12110 - Principal Registered Psychologist - Psychology Services - North East

Ministry of Justice; England; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A governmental agency seeks a Principal Psychologist in North East & Yorkshire. The role entails leading a quality psychology service across 12 prisons, requiring management of registered and trainee psychologists. Responsibilities include conducting evaluations, driving research, and overseeing treatment programs. The position supports hybrid working and involves significant travel across facilities. Applicants must be registered psychologists with strong leadership and consultancy skills. Competitive benefits are offered.

Benefits

Hybrid working

Professional development opportunities

Competitive salary

Qualifications

• Must be a registered psychologist with effective leadership skills.
• Experience in managing psychology services and teams is essential.
• Ability to conduct evaluations and psychological assessments.

Responsibilities

• Lead professional psychology service within the region.
• Manage and provide leadership for psychologists.
• Conduct psychological assessments and interventions as required.

Skills

Leadership

Psychological assessment

Supervision

Research

Consultancy

Education

Registered psychologist

Chartered psychologist (if required)

Job description

Principal Psychologist within North East & Yorkshire. The post holder will be a core member of the senior leadership team, working with peers to lead a quality psychology service across the 12 prisons within the region. The role will include strategic oversight of a priority area for the region. Travel across prisons will be required. Hybrid working will be supported.

Overview of the job

This is a functional management job within an establishment.

Summary

The job holder will be responsible for managing a number of work area(s) within the Psychology of the establishment. These include all aspects of the Psychology and should include the management of registered and trainee psychologists. As a member of the senior management team, they will contribute and implement their objectives as defined in the Establishment’s Business Plan.

The Head of Psychology must be a registered psychologist and where there is a requirement of the post, a chartered psychologist.

This is a non-operational job with line management responsibility.

Responsibilities, Activities and Duties

• Accountable for managing and providing professional leadership of psychologists.
• Accountable for ensuring the psychology service exhibits key competencies, provides performance reports to key stakeholders and complies with HMPPS and professional standards
• Accountable for the delivery and quality of those aspects of treatment programmes that must be overseen by a registered psychologist (typically these courses are the more complex interventions and would include, for example, Sex Offender Treatment Programme (SOTP) but may not include the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP) or Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it (CALM) programmes
• Accountable for providing the short term evaluation of effectiveness of relevant psychological intervention within the establishment
• Accountable for contributing towards the choice of the appropriate balance of programmes/interventions through conducting Needs Analysis
• Accountable for leading on key areas of offender risk assessment
• Accountable for supervising and overseeing research work
• Accountable for initiating research within the establishment or co-ordinating the establishment’s contribution to national research projects
• Accountable for promoting the work of the Prison Service, through preparing and disseminating research findings detailing clinical practice and outcomes
• Accountable for providing consultancy support for a range of regime issues e.g. Safer Custody/Resettlement/Treatment Programmes
• Accountable for the admissions, applications and referral process for prisoners applying to the relevant settings
• Accountable for ensuring that psychologists have a clearly defined remit in leading on identified tasks
• Manages and provides professional leadership for supervising trainee psychologists’ organisational outputs (e.g. risk reports)
• Accountable for supervising pre-registered psychologists as they move toward registered and/or chartered status
• Accountable for supervising trainees towards qualified status (e.g. as a coordinating supervisor), where appropriate
• Accountable for conducting Psychological Assessments as required
• Accountable for conducting individual interventions as required
• Accountable for assisting in producing policy documents
• Accountable for managing own Continuous Personal Development (CPD) requirements and maintains professional standards
• Act as a negotiation adviser, where suitable and competence has been demonstrated
• Act as a “professional witness” in parole board hearings, multi-agency meetings, and other formal settings where psychology input is required. May also act as an expert witness, in respect of court proceedings, for the Ministry of Justice
• Act as a mentor and exhibit appropriate role modelling to pre-registered psychologists and less experienced staff
• Maintain own CPD and registration with the Health Professions Council (HPC)

Undertake other management tasks including

• Accountable for the performance of the Function and the staff within it. Manage the achievement of qualitative and quantitative standards including Service Delivery Indicators (SDI’s) within the Function, verifying and signing off documentation as appropriate. Analyses and acts upon data which is relevant to their Function
• Ensure that all managers and staff within the Function are held accountable for providing decent conditions for prisoners and a safe working environment for staff
• Promotes prison service policy in all activities and behaviours e.g. promote diversity, decency, safety and reducing re-offending agendas
• Provides leadership and management of the Function. Will have the skills to apply all Human Resources (HR) related policies and practices and be able to carry out all aspects of people management such as attendance management, disciplinary investigations, performance management and staff appraisals
• Investigate and manage Function prisoners complaints process within the Function
• Responsible for ensuring all litigation claims following staff assaults relevant to area have been dealt with in accordance with policy
• Oversee the compilation and achievement of any performance improvement programmes reporting on progress regularly as appropriate
• Manage the appropriate authorisation of financial compliance statements
• Manage devolved budgets in accordance with the financial procedures outlined in the budget delegation