Job summary
- Main area
- CAMHS
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 354-CS-21833
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Swift Specialist Family Services
- Town
- Eastbourne
- Salary
- £31,049 - £37,796 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 04/01/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Senior Assistant Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 5
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
The SWIFT Specialist Family Service have an exciting opportunity for an Assistant Psychologist to join them.
This East Sussex wide service is an innovative collaboration between Health and Social Care and delivers safe, effective and caring services to those children and young people/families and carers with child protection and risk concerns within the county.
Main duties of the job
SWIFT Specialist Family Services is jointly commissioned by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and East Sussex County Council. This role is divided across two services, the SWIFT Child Assessment and Treatment Team (SWIFT CAT) and Youth Justice Service.
The SWIFT CAT Team is a multi-disciplinary team comprised of child psychiatrists, psychologists, a systemic family therapist, clinical nurse specialist, social workers and specialist intervention workers. The team provide specialist assessments and interventions to children, young people and their families, who are open to Children’s Services. These families and children have frequently experienced a significant number of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and are at significant risk of emotional, physical, sexual harm, and neglect because of complex difficulties.
The SWIFT CAT team has bases in both Eastbourne and Hastings. However, travel across the whole of East Sussex will be required.
Working for our organisation
At Sussex Partnership we are committed to providing opportunities for flexible working. If you would like to work differently or different hours to as advertised, please get in touch to discuss this in more detail.
Both teams are part of East Sussex Children’s Services, one of only five Local Authorities in the country to have an outstanding Ofsted rating.
Also, if you haven’t thought about living and working in East Sussex before then you should consider the following:
• Journey from the coast to the countryside in minutes
• Enjoy a lifestyle where there are renowned cycle routes and picturesque walks, including the famous South Downs Way in the South Downs National Park!
• Embrace taking time to discover all the miles of scenic coastline
• Easy access to airports - Gatwick and Heathrow are both within 90 minutes of the county, providing links to Europe and beyond
• London is also within easy reach via local and national bus routes and national mainline stations
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You will contribute to and support the provision of psychological assessments of children, young people and their families, including clinical assessments, cognitive assessments and assessments of risk, under the supervision of the qualified clinical psychologists in the teams focusing on adopted children and young people.
You will also contribute to specialist complex neurodevelopmental assessments (I.e., Autism Spectrum Condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder & Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) for children and young people.
These assessments may include undertaking observations and interviews and administering and scoring psychometrics. Experience of using the WAIS, WISC and ABAS is desirable, but not essential as training and support will be provided.
You will contribute to and support the provision of interventions, both direct and indirect. There may be opportunity for you to undertake some brief, time-limited interventions with children, young people, and families, such as emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills, and parenting work, under supervision.
You will contribute to service development, service evaluation and research to support the work of the psychologists and the wider multidisciplinary team. This may include supporting the collection, collation and maintenance of data relating to existing interventions and service provision. Experience of the use of psychometrics as outcome measures would be desirable.
You will be expected to attend team and service wide meetings and professional development sessions. You will also be provided with your own independent study time. You will be supervised by qualified clinical psychologists within the teams who will support your professional development.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Honours degree at 2:1 or above in Psychology, or equivalent. Eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartership with the BPS
Knowledge/Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working with people with complex needs
- Experience of working with people with disabilities, in a health or Mental Health setting and or work with people with complex needs
- Relevant clinical and research skills
- Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
- Basic knowledge of databases, research skills and methodology
- Experience of group work and individual therapeutic contact
- Ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a health context
- An understanding of psychology applied to health care
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.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Kim Merrick
- Job title
- Principle Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07710290940
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