Job summary
- Main area
- Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychology - Learning Disability Service
- Grade
- Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 364-A-6965-E
- Employer
- Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- 3 Heath Close
- Town
- Billericay
- Salary
- £60,983 - £70,536 per annum incl. 5% Fringe High Cost Allowance
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 02/06/2024 23:59
Employer heading
Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist - Learning Disabilities
Band 8b
About Us
EPUT provides community health, mental health and learning disability services to support more than 3.2 million people living across Bedfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Also:
- We are among the largest employers in the in the East of England region, with more than 10,000 staff working across more than 200 sites.
- We run the COVID-19 vaccination programme across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex.
EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) and South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). A new leadership team was established at the Trust in 2020.
Our vision and values
Our Vision
“To be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care”.
Our Purpose
“We care for people every day. What we do together, matters”.
Our Values
- We Care
- We Learn
- We Empower
Our strategic objectives
- We will deliver safe, high quality integrated care services.
- We will enable each other to be the best that we can.
- We will work together with our partners to make our services better.
- We will help our communities to thrive.
Our services
- Mental Health Services
- Community Health Services
- Learning Disabilities Services
- Social Care
Find out more about the services we offer in our service directory.
Job overview
EPUT's Learning Disabilities Psychology and Behaviour Therapy service in South Essex is expanding. This is an exciting time for a Principal Clinical or Counselling Psychologist who is passionate about service transformation and leadership to join and develop the service.
This post is available on a part-time basis of 22.5hrs p/week (0.6 wte). The postholder will jointly lead a vibrant team that comprises a full-time Principal Psychologist, two Senior Psychologists, a Behaviour Therapist & 2 Assistant Psychologists. They will work to improve and implement care provision for adults with learning disabilities considering assessment, intervention/therapeutic support. This work will be on an individual basis, involve family/carers, support staff, liaising with others involved in their lives, as appropriate. They will also contribute to the development of a trauma informed and responsive service in line with the Trust's objectives.
The postholder will also be involved in offering training and consultation to the MDT and agencies involved. They will be joining a well-established multi-disciplinary team and will be part of the senior leadership team within the service. The service includes Community Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, & Psychiatrists. There are opportunities for wider collaborative working in the Essex Learning Disability Partnership including the development of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Dementia & Challenging Behaviour Pathways.
Main duties of the job
The Principal Psychologist is responsible for ensuring the systematic provision of a high standard psychology service to adults within the remit of the Learning Disability team’s responsibilities. This will include providing assessment and intervention/consultation for individuals, families. carers, members of the multidisciplinary team and other agencies involved in the individuals care.
The post holder will work closely with relevant community and inpatient teams within health and voluntary sectors.
This will require a range of specialist skills and competencies in order to deliver highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment of patients with Learning Disabilities, along the treatment pathway. In addition he/she will offer advice and consultation on clients’ psychological care to other professionals, carers, and those otherwise involved in client-care.
The post holder will be responsible for
- continually delivering and maintaining high standards
- continuous service improvement
- leadership and development of others
- ensuring national targets and standards are achieved
- continuous personal development
- building trust and developing relationships to ensure service user involvement
- data quality assurance
- ensuring information is managed and applied appropriately and effectively
- championing improvement through effective change management
- ensuring equality and diversity values underpin the day to day working of the practice area.
Working for our organisation
EPUT are looking for motivated staff who share our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;
- CPD Package up to £6,000 - calculated pro rata
- Season Ticket Loans
- NHS discounts for staff
- Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
- Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
- The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
- Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
- Day One Flexible Employer
The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment
Join our Staff bank
What is Staff Bank?
Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.
All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.
If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We offer a CPD package of up to £6,000, calculated pro rata, to be used in the first three years of employment following successful completion of the probationary period and linked to the appraisal process as agreed with your line manager.
- To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests, self-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.
- To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
- To ensure that all members of the treating team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding and care of clients of the service through the provisional advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.
- To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the treatment team.
- To provide clinical placements for trainee clinical and/or counselling psychologists ensuring that trainees acquire the necessary skills, competences and experience contribute effectively to good mental health care and to contribute to the assessment and evaluation of such competences.
- To provide post qualification training and clinical professional supervision to other qualified applied psychologists attached to the Learning Disability Service and other Psychology services in EPUT, where appropriate.
- To provide the advice consultation and training and clinical supervision to other members of the MDT for their provision of psychologically based interventions to help improve clients functioning where appropriate.
- To organise, co-ordinate and provide agreed post qualification teaching where appropriate.
- To continue to develop skills in the area of professional pre and post graduate training under clinical supervision
- To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.
- In common with all Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, to receive regular clinical professional supervision from an appropriately experienced/more senior clinical psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.
- To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
- To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.
- Develop, initiate and analyse audits and surveys relevant to the service.
- To establish and maintain good relationships with service users, carers, voluntary sector colleagues and external statutory and non-statutory agencies
- To assist the Associate Clinical Director for psychological services (with responsibility for specialist services), in ensuring the provision of an evidence-based service to service users which complies with legislation, policies and procedures and relevant quality, governance and local and national guidelines.
Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for a full list of detailed responsibilities.
Person specification
Education/knowledge/qualifications
Essential criteria
- Doctoral level training in clinical psychology or Counselling Psychology or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS.
- HCPC registration and Registered with a professional clinical body (BPS)/
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS
Desirable criteria
- Post-qualification diploma or CPD courses relating to working with individuals with LD/ID or in Autism Spectrum Disorder/Conditions
Skills/experience
Essential criteria
- Evidence of competence and experience of working as a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist suitable for senior responsibilities including experience of training and supervising.
Desirable criteria
- Well developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
- Training in, and experience of the use of diagnostic assessment tools for Autism Spectrum Disorder in children/young people/adults/adults with LD/ID
Personal
Essential criteria
- Evidence of leadership and change management skills – ability to understand the wider implications of actions.
- Ability to travel across sites
- Evidence of the ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
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 Kristoff Bonello
- Job title
- Associate Clinical Director Psychological Services
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01268 568073
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