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Job summary

Main area
Psychologist
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8b
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Part time
  • Flexible working
  • Compressed hours
30 hours per week
Job ref
285-2718F-MH
Employer
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Trust Wide
Town
Dudley/Walsall
Salary
£64,455 - £74,896 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
22/01/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust logo

Principal Clinical/Forensic/Counselling Psychologist

NHS AfC: Band 8b

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is growing and changing. We provide specialist mental health, learning disability and community services across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, and we’re hiring people who want to shape what comes next.

Formed on 1 April 2020 through the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, we’re now focused on the future with a new Trust Strategy and our Best for the Black Country programme.

What we do

·       Adult and older adult mental health

·       Children and young people’s mental health

·       Specialist learning disability services

·       Community healthcare for children, young people and families in Dudley

Why join now

·       We’ve got real momentum right now. New strategy, clear priorities and our Best for the Black Country work mean things are moving in the right way, fast.

·       Our values aren’t just posters. People are genuinely compassionate, take responsibility, treat you with respect and help you feel confident and empowered.

·       You’ll be looked after. Flexible working, family-friendly policies, supportive teams, proper wellbeing support and chances to learn with coaching and development.

·       There’s room to grow. Loads of services to explore and real space to try ideas and be heard.

·       It’s a good place to live. Friendly diverse communities, easy transport, good schools and colleges, shopping, food, lots to do, plenty of green space and a lower cost of living than many other city regions.

What it’s like to work here

You’ll join friendly, skilled teams who look out for each other. We plan together, share caseload pressures, and celebrate wins. New starters get a warm welcome and clear induction; early careers colleagues have preceptorship and buddying; experienced staff can lead, teach and innovate. You’ll have space to do good work, speak up, and see the difference you make.

Who we are

We’re 4,000+ colleagues from many backgrounds, committed to improving health and wellbeing for our communities and for each other. If you’re excited about the role but don’t tick every box, please apply. We value potential and transferable experience.

Job overview

This is an opportunity for someone who is keen to use their leadership and psychological skills in a fast-paced MDT environment.  The role is suitable to those who put patient care and recovery at the centre of their practice.   
Taking the role as Principal Psychologist, you will offer leadership support and clinical supervision to other psychologists who work across all of the in-patient areas.  You will also offer your own clinical skills into the in-patient services across the trust to support MDT's, engage in psychological care with patients and work systemically with the ward-based staff and wider urgent care psychology services.  
You will join a wider team of urgent care psychologists (clinical, forensic and counselling) who work across in-patients, Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Mental Health Liaison Teams (MHLS) and Crisis and Home Treatment Teams (CRHTT). 

Main duties of the job

This post will allow you to take a key role in further developing and enhancing the psychological offer within the in-patient setting.  Your role will involve working on the wards and engaging in individual client work including psychological assessments, formulation, care planning, interventions and risk assessments and management within the context of MDT working.  You will also work systemically with the MDT in facilitating reflective practice groups and the development and delivery of training packages.  If successful in your application, you will oversee the Senior Psychologists, Assistant Psychologists and Trainee Psychologist within the service areas, offering opportunities to strengthen your own supervisory and leadership skills.  You will be supported by the Consultant Psychologist for Urgent Care.
As a Principal Psychologist, there are opportunities to get involved in organisational and service development work streams, encouraging you to look beyond your team and support the wider system.
We have links with the local universities across the clinical and forensic psychology doctorate courses. 
 

Working for our organisation

BCHFT is a relatively new organisation having formed in 2020 from two legacy Trusts (Black Country Partnership and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Trusts). 

Across the organisation, there is on place a strong leadership structure for psychology supported by the Divisional Leads for Psychology and the Director of Therapies.  We have a robust trust wide Consultant Psychology leadership team who support strategic developments across the organisation, as well as offering support to the family of psychological professional staff.

We are highly regarded by colleagues of all professions within our services and are the go to people for complex problems and creative ideas to make a difference to staff, patients and carers.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We are looking for an applied clinical/forensic/counselling psychologist who is keen to apply their knowledge and skills in an in-patient setting  Good team working skills is essential.  Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification form.

 

Person specification

Qualifications, knowledge and skills

Essential criteria
  • Post-graduate doctoral level training in Applied Psychology (or its equivalent as accredited by the BPS including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
  • HCPC registration
  • Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees
  • Evidence of continuing professional development
  • Working as a qualified applied psychologist within the designated service including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings.
  • Liaison and joint working with statutory, voluntary and private sector agencies
  • Research and development experience
  • Experience of training and teaching others
  • Active participation in quality improvement and service governance initiatives
  • Experienced in risk assessment and management
  • Demonstrable evidence of Trust behaviours
  • Demonstrable evidence of good communication skills
  • Willing to work flexibly across all the trust wide in-patient areas
  • Completed service evaluations and audits
  • Experience in working on service development and re-design
  • Experienced in the supervision of Applied Psychologists, Trainee Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists
Desirable criteria
  • BPS / ACP membership
  • Project management work

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveDisability confident leaderCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Bronze Award

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dr Rakhee Fatania
Job title
Consultant Forensic Psychologist
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0121 612 8623
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