Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 246-CEN7700037-B
- Employer
- Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Central Youth Service
- Town
- Norwich
- Salary
- £64,455 - £74,896 gross per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 14/04/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Principal Clinical Psychologist
Band 8b
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience
Job overview
We are delighted to advertise a Principal Clinical Psychologist post for the Central Norfolk Children and Young Persons (CYP) Youth Service. This service supports young people aged 14-25 who are experiencing moderate to severe mental health difficulties. We have enthusiastic and skilled staff who work as a strong multi-disciplinary team to make a real difference to young people, their families and carers.
We are looking to recruit an experienced and confident Clinical Psychologist who is passionate about working with young adults with mental health difficulties. The role involves delivering specialist psychological therapies, leading and supervising the psychology and therapies staff, and helping to develop the service provision under the supervision of the Associate Director of Psychology/Consultant Clinical Psychologist for Central Norfolk CFYP. We are keen to hear from applicants who would be interested in completing further training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and/or Mentalisation-Based Therapy (MBT).
Interested parties are invited to call for an informal discussion or visit.
Main duties of the job
The role of the Principal Clinical Psychologists within our Youth Service is to provide senior clinical leadership within the specified team, with an expectation that a proportion of time is spent involved in direct client work, alongside a significant focus upon leadership activities:
- Providing specialist psychological therapies, holding a small caseload
- Providing clinical supervision to psychologist, therapists and other practitioners within the team.
- Collaborative and shared leadership of the team with the Community Team Manager and Consultant Psychiatrist.
- Providing consultation to indirectly support the delivery of treatment by others.
- Establishing and leading on a psychologically safe and informed environment for teams and staff through positive leadership values and behaviours, including integrity, respect, compassion and curiosity.
- Providing a key role in team containment, working with professional systems, having difficult conversations, managing team emotions, and thinking systemically.
- Running, contributing to or supporting service development projects in liaison with the Consultant Psychologist or other staff from the Senior Leadership Team.
- Providing and contributing significantly to the psychological practice of the team with a focus on quality, efficacy and increasing improvement.
- Working alongside the Consultant Clinical Psychologists for CFYP services across Suffolk and Norfolk in developing clinical pathways
Working for our organisation
As an employer, I and Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust are particularly committed to enabling our staff to do the very best they can through support and training, as well as opportunities for progression. We are confident, therefore, that the right candidate will have a real chance to make a positive impact to the lives of young people in Norfolk.
Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.
Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.
Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you’ll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We’re an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The CYP services in Central Norfolk provide specialist mental health interventions to young people up to 25 in the Central Norfolk area, as well as providing specialist intervention to Looked After and Adopted Children across Norfolk and Waveney. Currently the CYP services in Norfolk are divided into an under 14 CAMH Service and a 14-25 Youth Service, although this is likely to change in 2026-27 to an under-18s CAMH service and a 18-25 YAMH service. This post will remain in the YAMH Service following this change.
Please find attached our Job Description and Person Specification for more detail on your Key Accountabilities, then if you feel you have what it takes to make a difference in your local communities, click APPLY!
Some of the benefits you can expect:
- NHS pension
- a comprehensive in house & external training programmes
- career progression
- starting annual leave of 27 days per annum increasing to 33 days pa based on length of service (plus paid bank holidays)
- staff physio service
- NHS discounts and many more.
Interview dates are yet to be set; you will be contacted via email and invited to book a time. These emails may go to your SPAM, so please keep checking all your emails if applying.
Please visit our Facebook and Twitter page @NSFTjobs
* Previous applicants need not apply *
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology, or its equivalent, including eligibility for chartered status with the BPS
- Further post-qualification, post-graduate training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- Registered as a practitioner psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of CPD in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
Experience
Essential criteria
- Specialist complex psychological assessment and treatment of people with a wide range of mental health problems, of varying severity and complexity.
- Extensive experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist and evidence of specialist knowledge gained through practice and ongoing training.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups and presenting problems including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
Desirable criteria
- Representing psychology within MDT setting (clinical and organisational contexts).
- Experience of clinical work in a setting relevant to the post
Skills
Essential criteria
- Use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
- Assessment, evaluation and management of risk associated with mental ill health and related psychopathology.
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively complex, highly technical and clinically highly sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
Desirable criteria
- Production of reports suitable for public presentations and presentation in medico-legal setting.
- High level knowledge in the assessment and evaluation of psychological therapies.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnosis, people with additional disabilities etc.)
- Practitioner level knowledge of at least two models of psychological therapy.
- Legislation and its implication for clinical practice and the appropriate management of people presenting with mental health problems
Other
Essential criteria
- Commitment to continuing professional development, to partnership working and to reflective clinical practice.
- Able to identify, and employ appropriate clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
- Experience of providing specific support intervention and strategy for staff.
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
- Charlotte Granger
- Job title
- Associate Director of Psychology
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 03300581840
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