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Job summary

Main area
Mental Health
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 5
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
354-AC-21156
Employer
Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust
Employer type
NHS
Site
EBCMHC
Town
Brighton
Salary
£29,970 - £36,483 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
09/07/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust logo

SEDS Senior Assistant Psychologist

NHS AfC: Band 5

Come and join us

We're looking for people who share our values (compassion, accountability and optimism) to help us provide high quality care to the patients, carers, families and local communities we serve. We specialise in providing NHS mental health and learning disability services.

So what can we offer you in return?

We're an organisation which puts people first. We'll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. We'll help you learn, acquire new skills and gain further experience to support your career development. And we'll provide the opportunity for you to bring your fresh ideas to work about how we can do things differently and continue improving.

You will also be joining a health and care system committed to working together to do the best we can for the communities we serve. Above all, at Sussex Partnership you'll have the chance to make a difference to the lives of the patients, carers and families across our communities.

As a Trust we are committed in making a difference. Your development is important to us, so don't forget to ask us during interview what opportunities we can offer. We can offer fully funded lifelong learning opportunities such as an apprenticeship from GCSE to Masters level.

If you like the sound of that, then come and join our team.

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for a Senior Assistant Psychologist to join the team. We are a passionate multidisciplinary team delivering NICE recommended treatments, aiming to provide the best possible care to adults living with eating disorders.

In this senior assistant psychologist role, alongside a clinical workload (initial assessments and CBT-T caseload), you will input into service development and evaluation (including outcomes and audit).

You will be supervised by a psychologist/psychological therapist in the team, in addition to receiving highly specialised CBT-T group supervision. We recognise that successful application to a program of clinical training is a goal of many assistant psychologists. As such, where possible we will provide tailored opportunities to develop your competency and experience portfolios, e.g., support with group therapy, involvement in outcome/service evaluation or research.

Covering the whole of Sussex, SEDS provides specialist eating disorder services across a large geographical area, including Coastal West Sussex, North West Sussex, Brighton and East Sussex.  With the introduction of remote working, there is scope, where possible, to tailor your working pattern/location to the needs of both the service and you.

This is a chance for you to join an organisation which sets a high priority on the development of services in collaboration with experts through experience and carers, and to work with dedicated and supportive colleagues.

Main duties of the job

Key responsibilities of the role:

  • The post holder will offer specialist eating disorder assessments.
  • You will hold a caseload delivering CBT-T, with the support of weekly highly specialised group CBT supervision from one the manual's authors.
  • You will contribute to the SEDS outcome and audit strategy and/or other key service development areas.
  • You will be part of a team that values delivering evidence-base treatment and supports evidence-generating practice. Attached to SEDS is an innovative eating disorder research clinic (SPIRED). This clinic aims to improve the treatment and support available to people with eating disorders; bringing together the expertise and experience of clinicians and people with lived experience of eating disorders. 

Working for our organisation

We are committed to supporting staff well-being, developing new roles in teams, and have a thriving Recovery College. We have close links with the local universities and support the training schemes for clinical psychology and nursing, providing high quality placements.

The trust is committed to strong integrated, collaborative leadership between managers and clinicians. 

Your benefits:

·       Access to full psychological support, via our internal wellbeing team

·       Excellent supervision programmes, with ongoing opportunities for training and development

·       Access to a host of discount schemes

·       A position within a trust rated as ‘Outstanding’ for caring and ‘Good’ overall by the CQC

·       Excellent NHS Pension

·       Generous holiday entitlement (starting at 27 days + 8 bank holidays)

About the Trust:

We provide mental health and learning disability care for children, young people, and adults across Sussex. SPFT is rated ‘good’ overall and ‘outstanding’ for caring by CQC. In our staff survey:

·       82% agree that care for patients is our top priority

·       70% highlight flexible working opportunities as key to satisfaction at work

·       79% report feeling able to make improvement to improve the work within their team

·       77% identify opportunities to show initiative in their roles

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

REQUIREMENTS

Successful applications will be required to have:

  • Honours degree at 2:1 or above in Psychology, or equivalent. Eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartership with the BPS

See attached Job Description and Person Specification for full details.

We are looking for a passionate and dedicated team member. We would welcome informal visits or a phone conversation about the service/post.

Please contact Dr Emily Palmer, SEDS Clinical Psychologist on 0300 3040 090.

Alternatively, you could email us at [email protected] 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Honours degree at 2:1 or above in Psychology, or equivalent. Eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartership with the BPS

Knowledge/Experience

Essential criteria
  • Experience of working with people with complex needs
  • Experience of working with people with disabilities, in a health or Mental Health setting and or work with people with complex needs
  • Relevant clinical and research skills
  • Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
  • Basic knowledge of databases, research skills and methodology
  • Experience of group work and individual therapeutic contact
  • Ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a health context
  • An understanding of psychology applied to health care

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyDisability confident leaderDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - BronzeCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardStep into healthPride In Veterans

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

Due to high numbers of applications this vacancy may close before the advertised closing date. We will not be able to accept late applications to this post.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dr Emily Palmer
Job title
Senior Clinical Psychologist
Email address
[email protected]
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