Job summary
- Main area
- Clinical Psychology
- Grade
- Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Mon - Friday 9- 5pm)
- Job ref
- 395-WF058-25
- Employer
- NELFT NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Wood Street Health Centre
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £64,455 - £74,896 pa (plus HCAS) pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 10/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading
EDP Pathway Lead
Band 8b
Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for three consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
We are very excited to share that our Waltham Forest Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (WF CAMHS) has an opportunity for an experienced Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join our large and established team.
You would provide clinical and operational leadership to the Emotional Difficulties Pathway (EDP) as HCPC-registered Practitioner Psychologist (Band 8b Principal Clinical / Counselling Psychologist). The pathway provides assessment, formulation, and interventions for children and young people with a range of moderate to severe mental health difficulties (e.g. anxiety, low mood/depression, OCD, trauma) and/or their networks. It is currently made up of around 40 multi-disciplinary professionals, including psychology & allied professionals, family therapy, psychotherapy, nursing, and medics. You would work closely with the Consultant Psychiatrist for the pathway, and would be supported operationally by the Head of Service and clinically supervised by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist.
Main duties of the job
You would be part of the Senior Waltham Forest CAMHS Management Team, including 8 other Pathway Leads and 4 Consultant Psychiatrists. You would chair weekly MDT EDP team meetings as well as contribute to regular senior management meetings, cross-borough London CAMHS Leads meetings, and Waltham Forest Professions Leads meetings. You would lead the coordination, auditing, and development of the EDP, including referral processes, allocation of work, case flow, waitlist management, and evaluation of interventions provided across different disciplines. You would oversee and report on pathway targets and may also need to respond to incidents, complaints, and GDPR requests. You would proactively and compassionately champion initiatives and change to improve standards, in line with the wider London CAMHS transformation vision. You would have a commitment to collaborative working and actively supporting and liaising with other health, education, and social care professionals in line with a trauma-informed, evidence-based, and inclusive model of practice within the service.
Working for our organisation
Starting with Us
NELFT places great importance on new starters being properly welcomed into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks, including mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process, new starters will also have the opportunity to meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend several drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing, and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).
High-Cost Area Supplement
This post also attracts payment for High-Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,714 and a maximum payment of £5,941) (pro rata for part time staff).
Use of AI
Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Waltham Forest CAMHS has a vibrant group of Psychologists & Allied Professionals who are valued by the wider team and who meet face-to-face once a week. The group includes just under 20 clinical and counselling psychologists, CBT therapists and trainees, trainee psychologists, assistant psychologist, and a PBS practitioner.
You would directly clinically supervise and line manage more junior staff members. You would be expected to offer extensive expert consultation across the service and through inter-agency network meetings. You may also undertake highly specialist assessments to contribute to the clinical leadership and oversight for mental health assessments and interventions and to formulate areas of strengths and needs based on good practice and evidence. You may hold a very small caseload of young people and assess and work with complex risk and other safeguarding concerns. You would coordinate the allocation of 1:1 therapeutic work, the running of groups, and completion of cognitive assessments, including the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), and Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (ABAS).
We pride ourselves on having a compassionate, trauma-informed, evidence-based, and inclusive approach that puts both staff wellbeing and children and young people at its centre. NELFT has had significant investment in senior leadership of psychological professions across the Trust and expects ongoing commitment to developing and retaining high quality staff through CPD, supervision and an annual psychological professions conference. The Trust also has various committees as part of our commitment to promoting equality and diversity (e.g. LGBTQ+, EDI, and disability, amongst others), which frequently provide free training and regular meetings. As part of our trauma-informed approach, we strongly encourage good work/life balance, compassionate and approachable leadership, and collaborative team decision-making whenever possible.
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer closely to this when completing your application.
We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Any development needs to help you succeed in the role, can be discussed at the interview stage.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Fully registered with the appropriate professional or regulatory body (i.e. HCPC)
- Post-graduate qualified psychological practitioner (i.e. Clinical or Counselling Psychologist)
- Additional specialist training and/or accreditation in other therapeutic approaches relevant to working with children and young people (CYP) with moderate to severe and complex mental health problems and emotional and behavioural problems (e.g. EMDR, IPT-A, DDP, CAT, ACT, DBT, CFT)
- Providing focused psychological interventions for CYP aged 0-18 who have moderate to severe mental health issues, and with their caregivers/networks
- Substantial experience as Band 8a psychologist within the NHS
Desirable criteria
- Of legislation in relation to children and adolescents and safeguarding procedures and policies. Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education structures, national policies and frameworks, evidence based practice including NICE guidelines.
- Providing line management
CAMHS policy
Essential criteria
- Of the principles of Children and Young People’s IAPT / CYPMH and the iThrive model
Desirable criteria
- Of the principles of Children and Young People’s IAPT / CYPMH and the iThrive model
Skills
Essential criteria
- To appreciate the skills and interventions offered by internal and external colleagues / professionals, and consider when these may be appropriate for CYP and their caregivers instead of / alongside own interventions
- Of NHS priorities, values, and processes
Desirable criteria
- To empower those typically less heard to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion and anti-discrimination
- Of CYP development and systemic and societal issues that may impact this
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- To use and/or develop outcome measures
- Of research and models of good practice that inform direct and indirect working within CAMHS
Desirable criteria
- To offer line management, including to co-ordinate work patterns and team job plans
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
- Alec Stuart
- Job title
- Head of Service, Waltham Forest CAMHS
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07926703747
- Additional information
You would be passionate about ensuring the child's voice is central to the work we do and work in partnership with families/carers and other agencies to achieve the best possible outcomes for the child. You will promote co-production with those with lived experience and contribute to service development.
We welcome pre-application conversations. Working from home is possible on days that do not require face-to-face contacts. We may also consider working compressed hours.
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