Job overview

**Due to the nature of the role and the needs of our clients, we are recruiting for female applicants only.  This requirement is in accordance with Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010.   We are looking for a compassionate, dedicated individual to provide support in a professional and respectful environment**

OPD is a multidisciplinary team that has developed innovative approaches to working with high risk offenders with Personality Disorders who are seen by the National Probation Service in Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.  This role is to support the OPD service in our Bristol Locality, covering our Womens Service and our Interventions Service.  

It is a desired requirement of this post that the applicant lives within reasonable travel distance of Bristol Probation Office as they will need to attend here or similar locations several times a week.  Hybrid working is supported so there is also opportunity to work from home.   

If you would like to discuss work patterns and locations, please contact one of the team via the contact details provided below.  We will be happy to discuss any queries or concerns you have regarding this post.

The proposed interview date is 27th August 2025

Main duties of the job

The role of an assistant psychologist in a forensic service is to support criminal justice professionals such as Approved Premises staff and probation practitioners, writing psychologically informed reports, participating in research, seeing service users 1:1, and screening and reviewing cases.  All of which is done under the supervision of a registered psychologist.

The post holder would be expected to work independently according to a plan agreed with the qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures. In addition, the post holder will be required to regularly assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, delivery orders, collection of statistics and development of audit and/or research projects.  

Working for our organisation

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

 Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

 At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

You will enjoy the benefits of working in AWP,  an NHS Trust that is committed to developing highly skilled workforce and actively encourages professional development opportunities.  You will be encouraged and supported to participate in additional training and development activities. You will also benefit from the generous NHS pension scheme and exclusive NHS discounts.