are looking for a innovative and compassionate assistant psychologist. We have an established a consultant led specialist learning disability clinical psychology pathway that works as an essential element of a multidisciplinary model of care. Clinical Psychology is valued locally within our community teams and within the wider Trust. Working base will be discussed at interview. We offer a robust supervision and development structure. You will be part of an expanding, energetic, innovative LD care hub team that values coproduction and working alongside people with lived experience and promotes trauma informed care. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a multi-agency team, working alongside Clinical Psychologists, assistant psychologists, Learning Disability Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychiatrists and other multidisciplinary mental health practitioners.
Main duties of the job
To assist in the delivery of psychological work within Pennine Care Learning Disabilities Care Hub. The post holder will work under the clinical supervision of the Clinical Psychologists within the team, working with service users with a learning disability. To support and enhance the psychological care of adults, within the Community Learning Disability Teams, providing psychological assessments and interventions under clinical supervision. • To work independently to agreed operational objectives that are set and assessed at agreed intervals by the supervising qualified Clinical Psychologist. • To assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits and projects, collection of statistics, development of audit and/or research projects, outcomes
measures, teaching and project work as required.
Working for our organisation
We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.
Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We’re really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we’re a great place to work.
All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.
If you come and work for us we will offer a range of benefits and opportunities, including:
- Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
- Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance
- Access to Continued Professional Development
- Involvement in improvement and research activities
- Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service
- Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Under the clinical supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist, to assist in the psychological assessment of adults with learning disabilities, using a range of assessment methodologies, including psychometric and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, direct and indirect structured observations, semi- structured interviews, screening tools and routine outcome measures.
• Under the clinical supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist, to undertake assessments of psychological and mental health problems, to inform interventions from the team or assist in the signposting of clients to appropriate services.
• Under the clinical supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist, to participate in functional assessment of challenging behaviour/ behaviours of dsitress, and assist in the development and implementation of positive behaviour support plans for clients with complex and challenging needs.
• To contribute to multi-dimensional formulation of clients presenting problems, and assist in the formulation and delivery of psycho-educational and psychological interventions, and appropriate to level of knowledge, experience and training, under the clinical supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist. This might include the delivery of individual psychological therapy and the co-facilitation of group and family interventions.
• Under the clinical supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist, to write clinical reports, tailored to a range of audiences, including adults with a learning disability and their carers’.
• To assist the Clinical Psychologists in the delivery of psychological interventions at a systemic level, including psychological consultancy and training.
• To work collaboratively with a range of staff from the multi-disciplinary learning disability teams, other service providers and referrers, to assess needs and formulate action plans along directorate care pathways.
• To attend and contribute as appropriate to multi-disciplinary meetings, including liaison with the Community Learning Disability teams and other service providers as required.
Person specification
Education / Qualifications
Essential criteria
- A first or upper second class honours degree in psychology
- Entitlement to Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC, or GBR as it was previously known) is a standard set by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
Desirable criteria
- Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working with people with a learning disability
Desirable criteria
- Previous experience working as an Assistant Clinical Psychologist.
- Previous experience of working within the NHS
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- An understanding of the difficulties faced by people with learning disabilities, autism and / or mental health problems.
- Demonstrable knowledge of neuropsychological assessment methods and tools.
- Knowledge of legal frameworks and legislation relevant to people with learning disabilities.
Desirable criteria
- Experience using word processing tools, spreadsheets and statistical packages for data analysis.
- Experience of adapting materials to make them accessible for people with cognitive impairments.
- Experience of using neuropsychological assessment methods and tools.
- Evidence of ability to design and evaluate research projects relevant to Clinical Psychology.
- Experience of assessing and managing risk in the course of work.
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria
- High level of communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive and challenging
- Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance.
- An ability to interact effectively with staff from different disciplines and professional backgrounds.
- Ability to work independently on a day-to-day basis to agreed objectives
- Ability to accept and use clinical supervision appropriately and effectively
Employer certification / accreditation badges
.jpg "North West BAME")
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
- Dr Sarah Roberts
- Job title
- Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
If you have problems applying, contact
- Address
-
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
225 Old Street
225 Old Street
OL6 7SR
- Telephone
- 01617163181
List jobs with Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in Allied Health Professions or all sectors