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Job summary

Main area
....
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 4
Contract
Fixed term: 12 months (Maternity cover)
Hours
  • Full time
  • Part time
37.5 hours per week (Preferably full time, but will consider part time)
Job ref
457-25-7332692
Employer
Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Argyll House
Town
Sheffield
Salary
pro rata
Closing
10/08/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust logo

Assistant Psychologist (Perinatal Mental Health)

NHS AfC: Band 4

About us

At Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust we provide a range of mental health, learning disability, substance misuse, primary care and other specialist services designed around the needs of people in our city.

We have a dedicated and skilful team of people caring in Sheffield, which you could become a part of.

Our values are at the heart of everything we do. These are: working together for our service users, respect and kindness, everyone counts, commitment to quality, improving lives.

Job overview

This post will include assisting on an NIHR research project and therefore would be suitable for someone with research experience

The Perinatal Service is an expanding specialist mental health service for families around the time of having a baby. We are delighted to be able to advertise for this position to cover maternity leave. The successful candidate will form part of a comprehensive MDT including an expanding team of psychological practitioners. We aim to offer a trauma informed, evidence based, compassionate and systemically focused mental health service. This role will have a central place in the teams goals to deliver on the NHSLTP for perinatal services. 

Main duties of the job

To support and enhance the professional psychological care of service users within the Perinatal Service; to provide psychological assessment and structured psychological interventions under the supervision of clinical psychologist/s, working according to a plan agreed with the psychologist/s and within the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures. To assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, development of audit and/or research projects, teaching and project work.

Working for our organisation

We are passionate about providing the very best care to the people we support, and we're looking for amazing people who share this passion to join us.

What is it that makes our Trust such a special place to work? Well, it's all about the people. Our staff, service users, carers and families all come from such diverse backgrounds and all have expertise and stories to share.

It’s important that you feel supported in your role, that the people who you work with are as passionate as you are and that your health and wellbeing is taken care of.

If you're interested in developing your career, you'll have access to a range of training and education opportunities, including apprenticeships, work experience and placements, as well as the chance to get involved in research.

We are all very proud of the difference we make to people's lives each and every day and if that's something that you'd like to be part of we'd love to have you with us.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the job description and person specification for a full understanding of the expectations and requirements of the role.

Person specification

Knowledge & Skills

Essential criteria
  • • High level communication skills (written and verbal)
  • • Ability to communicate complex, sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues
  • • An understanding of the needs and difficulties of parents and infants with mental health conditions/symptoms and their families
  • • An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a perinatal mental health context
  • • An understanding of psychology applied to perinatal mental health care.
  • • Ability to use computers for word processing, presentations, databases, spreadsheets and e-mail.
  • • Experience of computerised methods of data analysis (eg SPSS for Windows)
Desirable criteria
  • • Understands the impact of early relational trauma on attachment and parenting
  • • ACE aware

Training & Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • • An upper second-class honours degree or higher in psychology.
  • • Eligible for Graduate membership of the British Psychological Society (GBC)
Desirable criteria
  • • Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, additional practical experience and/or research design and analysis.
  • • Graduate membership of the British Psychological Society

Experience

Essential criteria
  • • Experience of working with people with acute or long-term mental health conditions
Desirable criteria
  • • Experience of paid work in direct care provision
  • • Experience of working with people with perinatal mental health issues

Other

Essential criteria
  • • An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
  • • An ability to interact with ease with people who have mental health conditions and/or communication difficulties
  • • Ability to work reliably
  • • Ability to work in emotionally distressing situations.
  • • Demonstrates an interest in working with people with perinatal mental health conditions
  • • Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.
Desirable criteria
  • • A desire to explore a career in Professional Psychology

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Listening into Action (LiA)Veteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveImproving working livesMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerArmed Forces Covenant Bronze AwardArmed Forces Covenant

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.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dr Hannah McCormack
Job title
Senior Clinical Psychologist
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0114 2716069
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