Job summary
- Main area
- Senior Practitioner Psychologist
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 354-AN-20826
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- New Park House
- Town
- Horsham
- Salary
- £53,755 - £60,504 pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 06/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Senior Practitioner Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Come and join us
We're looking for people who share our values (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 exciting opportunity has arisen for a senior Practitioner Psychologist (0.5 WTE) to join a supportive and innovative Assessment and Treatment Service (ATS) in Horsham. This role will involve taking a senior psychology role in the psychology and psychological therapies branch of the MDT in Horsham ATS.
As well as joining the Horsham ATS MDT and psychology team, you will also be joining a friendly, supportive, highly-skilled and enthusiastic community of psychologists and psychological therapists working in neighbouring teams across North West Sussex. Psychological therapists in North West Sussex have recently led on an initiative to set up compassion-focussed reflective practice groups for staff in each ATS team, with compassionate leadership and trauma-informed care models being highly valued in the local area.
We would be happy to consider candidates interested in working across teams/ specialties in a split post e.g. ATS with Acute or ATS with Crisis teams or ATS with DOPMH, etc. We can be flexible in developing these opportunities and would welcome informal discussions.
We encourage 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, for example, home-working, part time hours, flexible start/finish times or anything else. If it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.
Main duties of the job
The psychology and psychological therapies team at Horsham ATS comprises of an 8b lead psychologist, one 8a senior psychologist, one 8a senior CBT Therapist, one band 7 psychologist, one band 7 CBT therapist, two Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners and one trainee psychologist. Our psychologists and psychological therapists offer specialist assessments and 1:1 or group interventions to working age adults with severe and enduring mental health difficulties, working alongside families/carers and the wider professional and organisational network. The successful candidate will have skills and experience in these aspects, and in supervising other psychologists and psychological therapists, either qualified or in training. They will also have an interest and skills in supporting colleagues to develop and use psychological thinking in their work and in contributing psychological perspectives to the wider team, for example through psychological formulation and MDT consultation. Knowledge and skills in neuropsychology would be welcome but not essential. We are keen to discuss with applicants how we can use their interests and experience to develop the role.
Working for our organisation
Staff wellbeing is of central importance in the trust as a whole and in the North West Sussex locality. Our most recent psychological therapies away day focussed on this, and our upcoming away day includes a wellbeing activity of yoga with a sound bath in the West Sussex Countryside. There is an emphasis on encouraging and supporting our staff to develop, whilst working in psychologically safe environments. More locally, in Horsham ATS, staff wellbeing is supported by staff wellbeing champions, and we are lucky enough to be situated next to the beautiful Horsham Park.
A recent service-related research project highlighted that clinical supervision is a strength across North West Sussex for psychologists and psychological therapists. In this post, you will receive regular clinical supervision from a supportive and experienced clinical psychologist, with special interests in schema focused CBT and compassion focused therapy, as well as a commitment to your own wellbeing and continuing professional development. Our Trust has an exciting range of CPD opportunities, and the post-holder will be encouraged to develop knowledge and skills in line with their special interests and service and team objectives.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To work as a member of the clinical service/ team, providing a high quality, specialist applied psychology service to clients, their families or carers. In addition, to support psychological practice within the team through consultation, supervision, formulation 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.
Please refer to attached job description for more information
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.
- 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 post-qualification 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.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
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
- Dr Emma Bell
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07738758120
- Additional information
For informal enquiries please contact Dr Emma Bell, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Lead for Psychology and Psychological Therapies in North West Sussex Adult Community Services [email protected] 07738758120
About the Trust
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and learning disability care for all age groups in and 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. Working here offers continued training and development, variety, plus all the benefits of living in Sussex. Sussex is a beautiful county with good transport links, vibrant communities, picturesque rural areas, and tourist attractions, including the Coast and the South Downs. According to the Met Office West Sussex is the sunniest county in the UK, making exploring the vast countryside all the more enjoyable
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is committed to becoming a diverse employer and inclusive workplace in which people from all backgrounds can belong and pursue enriching careers. We aspire to reflect the communities we serve and, therefore, encourage applications from candidates from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. You can read more about inclusive recruitment and staff networks here. [KR1]
If you have a disability and require reasonable adjustments throughout the application or recruitment process, please get in contact with the hiring manager.
Sussex Partnership is committed to reducing carbon emissions for healthier lives; we’re actively working towards more sustainable healthcare across our whole Trust.
We’d love you to join our Trust, rated ‘good’ overall and ‘outstanding’ for caring by the CQC. Our staff agree: in our recent staff survey, 82% told us that they recognise that care for patients is our top priority.
Other key survey results:
· 70% highlighting flexible working as a key point for satisfaction at work
· 79% reporting feeling able to make suggestions to improve the work in their team
· 77% identifying opportunities to show initiative in their roles
Your benefits:
· Excellent NHS Pension
· Generous holiday entitlement (starting at 27 days + 8 bank holidays)
· Access to a host of NHS discount schemes (Blue Light Card, Health Service discounts, discounted petrol etc.)
· Free parking on-site
· Access to full psychological support, via our internal wellbeing team
Excellent supervision programmes, with ongoing opportunities for training and development
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