Job vacancy: Assistant Psychologist, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Rochdale

Job summary

Main area

Assistant Psychologist

Grade

NHS AfC: Band 4

Contract

Fixed term: 12 months (from start date)

Hours

Full time
Part time
Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (1.5 WTE total)

Job ref

311-F826-25

Employer: Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Prospect Place
Town: Rochdale
Salary: £27,485 - £30,162 per annum (pro rata for part-time)
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 11/09/2025 23:59

Assistant Psychologist

NHS AfC: Band 4

If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople

https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/values

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification to support your application for this post. Please refer to the essential criteria in the person specification which will highlight the skills, knowledge and experience you will need to demonstrate in your application, by way of example, to give yourself the best opportunity to be shortlisted.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential criteria

A first or upper second class honours degree in psychology
Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society

Desirable criteria

Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and / or research design and analysis

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of working clinically in mental health settings.
Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team.

Desirable criteria

Previous experience working as an Assistant Psychologist.
Experience of working with complex mental health difficulties
Experience of working with behaviour that challenges
Experience using word processing tools, spread sheets and statistical packages for data analysis.
Experience of service evaluation.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Have an understanding of psychological approaches to understanding complex mental health difficulties
Have an understanding of the principles of a trauma-informed approach

Skills and Abilities

Essential criteria

High level of communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive and challenging.
Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues in way that enhances psychological mindedness.

Desirable criteria

Ability to design and evaluate research projects relevant to Applied Psychology.

Work Related Circumstances

Essential criteria

Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.

Hints and tips for completing your application can be found here. We also offer virtual application support sessions each month, where you will learn some hints and tips to support you in completing your application form. To secure your place, and to find out more visit the jobs events page on our website.

Sponsorship - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

What happens after your application has been received?

You will be informed about the progress of your application following shortlisting via email. Only applicants who clearly demonstrate the criteria listed in the person specification will be shortlisted for interview. Interview invites will be sent out via email.

What happens if I am offered the position after interview?

The hiring manager will make contact with you to verbally offer you the position. The hiring manager will then inform Recruitment of the decision and provide relevant paperwork. You will be sent a formal conditional offer via email.

What pre-employment checks will I need to complete?

By conducting pre-employment checks, the recruitment team will verify that you meet the pre-conditions of the role you have been offered. Pre-employment checks will be carried out according to NHS Employment Check Standards. The checks are:

Identity verification
Right to work check
Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role)
Professional registration and/or qualification check
Occupational health assessment
Employment history and reference validation

All applicants external to the NHS will be required to provide their HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years employment. This information will used to validate employment history and references as part of pre-employment checks.

If you are offered a position with us and you require sponsorship to support your right to work, we will review your eligibility in line with government guidance. If the role you have been offered is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not able to evidence own your right to work, your conditional offer could be withdrawn.

What happens when pre-employment checks are complete?

Recruitment will liaise with you and the hiring manager to arrange a start date for your new position. You will then be booked on to a Trust Welcome Session and be sent your Pennine Care NHS Terms and Conditions.

Other important information

We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and recognise the importance of ensuring our diverse service user population is reflected within our workforce. Unfortunately, we know that, at present, there is underrepresentation of our communities in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from diverse communities to help us grow, learn, be better and consider brilliant innovation diverse people bring.
If you would like to be considered under the disability confident scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria on the person specification for the post.
If you require reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process please phone us on 0161 716 3181 at the earliest opportunity. We will support you to complete your application.
Unfortunately we are not able to guarantee the transfer of lease cars, or cover the costs of early termination charges.
We have a strict policy on unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Please do not contact our hiring managers directly.

We reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of applications have been received. To ensure you application is considered, please submit at the earliest opportunity.

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name: Jayde Midgley
Job title: Forensic Psychologist
Email address: [email protected]

If you have problems applying, contact

Address: Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
225 Old Street
225 Old Street
OL6 7SR
Telephone: 01617163181

List jobs with Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in Allied Health Professions or all sectors

Apply online now Alert me to similar vacancies

Find jobs in...

Featured jobs:

Senior Autism Assessor for Children and Young People (ADOS and/or ADIR trained) - Remote (Employed)

Time commitment: Full-time employment is preferred, though we can also offer part-time (minimum of 3 days per week).

Location: This is a fully remote role; however, you must permanently reside in the UK throughout your employment with Paloma.

The Opportunity

Paloma Health has developed a new gold-standard autism assessment pathway and our own Patient Record software system, which allows us to offer:

An exceptional service and timely assessments, as well as clear strengths and needs-based outcomes, regardless of whether an autism diagnosis is made.
High assessor role satisfaction by improving the experience of delivering assessments. For example, we are building an AI tool to streamline diagnostic report writing, which we know is a pressure of the role.

You will be a Senior Assessor within our multidisciplinary assessment team, delivering:

Remote developmental histories and child observations (via video calls)
Peer MDT diagnostic decision-making, with the support of the senior clinical MDT where required
Tech-enabled outcome report writing
Outcome calls with parents and families (via video call)

As a Senior Assessor, you have the opportunity to focus on delivering direct care. Furthermore, if you have the relevant experience and skills, you can take on an additional responsibility. We limit this to one responsibility to allow for focused time on that topic, rather than having your time stretched too thinly. When taking on an additional responsibility, your case volume is reduced, making time available for this focused time.

For Senior Assessors, additional responsibility options include supporting more complex cases, ensuring quality assurance, providing training, facilitating family engagement, and contributing to pathway development.

About you, and how we will support you

From a cultural perspective, you are:

Comfortable working in a dynamic environment and embracing change
Excited about using new technologies in your role
Always looking for ways to improve our staff and patient experience

We commit to supporting your development and well-being, including:

The Paloma Clinical Academy programme supports all clinicians at all stages of their careers to develop (e.g. to our additional responsibility Senior Assessor roles) and cross-skill (e.g. into ADHD when we launch that service).
1 protected day per month for assessor team training, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), clinical supervision and reflection.
Quarterly development conversations with clear career progression pathways.
Clear weekly timetables that support a role mix across appointments, documentation, development, and team building.

For full details please click below.

Autism Assessor for Children and Young People (ADOS and/or ADIR trained) - Remote (Employed)

Time commitment: Full-time employment is preferred, though we can also offer part-time (minimum of 4 days per week).

Location: This is a fully remote role; however, you must permanently reside in the UK throughout your employment with Paloma.

The Opportunity

Paloma Health has developed a new gold-standard autism assessment pathway and our own Patient Record software system, which allows us to offer:

An exceptional service and timely assessments, as well as clear strengths and needs-based outcomes, regardless of whether an autism diagnosis is made.
High assessor role satisfaction by improving the experience of delivering assessments. For example, we are building an AI tool to streamline diagnostic report writing, which we know is a pressure of the role.

You will work as a member of a multidisciplinary assessment team, delivering:

Remote developmental histories and child observations (via video calls)
Peer MDT diagnostic decision-making, with the support of the senior clinical MDT where required
Tech-enabled outcome report writing
Outcome calls with parents and families (via video call)

From a cultural perspective, you are:

Comfortable working in a dynamic environment and embracing change
Excited about using new technologies in your role
Always looking for ways to improve our staff and patient experience

We commit to supporting your development and well-being, including:

The Paloma Clinical Academy programme supports all clinicians at all stages of their careers to develop (e.g. to our Senior Assessor role) and cross-skill (e.g. into ADHD when we launch that).
1 protected day per month for assessor team training, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), clinical supervision and reflection.
Quarterly development conversations with clear career progression pathways.
Clear weekly timetables that support a role mix across appointments, administration, development, and team building.

For full details please click below.

ADOS Autism Assessor for Children and Young People - Exeter/South West England

ADOS Autism Assessor for Children and Young People, based in our Exeter clinic

Time commitment: Full-time employment is preferred, though we can also offer part-time (minimum of 3 days per week) or a self-employed role (again a minimum of 3 days per week).

Location: This role is in-person based at our Exeter, Devon clinic.

The Opportunity

Paloma Health has developed a new gold-standard autism assessment pathway and our own Patient Record software system, which allows us to offer:

An exceptional service and timely assessments, as well as clear strengths and needs-based outcomes, regardless of whether an autism diagnosis is made.
High assessor role satisfaction by improving the experience of delivering assessments. For example, we are building an AI tool to streamline diagnostic report writing, which we know is a pressure of the role.

You will work as a member of a multidisciplinary assessment team, delivering:

In-person child observations at our Exeter clinic
Peer MDT diagnostic decision-making, with the support of the senior clinical MDT where required
Tech-enabled outcome report writing
Outcome calls with parents and families (via video call)

From a cultural perspective, you are:

Comfortable working in a dynamic environment and embracing change
Excited about using new technologies in your role
Always looking for ways to improve our staff and patient experience

We commit to supporting your development and well-being, including:

The Paloma Clinical Academy programme supports all clinicians at all stages of their careers to develop (e.g. to our Senior Assessor role) and cross-skill (e.g. into ADHD when we launch that).
1 protected day per month for assessor team training, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), clinical supervision and reflection.
Quarterly development conversations with clear career progression pathways.
Clear weekly timetables that support a role mix across appointments, administration, development, and team building.

For full details please click below.

Job summary

Employer heading

Assistant Psychologist

NHS AfC: Band 4

Job overview

Main duties of the job

Working for our organisation

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential criteria

Desirable criteria

Experience

Essential criteria

Desirable criteria

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Skills and Abilities

Essential criteria

Desirable criteria

Work Related Circumstances

Essential criteria

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

Documents to download

Further details / informal visits contact

If you have problems applying, contact

Find jobs in...