Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 354-CS-21792-A
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- New Park House
- Town
- Horsham
- Salary
- £55,690 - £62,682 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 21/11/2025 23:59
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 AI is becoming part of daily life and you may choose to use it to help prepare your application. We welcome innovation but ask that anything you submit reflects your own abilities, experience and voice. AI can support how you describe your skills and experience, but it should never replace your own words as we want to get to know you.
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
To work as a member of the clinical service/ team, providing a high quality, specialist applied psychology service to clients, their families or carers. To support psychological practice within the team through consultation, supervision, formulation, leadership and training.
To participate in systematic clinical governance and to offer clinical supervision to assistant, trainee and more junior psychologists and other staff. To utilise research skills for audit, service development and research within the area served by the team/service.
Main duties of the job
To exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the team.
To clinically and/or professionally supervise Band 7 psychologists, assistant psychologists and trainee psychologists and clinically supervise other staff as appropriate.
To carry out specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the service, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of sources to reach a psychological formulation.
To undertake risk assessment, formulation and management for individual clients with complex presentations and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment, formulation and management.
To be responsible for implementing a range of high-quality specialist psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams, in line with best, evidence-based practice and trust care pathways.
To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients' formulations, diagnoses and treatment plans.
Working for our organisation
We provide mental health and learning disability care for children, young people and adults across Sussex.
Working in Sussex:
- Travel easily between coast and countryside, with a blend of picturesque villages and seaside towns there's always new experiences to be enjoyed.
- Embrace the city life with great access to visit Brighton and London.
- With easy access to Gatwick and Heathrow and excellent railway links across the UK, there is plenty of opportunity for adventure.
We are an Equal Opportunities Employer operation a no smoking policy.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For a comprehensive understanding and full details of the responsibilities, please refer to the Job Description document. It contains all the necessary information and should provide you with a clear overview of what is expected.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology [or its equivalent for those trained before 1996 or outside the UK*] as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- *For forensic psychologists working in forensic settings: Masters degree (with the award of the British Psychological Society qualification in forensic psychology or equivalent).
- Professionally registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Professions Council (HCPC).
Knowledge/Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
- Demonstrate specialist experience gained postqualification of working as an applied psychologist with evidence of having received a substantial amount of clinical supervision (normally in the region of approximately 50 hours).
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
- Experience of the application of applied psychology in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework.
- Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- Experience or demonstrable knowledge of working with the particular client group served by the team/service
- Knowledge of guidance and legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
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
- Sara Slinger
- Job title
- CAMHS Service Manager NWSx
- Email address
- [email protected]
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