Assistant Psychologist

Assistant Psychologist

AfC Band 5 (pro rata) plus a High Secure Environmental Allowance of £1,750.47 per annum (pro rata) and a High Secure Clinical Responsibility Allowance of £4,201.29 per annum (pro rata)

Full time and Part time available

Hours – 37 x 1

18.5 x2

Contract Duration – Permanent

Post Details - The State Hospital provides mental health care and treatment in conditions of special security for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Psychology Service provides forensic clinical psychology to Clinical Teams within the hospital as well as leading offence-focused groups and psychosocial interventions. This is a multi-professional collaboration offering therapeutic interventions addressing mental health and recovery, sexual and other offending, health behaviour change, and psychological interventions for those with intellectual disabilities. The post provides an excellent opportunity to enhance clinical experience and to become involved in areas of research. The department has links with the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Assistant Psychologists are required to contribute to the development, evaluation and delivery of psychological programmes as well as having a role within clinical teams. The post will provide supervision and experience relevant to aspiring forensic, clinical and research psychologists. Continued professional development is encouraged in this post.

Experience – The position requires a psychology degree awarded at 2:1 or above and graduate basis for registration with BPS. Successful applicants will demonstrate high levels of professionalism and self-motivation. Previous clinical, research or forensic experience is required.

Closing Date – The closing date for applications is 11th November 2025 For an informal discussion please contact Dr Louise Kennedy, Consultant Clinical Psychologist on or Leanne Banks, Clinical Psychologist on

If you have any queries or require assistance regarding the application form or recruitment process, please contact the HR Team on to discuss your requirements.

Please note we anticipate a high level of interest in this position therefore we may close the vacancy prior to the closing date once a sufficient amount of applications are received. Please ensure you complete and submit your online application at an early stage to avoid disappointment [delete if applicable].

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society. It should be noted that the State Hospital is a high secure hospital and the current organisational position based on a risk assessment is that we welcome applications from people under the age of 18 for non clinical roles however to be eligible for a clinical role applicants should be 18 years and older. Should you have any questions in relation to this please contact

Right to Work – To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.

As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check this entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa, and settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, and if you can demonstrate such cover, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.

For specific types of post, it might be possible to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or 'going rate'. Further information on these criteria can be found here.

Please note that the State Hospital is NOT licensed to issue certificates of sponsorship under current UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) regulations. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship to work with us.

It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you have an appropriate right to work in the UK BEFORE applying.

Reduced Working Week* - Starting from 1 April 2024, the working week for NHS Agenda for Change workers in Scotland will be reduced. Full-time hours will be reduced from 37.5 to 37 hours, and part-time staff will get a pro-rata reduction in their working hours without losing any earnings. Although the State Hospital will implement this change, it may not be possible to transition fully from 1 April. Therefore, there may be some areas in the organisation where implementation may take longer. If the department cannot safely accommodate the reduced hours from 1st April, you may be required to work 37.5 hours per week (pro rata for part-time staff) until the department can meet the requirements without impacting patient safety. Of course, you will be remunerated accordingly. The State Hospital is committed to fully implementing the 36-hour working week across all areas as soon as it is safe to do so.