Job summary
- Main area
- Clinical Psychologist
- Grade
- Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 812-25-JA-PALMSSeniorCP-C
- Employer
- Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- St Albans, Health and Wellbeing Centre
- Town
- St Albans
- Salary
- £64,455 - £74,896 per annum (pro rata if applicable)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 03/11/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 11/11/2025
Employer heading
Senior Clinical Psychologist
Band 8b
Job overview
Band 8a-8b development role to be considered.
PALMS (Positive behaviour, Autism, Learning disability, Mental health Service) is evolving and we want to welcome additional clinicians to be part of our vibrant multidisciplinary team which includes Clinical Psychologists, Positive Behaviour Analysts, Systemic Therapists, Learning Disability Nurses, Psychiatrists, Mental Health Practitioners, Speech and Language Therapists and Outreach Workers.
With the continued evolution of PALMS we are seeking to appoint a Senior Clinical Psychologist who is a motivated and forward thinking clinician and leader who can work flexibly and is committed to supporting CYP and their families across Hertfordshire and the full PALMS’ team
The PALMS team is well regarded, friendly, cohesive and proactive with excellent outcomes. We value feedback and empower all team members to contribute to the continuous development of the service and their own professional development and welcome innovation and change.
Main duties of the job
The ideal candidate will be:
• Dedicated to supporting CYP with an intellectual disability and/or are autistic and their families.
• Passionate about and have a desire to contribute to change in a vibrant NHS team
• Collaborative in their approach to work with families, networks, and other services
• Able to work both in a team environment and autonomously
• Able to maintain a high degree of professionalism when working in settings where there is a highly emotive atmosphere.
• Flexible in their approach and have resilience under pressure
• Have professional registration for their speciality
Working for our organisation
PALMS works across Hertfordshire providing a specialist multi-disciplinary approach. PALMS is one of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) which offers individually tailored support for children and young people (CYP), aged 0-18 who have an intellectual disability and/or are autistic, helping families to manage behaviours of concern, toileting, feeding and sleeping concerns which have not benefitted from community interventions and/or to support mental health needs which cannot be met with reasonable adjustment by other CYPMH services. Interventions include intervention workshops, intervention groups, individual therapy, parent as therapist sessions, and a family clinic. PALMS aims to keep children and young people with their families thereby improving outcomes for all family members. PALMS predominantly applies narrative, systemic, positive behaviour, and bio-psycho social models adhering to the STOMP / STAMP and Transforming Care Agendas.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
PALMS principally deliver a flexible service according to service need and personal circumstances, in a planned way. For example, for a full-time worker this equates to flexibly working 37.5 across the working week. PALMS are open to flexible working and therefore part time / job share would be considered, working a minimum of 0.6 WTE.
We offer a flexible approach to hybrid working which includes working from our bases and community settings across Hertfordshire alongside the ability to work from home as clinically appropriate. This role does require the post holder to offer assessments and interventions flexibly, sometimes at short notice, face to face with families according to the clinical needs of families and the service.
Interview date: 11th November
Person specification
Training and Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996), including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology. Two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan development psychology as accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS
- Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology
- Further specialist post-qualification training relevant to the Children and Young People and/or ASD and LD client group
- Formal training in supervision of trainee clinical psychologists
- Evidence of continued professional development as recommended by the BPS
Desirable criteria
- Leadership Qualification or equivalent experience
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working with a wide variety of CYP groups, across the whole course of 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 treat of physical abuse
- Significant experience of working with people with an intellectual disability and with people who are autistic in a range of settings and/or significant experience of working with children and young people.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for CYP’s psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and within the context of a multi- disciplinary care plan
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision of trainee clinical psychologists
- Experience of multi-disciplinary team working and inter-agency collaboration
Desirable criteria
- Experience of service quality monitoring i.e. clinical audit, evaluative research etc
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Experience of applied behaviour analysis and positive behaviour support.
- Experience of Leading on Service Development
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and /or clinically sensitive information to CYPs, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
- Knowledge of child development, child and adolescent mental health and a range of therapeutic models
- Well developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups i.e. personality disorders, dual diagnosis, people with intellectual disabilities etc
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies
- Knowledge of relevant legislation and national policies
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings
- 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 behaviours of concern
Personal Abilities
Essential criteria
- Ability to work with children & young people whose behaviour is personally challenging
- Ability to establish and maintain professional relationships and boundaries with young people
- Ability to provide a therapeutic environment which contributes to young people’s healthy development (including sexual)
- An interest in, and commitment to, working with children who have an intellectual disability and/or are autistic and/or have mental health difficulties.
- Good organisational skills and an ability to manage competing service demands.
- Ability and willingness to work flexibly including evenings and weekends.
- Capable of using initiative and maintaining professional boundaries.
- Ability to lead and work as part of a ‘virtual team’
Other Specifications
Essential criteria
- Willingness to uphold the Trust’s values
- Eligible to live and work in the UK
- Hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010)
- Willingness to travel to alternate locations to provide services
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
- Anna Dillon
- Job title
- Consultant Psychologist and Service Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01727 582122
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