Job summary
- Main area
- Paediatrics
- Grade
- 8C
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job ref
- 180-E-CVA4590
- Employer
- Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Addenbrookes Hospital
- Town
- Cambridge
- Salary
- £76,965 - £88,682 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 20/01/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 30/01/2026
Employer heading
Practitioner Psychologist - Gender Service
8C
Job overview
Cambridge University Hospital Foundation Trust (CUH) is seeking highly skilled and compassionate individuals to join the new NHS Children and Young People's Gender Service (East of England) in the role of Practitioner Psychologist.
Based within the Paediatrics Department at CUH, the successful applicant will have extensive experience of delivering high quality, evidence-based assessments and care to children and young people.
The post holder will provide assessments, supervision and consultation to staff and be a source of clinical expertise to the MDT.
The Cass Review into gender services for children and young people has recommended that staff should maintain a broad clinical perspective by working across related NHS services in order to embed the care of children and young people with gender-related distress within a broader child and adolescent health context. In order to facilitate this, we encourage part-time applications from staff already working in other NHS or related services. We can also work with successful candidates applying for full-time roles to agree a job plan that includes a mix of gender service activity and activity in another clinical area.
The service operates Monday-Friday. Full or part-time (minimum 3 days per week) considered.
Main duties of the job
Successful candidate will be based at Addenbrooke’s and will work with managers and clinical leads, to ensure the systematic provision of a high-quality psychological service within the Department of Paediatrics.
They will work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the Department of Paediatrics.
They will ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical supervision and support of all psychological therapists within the CYP Gender Service. This also includes ensuring there are clear systems in place for effective outcome measurement, recruitment, professional appraisal and the identification of CPD needs across the Service.
Working for our organisation
Our Trust
Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust comprises Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge. With over 13,000 staff and over 1100 beds the priorities of the Trust focus on a quality service which is all about people – patients, staff and partners. Recognised as providing ‘outstanding’ care to our patients and rated ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commissioner, is testament to the skill and dedication of the people who work here. CUH’s values – Together - Safe, Kind, Excellent – are at the heart of patient care, defining the way all staff work and behave. The Trust provides accessible high-quality healthcare for the local people of Cambridge, together with specialist services, dealing with rare or complex conditions for a regional, national and international population.
CUH is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where we can all be ourselves. We value our differences and fully advocate and support an inclusive working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential. We want to ensure our people are truly representative of all the communities that we serve. We welcome applications for all positions in the organisation irrespective of people’s age, disability, ethnicity, race, nationality, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity status or social economic background.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.
For NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough based roles, all applicants from NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who have identified that they are at risk of redundancy will be prioritised over those not at risk. However, interviews cannot be guaranteed.
This vacancy will close at midnight on 20-Jan-2026
Interviews are due to be held on 30-Jan-2026
Benefits to you
At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.
On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only café, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.
CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.
Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.
We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- • It is a condition of employment that the post-holder is registered with the Health & Care Professions Council and is eligible for registration as a Chartered Psychologist.
- • Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical, counselling or educational psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS including two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- • Good undergraduate degree (preferably relevant to psychological practice).
- • Current registration/accreditation with appropriate body with current practising certificate. (e.g. HCPC)
- • Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by relevant professional body.
- • Eligible for BPS Chartered Status. Eligible for full membership of the Division of Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology or Educational Psychology.
- • Post qualification training and/or supervised practice in one or more specialised areas of clinical work.
- • Training in clinical supervision of psychological professionals, including trainees.
- • Willingness to undertake further leadership development both formal and informal.
Desirable criteria
- • Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- • BACP accreditation
- • Further training in a specific psychological assessment, model or intervention specific to the role remit/area of work. Qualification or training in one or more recognised and standardised diagnostic assessment/s for Autistic Spectrum Conditions e.g. ADOS2 and ADI-R.
- • Leadership development qualification / training.
- • Member of British Psychological Society.
Experience
Essential criteria
- • Additional training in a specialised area of psychological practice relevant to working with complex CYP through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice–based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma.
- • Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in an area of relevant clinical practice.
- • Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in an area of relevant clinical practice.
- • Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in an area of clinical practice relevant to the client group
- • Substantial experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist with a wide variety of client groups across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient/residential care settings, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- • Substantial experience of representing psychology within multi-disciplinary settings.
- • Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care and intervention, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
- • Ability to work effectively within safeguarding procedures in the context of a therapeutic service.
- • Experience of teaching, training and providing professional/clinical supervision to others (including qualified psychologists and other professionals) including use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings
- • Experience of planning and implementing service developments in accordance with local and national policy objectives.
- • Experience of employing a range of assessment methods.
- • Experience of working clinically with people who present with challenging behaviours, and/or people who have communication and/or learning difficulties.
- • Experience of leading and contributing to the development of services.
Desirable criteria
- • Experience of professional leadership and/or management of qualified and pre-qualified psychologists and psychological therapists and/or multi-professional management health / social care services.
- • Experience working therapeutically with children and young people with significant behavioural, emotional or mental health difficulties, and their families/carers.
- • Experience of work in neurodevelopmental or learning disability services.
- • Experience of group work, particularly of relevance for Children, Young people and their families / carers.
- • Experience of working in the NHS.
- • Experience of working with third sector providers
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- • Up to date knowledge of: 1) the psychological needs of people with gender incongruence and a range of co-presenting difficulties. 2) current best practice when working with this client group, wider clinical issues as evidenced by CPD log as
- • Knowledge and skills in the assessment and treatment of neuro-developmental difficulties and the usual range of co-presenting problems.
- • Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
- • Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological interventions.
- • Highly developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
Desirable criteria
- • Experience of working within a multicultural framework
Skills
Essential criteria
- • Ability to exercise highly advanced and complex negotiating skills in planning, developing and establishing services, in particular where services interface with different areas within and outside of the organisation.
- • Demonstrated skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- • Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.
- • Knowledge of relevant health and social care legislation.
- • Ability and knowledge relating to self -harm and safeguarding related risk assessment and care -planning.
- • Ability to meet the travelling requirements of the post.
- • Skills in the management of verbal abuse and physical aggression.
- • Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours.
- • Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material.
- • Ability to develop and use complex multi - media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
Additional Requirements
Essential criteria
- • A passion and enthusiasm for developing psychologically informed services for children and young people and their families and carers.
- • Ability to contain and work with organisational stress and hold the stress of others.
- • Ability to demonstrate leadership and management skills with the ability to create a culture where staff are valued and supported.
- • To support and maintain high quality clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive behaviour and challenging behaviour.
- • Ability to contain the emotional stress of working with clients who are extremely distressed.
- • Ability to provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly challenging situations and challenging behaviours.
- • A desire to champion and enable children and young people and their parents / carers.
- • Able to demonstrate a positive and nonjudgemental attitude towards service users and their family and carers.
- • Willing to reflect on own practice and to learn from this.
- • Ability to work constructively in a multidisciplinary environment, respect others and to contain the complex demands and conflicts that this can engender.
- • Ability to develop productive therapeutic relationships with a range of service users.
- • Ability to deliver sustained effort and concentration to produce demanding pieces of work.
- • Ability to sit and to concentrate for prolonged periods in order to deliver sessions of client based work.
- • Ability to Travel.
- • The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of Together-safe, kind, excellent.
- • Actively promote and value equality, diversity and inclusion, treating others with dignity and respect.
- • Compliance with all Trust policies and procedures.
- • Evidence of working as an effective team member.
- • Demonstration of confidentiality.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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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
- Gender Service Lead
- Job title
- Gender Service Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
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