Job summary
- Main area
- Psychology
- Grade
- 4
- Contract
- 12 months (Fixed Term)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 363-BED7569046
- Employer
- East London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Florence Ball House
- Town
- Bedford
- Salary
- £27,485 - £30,162 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 23/11/2025 08:00
Employer heading
Assistant Psychologist - Bedford
4
ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Job overview
We are seeking a highly motivated and organised Assistant Psychologist to support the work of our Clinical Psychologists and Psychological Therapists in our CMHT in Bedford. You will be able to take up a fixed-term contract for a period of 12 months and be available to start the post in January 2026. The role will be critical to supporting the provision of psychological therapies within the teams and of community-based psycho-educational and skills groups. There are Quality Improvement (QI) projects running in the teams and involvement in these projects as a member of the QI project team is integral to the role.
Interviews are in person at the CMHT in Bedford and will be held on Wednesday 26th November 2025.
Main duties of the job
The successful applicant will ideally have experience of supporting and facilitating groups under supervision. They will also have a strong academic record with excellent written and verbal communication skills, excellent IT literacy skills and skills in data collection and evaluation. We are also looking for people who are able to engage positively and sensitively with people with mental health difficulties and their support networks. The ability to work collaboratively with other professions is a central part of the post in order to provide holistic care within a bio-psychosocial model.
Working for our organisation
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Your supporting statement must start with “three reasons to shortlist me” and must give those reasons within 300 words. If this section is not included you will not be considered for shortlisting. Please see detailed Job Description and Person Spec for details of the post.
Person specification
Education/qualification/training
Essential criteria
- A first or upper second class (2:1) honours degree in Psychology conferring eligibility for graduate basis for registration with the British Psychological Society
Desirable criteria
- Attendance at short courses relevant to the post (eg further training in working with people with Complex Emotional Needs or Psychosis/Bipolar Disorder)
Experience
Essential criteria
- Work with client groups with severe mental health problems (eg Complex Emotional Needs, Psychosis, Bipolar Disorder)
- Experience in supporting psychological assessment and delivering individual and/or group interventions under supervision
- Completing and conducting service-related research or service evaluation
Desirable criteria
- Experience of work in the NHS giving awareness of NHS values and structures.
- Experience working in a clinical multi-disciplinary team, as an Assistant Psychologist or direct care giver.
- Experience in communicating sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues.
- Experience of QI Framework and working on QI Projects
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems.
- An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context.
- Aware of the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health.
- Skills in engaging positively with a wide range of people with respect for diversity and encouraging inclusion.
- Able to draw upon a specific theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of facts or situations to arrive at appropriate formulations, under clinical supervision.
- High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
- Ability to work independently, prioritising workload, within agreed time frames, and using supervision appropriately within limits of competence.
- Ability to create and maintain effective relationships within the Clinical team and with a range of professionals.
- IT literate including expertise in using Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) to a professional standard
Applicant requirements
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
- Sarah Chadwick
- Job title
- Principal Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07384249671
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