Job summary
- Main area
- Psychology
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 186-1113-25-FS
- Employer
- Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- HMP North Sea Camp
- Town
- Boston
- Salary
- £55,690 - £62,682 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 22/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Clinical/Forensic/Counselling Psychologist OPD Pathway - SOLAR Service
NHS AfC: Band 8a
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Job overview
Please be advised Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has made the difficult decision to serve notice on its offender health contracts. Over the coming months, we will be working with NHS England on the transition of the services to Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust as the new provider. We still need to recruit to these valued positions and welcome your application. But, in line with our values, honesty is important, so please note that if you are successful that in time your recruitment and/or employment would move from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust, who would then be your new employer.
An exciting opportunity has arisen within Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for a HCPC Registered Clinical/ Forensic/ Counselling Psychologist to work as part of the SOLAR Service at HMP North Sea Camp. The SOLAR service is one of 5 Pathways Enhanced Resettlement (PERS) services that form part of the OPD (Offender Personality Disorder) Pathway in open prisons. PERS services aim to support individuals who are likely to have difficulties managing the transition from closed to open conditions, or from open conditions to the community, due to problematic personality traits.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for someone who will work as part of a small team with prison officers to deliver, develop and jointly lead the PERS model, comprising of keywork, emotional containment and provision of psychologically informed activities/ groups to individuals most at risk of recall to closed conditions as a result of their personality traits.
We are committed to working in partnership with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), both with Prison and Probation colleagues; this service is a joint enterprise so relies on collaborative working. We also work in partnership with other healthcare providers and our criminal justice system partners to improve health, support justice and reduce re-offending behaviour. The SOLAR service forms part of a wider network of OPD pathway services delivered as part of the Specialist Services Care Unit within the Community Care Group across HMP Whatton, HMP North Sea Camp, HMP Gartree and community services in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
Working for our organisation
#TeamNottsHC comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who #MakeADifference every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire. Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.
We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.
We offer a variety of employee-led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network. These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.
The health and wellbeing of colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in-house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.
The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net-zero commitment.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The successful post-holder will jointly provide clinical leadership for a team approach to supporting individuals to manage the transition to open conditions where personality traits and associated emotional or behavioural instability is likely to interfere with their ability to manage in open conditions. They will identify and assess individuals suitability for the service following a screening process and support the officers to engage the individuals agreeing to work with the service in keywork. The post holder will support with the development of ‘survival plans’/ formulations, and support the development of the psychologically informed management of anticipated hurdles. The post holder will provide supervision and consultancy to the team and other departments within the prison (i.e. the Offender Management Unit, Security, and Safer Custody) to develop skills and confidence in working with the individuals engaging with SOLAR.
We are supportive of flexible working arrangements but do require presence on site. We support engagement with wider OPD pathway meetings, specifically the PERS Clinical Leads meetings for the sharing of good practice across the PERS services. Support, supervision and line management will be provided by the Consultant Psychologist.
The post holder will provide clinical leadership to a small team of NHS and Prison staff to develop and deliver the SOLAR Service. They will work as part of a team to deliver the PERS model for individuals with difficulties arising from trauma and problematic personality traits and most likely to struggle in open conditions.
The post holder will contribute to and lead multi-disciplinary team discussions and decision making processes.
The post holder will be responsible for engaging with their own supervision and reflective practice and to support team members in offering supervision and reflective practice.
The post holder will work in partnership with the Custodial Manager and Head of Function to produce outcome data, audits and evaluation and to liaise with commissioners for performance review as required. They will also work collaboratively to support the development of awareness and psychologically informed working practices and culture within the prison environment.
The post holder will work with the Consultant Clinical Psychologist to support the development of the SOLAR service. They will also work with the other OPD pathway clinical leads for services delivered by Nottinghamshire Healthcare.
The post holder will liaise with the wider OPD pathway team at a national and regional level.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £26.40 (standard) or £54.40 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.
Person specification
Values
Essential criteria
- Demonstrate that they act in line with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Values: Trust Honesty Respect Compassion Teamwork
- Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and how it applies to their role
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Honours degree in Psychology as accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
- Doctorate in Clinical or Forensic or Counselling Psychology. Must be able to demonstrate eligibility for chartered status as a Clinical or Forensic or Counselling Psychologist and be registered with the HCPC as a practitioner Psychologist.
Desirable criteria
- Specific additional accreditation
Training
Essential criteria
- Evidence of post-qualification specialist training in a specialist area of forensic/ clinical/ counselling practice
- Case formulation training
Desirable criteria
- Further specialist training in mental health, personality disorder, risk assessment and management, Schema Therapy/ EMDR/ DBT/ RO-DBT
Experience
Essential criteria
- Relevant experience developing expertise in clinical/forensic/Counselling psychology practice
- Service evaluation and research
- Relevant experience of providing clinical supervision, reflective practice
Desirable criteria
- Working with individuals with offending and complex trauma histories
- Experience of using specialist treatments (i.e. EMDR, Schema therapy)
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Specialist knowledge of models of assessment, management and treatment of service users who suffer Personality Disorder and complex trauma.
- Awareness of criminal justice processes and awareness of the constraints of secure environments
- Service evaluation and data analysis
Desirable criteria
- Publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Skills in complex psychological assessment, intervention and management with special relevance to PD (inclusive of trauma informed approaches)
- Ability to work intensively with people who present challenges in the complexity of their difficulties and needs (e.g. sexual and violent offending and self-harming/ suicidal behaviours)
- Ability to work positively and constructively in a multi-disciplinary team to provide person-centered care and manage organizational dynamics
- Formulation consultation and teaching skills.
Desirable criteria
- Research skills
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 Felicity Nichols
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01949 803473
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