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Job summary

Main area
Principal Psychologist in Cancer
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8b
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Part time - 15 hours per week
Job ref
285-3648-MH
Employer
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Cross Street Healthcentre
Town
Dudley
Salary
£66,582 - £77,368 pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
19/10/2026 08:00

Employer heading

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust logo

Principal Psychologist in Cancer & Palliative

NHS AfC: Band 8b

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is growing and changing. We provide specialist mental health, learning disability and community services across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. We’re looking for people who care about others, take responsibility, treat people with respect and have the confidence to speak up and shape what comes next.

We’re focused on the future, with a clear Trust Strategy and our Best for the Black Country programme driving improvement across our services and communities.

What we do

·       Adult and older adult mental health

·       Children and young people’s mental health

·       Specialist learning disability services

·       Community healthcare for children, young people and families in Dudley

Why join now

We’ve got real momentum. Clear priorities and our Best for the Black Country work mean things are moving in the right way, fast.

Our culture is built around being compassionate, accountable, respectful and empowering each other - you’ll see this in how teams support patients and colleagues every day.
You’ll be looked after. Flexible working, family-friendly policies, supportive teams, proper wellbeing support and opportunities to learn and develop.

There’s room to grow. A wide range of services, space to try ideas and a voice that’s heard.

It’s a great place to live. Diverse communities, good transport links, strong schools and green space, with a lower cost of living than many city regions.

What it’s like to work here

You’ll join friendly, skilled teams who look out for each other. We plan together, share pressures and celebrate wins. You’ll be encouraged to take ownership, speak up and learn from experience. New starters get a warm welcome and clear induction; early careers colleagues have preceptorship and buddying; experienced staff can lead, teach and innovate.

Who we are

We’re 4,000+ colleagues from many backgrounds, committed to improving health and wellbeing for our communities and for each other. If you’re interested in the role but don’t meet every requirement, please apply — we value potential, different perspectives and people who want to grow.

As part of our commitment to fairness, transparency, and personal integrity, we ask all applicants to ensure that their job applications reflect their own experiences, skills, and motivations. While AI tools can support spelling, grammar, or formatting, we expect that the content of your application—especially personal statements and responses to role-specific questions—is written by you. This helps us get to know the real you and ensures that our recruitment process remains equitable and meaningful for everyone.

Armed Forces Community

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant. We welcome applications from veterans, reservists, service leavers, military spouses and members of the wider Armed Forces community. We recognise the valuable skills, experience and attributes developed through military service and are committed to supporting the Armed Forces community in their careers.

Job overview

We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for an experienced and enthusiastic Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join our friendly, innovative, and highly valued Clinical Health Psychology Service within Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

 

Our Clinical Health Psychology Service supports individuals in adapting to and managing the psychological impact of physical health conditions, helping people develop meaningful and creative ways of living well alongside illness. The service currently operates across Dudley, Wolverhampton, and Sandwell & West Birmingham, delivering a range of specialist services across the Black Country.

 

This post is based within the Dudley Cancer Service and offers an excellent opportunity to work as part of a compassionate and psychologically informed multidisciplinary cancer pathway. The successful applicant will provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and therapeutic interventions for people affected by cancer, as well as support for families and carers where appropriate.

 

Main duties of the job

The service works closely with the cancer MDTs, supporting patients throughout all stages of their cancer journey. Psychology is highly valued within the cancer multidisciplinary teams, with psychologists contributing through regular MDT attendance, consultation, reflective practice, clinical supervision, staff support, and training.

 

As a Principal Psychologist, you will play an important role in shaping and developing psychologically informed cancer care pathways across the service, contributing to strategic service development, innovation, and the continued integration of psychology within multidisciplinary physical healthcare services.

 

The role will include providing clinical leadership, supervision, consultation, and support to other psychological professionals, alongside contributing to the wider leadership and development of the Clinical Health Psychology Service. You will work alongside other Principal Psychologists and applied psychologists, with support from a Consultant Clinical Psychologist within a well-established leadership, supervision, and operational management structure.

Working for our organisation

The post holder will benefit from joining a supportive and enthusiastic team of practitioner psychologists and psychological professionals who utilise a wide range of therapeutic approaches.

 

What Our Staff Say About Working in the Clinical Health Psychology Service

“The psychology team provided a number of opportunities for broadening experiences, and the roles are varied in nature. For example, there are opportunities to provide supervision, training, reflective practice, team development and individual client work.”

 

“Thank you for helping me grow – I wouldn’t be the psychologist I am today.”

 

“My experiences enabled me to develop skills in consultation, which in turn helped me support the development of psychological thinking within the team, across trust-wide discussions, and broader clinical decision-making forums.”

 

This is an excellent opportunity to join a thriving and expanding service that places high value on innovation, staff wellbeing, and compassionate multidisciplinary care.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job Purpose

·       Accountable for own professional practice in the delivery of highly specialist psychological care to clients with highly complex and contentious mental health conditions or learning disabilities which include challenging behaviours and possible risk of physical aggression.

·       To be compassionate in meeting the needs of clients, their carers and families.

·       To promote at all times a positive image of people with mental ill health or learning disabilities.

·       To promote at all times a positive image of the service and the wider Trust.

·       In line with the banding of the post and its service context to:

§  Exercise supervisory/professional responsibility for other psychological therapists

§  Provide leadership in multi-disciplinary training and development

§  Provide leadership in service audit and development

§  Provide leadership in service evaluation and research

Ensure that a psychological perspective is brought to service redesign and cultural change

 

Person specification

Education/ Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied Psychology (or its equivalent) as accredited by the BPS including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
  • HCPC registration as an Applied Psychologist with Chartered Status
  • Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Working as a qualified applied psychologist within the designated service including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across a range of care settings.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveDisability confident leaderCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Bronze Award

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dr Chantelle Osborne
Job title
Principal Psychologist
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01384366249
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