Clinical Psychologist Leader

Job Overview

We are pleased to welcome applications for a part-time Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist for Bolton Adult Inpatient Services. This post offers the opportunity to lead an established inpatient psychology team, comprising 2 qualified psychological practitioners, 2 assistant psychologists, trainee clinical psychologists, and a peer support worker. The post holder will lead on providing an excellent psychological service to 2 adult inpatient wards and 1 psychiatric intensive care unit.

Working with the Bolton Divisional Lead for Psychology, you will ensure that the service follows key principles of trauma-informed and therapeutic inpatient environments. Collaborating with a full multidisciplinary team on the wards, each day will be different. Key clinical aspects of your role will include developing team formulations, completing complex individual assessments, training and supervising ward staff, and carrying a clinical caseload. You will oversee the work of psychological practitioners, developing a range of group and individual activities.

Main Duties of the Job

• Indirect working with clinical teams to develop psychological formulations
• Complex assessments
• Short-term therapeutic interventions
• Teaching and training of non-psychology staff
• Supervision and line management of junior psychology staff
• Working with senior managers to develop psychologically informed models of care

Working for Our Organisation

Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) Foundation Trust employs over 6,400 members of staff, delivering services from more than 160 locations. We provide inpatient and community-based mental health care for people living in Bolton, Manchester, Salford, Trafford, and Wigan, as well as specialist mental health and substance misuse services across Greater Manchester, the north-west of England, and beyond.

As a lead psychologist, you will join a community of professional psychological practitioners working in secondary care services across Bolton, maintaining ongoing professional support and development.

Staff Benefits

• Pay enhancements for evenings, Saturdays, Sundays, and bank holidays
• 27 days annual leave, rising to 29 after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years
• Excellent pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrifice car scheme
• Wellbeing programme
• Blue Light Card Discounts

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential Criteria

• Postgraduate doctorate in Clinical Psychology or Counselling Psychology (or equivalent for those trained before 1996)
• Completion of further post-qualification training in psychological therapies (CAT, DBT, CFT, MBT, etc.)

Experience

Essential Criteria

• Substantial post-qualification experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the lifespan and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across a wide range of care settings
• Experience of working as a practitioner psychologist, demonstrating competencies relevant to the position required for Band 8b
• Experience of providing supervision and training to psychologists, psychological therapists, or other core health professions
• Experience of clinical leadership or heading a service and representing a service at a senior level
• Demonstrable post-qualification experience of working with complex health problems, including distressing psychosis, problems associated with complex relational and emotional needs, and severe depression, anxiety, and trauma
• Experience in risk assessment, formulation, and management and working with people experiencing a suicidal crisis
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan
• Substantial experience of working within a multidisciplinary team in an area relevant to adult acute inpatient services
• Experience of developing team formulations for clients with high levels of complexity and risk to support reflective practice and care planning

Knowledge

Essential Criteria

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to clients with complex, severe, and enduring mental health problems, including the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act
• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult-to-treat groups (personality disorders, dual diagnoses, etc.)
• Experience of providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
• Evidence of CPD as recommended by BPS & KSF

Desirable Criteria

• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists

Skills

Essential Criteria

• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Ability to provide rapid psychological assessment and brief psychological interventions, especially in the management of risk
• Ability to work at a high level of professional autonomy and responsibility, in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment and also as a lone worker in circumstances where there may be exposure to verbal and sometimes physical aggression
• Skills in providing consultation to other professionals and non-professional groups
• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team and to liaise effectively with other professionals
• Ability to work and communicate highly sensitive, contentious information effectively in a highly emotive or hostile atmosphere, and to overcome barriers to acceptance/psychological resistance to potentially threatening information
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional, and academic settings
• Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour
• Ability to demonstrate GMMH Trust values within the workplace

Applicants are encouraged to apply for posts at Greater Manchester Mental Health who have direct experience of mental health, learning disability, or drug and alcohol services either as a service user or a carer.

The Trust is also committed to safeguarding children, young people, and vulnerable adults and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We are aspiring to ensure our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve, and we are strongly committed to removing barriers to employment for candidates from under-represented groups, for example, BAME, Disabled, and LGBT+ communities. If you would like to have an informal chat about the recruitment process for this role or would value some additional support, we'd love to hear from you.

Sponsorship

We are proud to be an approved sponsor for the Skilled Worker visa. Applications from individuals who require sponsorship will be considered alongside all other applications. Please be aware that not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible roles and salary requirements on the UK Government's website – click .

If you are offered a role with us and you require sponsorship, we will check your eligibility in line with the information on the above website. Your offer of employment could be withdrawn if the role is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not otherwise able to evidence your right to work in the UK.

Do you have experience outside the NHS?

We want to attract and retain people with diverse skills and experience, to deliver inclusive healthcare services to our communities.

We will consider relevant experience outside the NHS to calculate your salary on appointment.