Job summary
- Main area
- CAMHS
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 15 hours per week
- Job ref
- 354-CS-21830
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Royal Alex Hospital
- Town
- Brighton
- Salary
- £55,690 - £62,682 pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 04/01/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Clinical Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Come and join us
We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.
At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.
We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.
We recognise that AI is becoming part of daily life and you may choose to use it to help prepare your application. We welcome innovation but ask that anything you submit reflects your own abilities, experience and voice. AI can support how you describe your skills and experience, but it should never replace your own words as we want to get to know you.
We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 8a Psychologist, to lead the Long-Term Conditions part of Paediatric Psychological Support Service based at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital.
The post-holder will be part of a small team of psychologists working with children diagnosed with a range of long-term medical conditions (e.g. inflammatory bowel diseases, juvenile arthritis, epilepsy) living in Brighton and Hove. This role includes close collaboration with another 8a psychologist who leads on working with children with long-term conditions living outside of Brighton and Hove.
Main duties of the job
The Long-Term Conditions Service offer short-term therapy, as well as consultation and training to support the needs of children diagnosed with long-term medical conditions. as a service, we draw on a range of therapeutic approaches including CBT, systemic, mindfulness, ACT and EMDR. The focus of this role would be to oversee the incoming referrals to the service and responses to these, including holding a clinical caseload and supervising the clinical work of a band 7 psychologist (and at times a trainee clinical psychologist). This role would suit a flexible and dynamic practitioner who is able to develop treatment plans that are tailored to the needs of children, young people and their families, which might include individual, parent-child, parent or group work, as well as close liaison with medical teams and other agencies. There is room for innovation within the service, with previous practitioners offering Tree of Life groups, Woodland Wellbeing days and sea swimming groups to support young people to have a different experience of themselves and build their confidence. Opportunities to develop appropriate staff training and group work is also supported where this meets a clinical need. The post-holder would be encouraged to supervise or co-supervise a trainee clinical psychologist.
Working for our organisation
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and learning disability services in and across Sussex. Psychological therapies are highly valued in Sussex Partnership and Psychological therapists occupy a range of senior positions across the Trust, it is a great Trust to work in as a Psychologist. Working here offers continued training and development, variety, plus all the benefits of living in Sussex. Sussex is a beautiful county with good transport links, vibrant communities, rural areas, and tourist attractions, including the Coast and the South Downs. The Trust has recently been rated by the CQC as Good overall and Outstanding for care.
We encourage flexible working. We know that a positive work/ life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which has a positive impact on the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working, for example, home-working, part time hours, flexible start/ finish times or anything else. If it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We are looking for an enthusiastic and innovative practitioner who is passionate about and skilled in working in health settings and/ or of working with children, who is keen to develop their skills in the psychology of health conditions. If this sounds like you, please contact us.
Supervision of band 7’s 2 x 1 hour per month
Supervision of a trainee – could co-supervise with a colleague (1 hour per week s/v) or supervise full placement (1.5-2 hours per week s/v)
Oversight of and responses to referrals/ queries about the service outside of referrals meetings and afterwards (e.g. reviewing and confirming referral response letters drafted by admin)
Attendance at referrals meeting/ LTC team meeting/ business meeting (currently all on a Tuesday)
4 direct clinical cases weekly if not supervising a trainee. If supervising a trainee, weekly direct clinical hours would be replaced by supervision (3 clinical cases for co-supervising; 2 direct clinical cases if supervising full placement)
Occasional more urgent response on ward if there is capacity
Liaison with medical teams/ school/ social care/ other agencies ad hoc as needed for cases/ referral queries
Job title
Email address
Telephone number
Person specification
[WT1]Not sure if this stuff would normally go on front page of advert? I've adjusted it anyway - it's a starting point for you guys but likely would need to be adjusted depending on who comes in. Also would need adjusting if Emma's hours added to it.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Doctoral level training in applied psychology [or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 or outside the UK], including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, approved by the HPC.
- Professionally registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Professions Council (HPC)
Knowledge/Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
- Demonstrate specialist experience gained postqualification of working as an applied psychologist with evidence of having received a substantial amount of clinical supervision (normally in the region of approximately 50 hours).
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Experience of the application of applied psychology in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework
- Knowledge of guidance and legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
- High level of knowledge and skills in neuropsychology and evidence of further practice and/or training since qualification.
- Formal training in supervision of other psychologists
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HPC
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
- Fran boulter
- Job title
- General Manager CAMHS
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07710978409
- Additional information
Nick White
Consultant Psychologist
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