Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- 12 months (fixed term)
- Hours
- Full time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 354-AE-21307-1
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- St Marys House
- Town
- Eastbourne
- Salary
- £57,528 - £64,750 Pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 02/07/2026 08:00
Employer heading
Senior Practitioner Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Come and join us
We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.
At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.
We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.
We recognise that tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We welcome this, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isn’t based on your real experience.
Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we’ll explore your examples further at interview, so it’s important your application genuinely represents what you bring. You can read more about using AI in applications and interviews on our recruitment process page.
We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.
Job overview
A fantastic fixed-term opportunity has arisen for a psychologist experienced in working with older people, or wanting to gain experience, to provide maternity cover to our Specialist Older Adult Mental Health Service (SOAMHS) based at the St. Marys House, Eastbourne. Our Service provides specialist care and interventions to older people who are struggling to live to their potential due to a mental health difficulty such as anxiety, depression, personality disorder or psychosis, as well as care for people with dementia, and because distress will often impact on the wider system, our support extends to families and carers. We will also consider psychologists with appropriate experience for Band 7 roles and adapt the role to a Band 7 (Band 7 JD and PS also included). We can also consider flexible working, job shares and secondments.
Contribution to service development and improvement would also be required for candidates at 8a level. The future of our older adult services is changing in line with the national Transformation model. You will have an opportunity to contribute to and support developments to improve access to psychological therapies for older people with severe mental health problems. There are opportunities to utilise research skills for audit and research within the area and to be involved in staff wellbeing initiatives. We are looking for someone who has the ability to work autonomously within the context of a busy multi-disciplinary team.
Main duties of the job
Within this post you will have several responsibilities: clinical work with patients; assessing both therapeutically and neuropsychologically; formulating and guiding intervention allocation; offering evidence based psychological therapy for complex mental health conditions to the person, as well as providing support to families in the community. Equally important in this role is experience in multidisciplinary team working. You will be expected to support psychological practice within the wider team through consultation, formulation, supervision, teaching and training. You will provide advice and consultation to the multi-disciplinary team and other mental health and physical health professionals.
Working for our organisation
Sussex Partnership provides mental health, neurodevelopmental and learning disability services across Sussex. The Trust has teaching status and is developing into one of the country’s leading teaching mental health trusts. Psychological therapies are highly valued in Sussex Partnership and Psychological therapists occupy a range of senior positions across the Trust, it is a great Trust to work in as a Psychologist
We encourage and support flexible working. We know that a positive work/life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which has a positive impact on the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working. If it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.
As a mental health trust Sussex Partnership places a huge focus on the wellbeing of our staff, as well as ensuring our reward packages reflect the immensely important work they do.
Your benefits:
· Generous holiday entitlement (starting at 27 days + 8 bank holidays)
· A position within a trust rated as ‘Outstanding’ for caring and ‘Good’ overall by the CQC
· Access to full psychological support via our internal wellbeing team
· Excellent supervision programmes, with ongoing opportunities for training and development
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
As an 8a Senior Practitioner Psychologist, you will provide high-quality psychological assessments, interventions and consultation services for clients, families and staff, drawing on significant experience and possible post-registration training. You will develop specialist expertise tailored to the service's needs, which, alongside functional dissociative seizures may include mood and anxiety disorders, or complex emotional needs.
You will contribute to the delivery of evidence-based psychological care within a multidisciplinary team, ensuring the psychological needs of clients are met effectively and in accordance with the highest standards of practice. You will also have a key role in the supervision of more junior staff, such as assistant psychologists and trainees, while also contributing to service development and research.
Please see Job Description and Person Specification for details.
Essential
Qualifications:
Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
Knowledge/ Experience:
Experience in highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment across a range of settings
Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, design and complex data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of applied psychology.
Experience working with diverse client groups across the lifespan, addressing a wide range of clinical severities, and maintaining a high degree of professionalism in challenging situations.
Skilled in teaching, training and/or supervision.
Experience of applying psychology in different cultural contexts and working within a multicultural framework.
Experience or demonstrable knowledge of working with the particular client group served by the team/service.
We are happy to speak about the role, so for more information please contact Dr Jane Vinnicombe, Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist [email protected].
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
Knowledge/Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience in highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment across outpatient, community, primary care, and inpatient settings
- Post-qualification experience as a practitioner psychologist with approximately 50 hours of clinical supervision
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, design and complex data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of applied psychology
- Experience working with diverse client groups across the lifespan, addressing a wide range of clinical severities, and maintaining a high degree of professionalism in challenging situations.
- Skilled in teaching, training and/or supervision
- Experience of applying psychology in different cultural contexts and working within a multicultural framework.
- Experience of representing psychology within the context of multidisciplinary care.
- Experience or demonstrable knowledge of working with the particular client group served by the team/service
- Knowledge of relevant national and local guidance, legislation, and mental health frameworks.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialist psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
- High-level proficiency in at least two specialised psychological therapies and neuropsychology, with continued practice or training post-qualification
- Formal training in supervision of other psychologists
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC
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
- Jane Vinnicombe
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
List jobs with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Allied Health Professions or all sectors