Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 354-AE-21330
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Department of Psychiatry
- Town
- Eastbourne
- Salary
- £49,387 - £56,515 pa
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 12/08/2026 08:00
Employer heading
Practitioner Psychologist / Psychological Therapist
NHS AfC: Band 7
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 tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We welcome this, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isn’t based on your real experience.
Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we’ll explore your examples further at interview, so it’s important your application genuinely represents what you bring. You can read more about using AI in applications and interviews on our recruitment process page.
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
We are looking for innovative, motivated, creative and enthusiastic applied psychologist or psychological therapist interested in working within adult acute care, to join our existing skilled and motivated multidisciplinary teams. The successful applicant will work closely with the psychological therapies team. Applications are invited from HCPC-registered applied psychologists or psychological therapists.
It is a growing psychological professions within Acute with input from a Band 8c, Band 8a and Assistant Psychologist. There is a wider acute and urgent care PP team within East Sussex with support and learning opportunities. This is an excellent opportunity to develop your clinical and leadership expertise alongside a team of committed colleagues in psychology, psychological therapy and other disciplines.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be a key member of the acute clinical team and must have a strong commitment to multi-disciplinary working. The role is varied and diverse and includes assessment and formulation of people with complex presentations, working with the whole team to develop formulations and care plans, direct interventions with service users and their families, supporting the wider team in their application of psychologically-informed approaches and supervision of colleagues. We are looking for someone with the ability to innovate and implement service improvements. The post-holder will ideally be familiar with working in an NHS setting. Experience in working with people with severe and complex mental health difficulties in crisis (across the age span) is required.
Working for our organisation
We strive to provide excellent care to our service users, their families and our staff which is demonstrated by the service’s commitment to improving service user experience, supporting staff and professional development. Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust is committed to strong integrated, collaborative leadership between managers and clinicians.
Our Trust has an exciting range of CPD opportunities available, including training in Mindfulness and MBCT, Family Interventions, CAT, Open dialogue and a wide range of other approaches and the post holder will be encouraged to develop specialist interests.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is a leading teaching and research mental health trust. We were granted teaching status in 2008 in recognition of our research background and our links with the Brighton and Sussex Medical School and other academic institutions. Applicants with an interest in research will be welcomed
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Job Description documents (Practitioner Psychologist and Psychological Therapist) for full details on the role and responsibilities.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
- Professionally registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Knowledge/Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, and inpatient settings
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of applied psychology.
- Experience working with diverse client groups across the lifespan, managing a range of clinical severity, while maintaining professionalism in the face of emotional distress, verbal abuse, and potential physical threats.
- Experience of applying psychology in different cultural contexts and working within a multicultural framework
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
- Jo Allen
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
List jobs with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Allied Health Professions or all sectors