Applied Principal Psychologist–Band 8B

NHS; Wolverhampton; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in the UK is seeking a Principal Psychologist based in Wolverhampton to provide highly specialist psychological care in a leadership role within a multidisciplinary team. The ideal candidate will have a Doctorate in Psychology, HCPC registration, and experience in providing evidence-based therapies. The position includes supervision and training of clinical staff, contributing to service evaluation and development efforts. Flexibility is needed to work across various community mental health localities.

Qualifications

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied Psychology.
• Trained in clinical supervision of doctoral trainees.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.

Responsibilities

• Deliver highly specialist psychological care to clients.
• Accountable for clinical responsibilities in a multi-disciplinary team.
• Supervise Trainee Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists.

Skills

Clinical Psychologist

Patient Care

Team Leadership

Psychological Assessment

Multidisciplinary Collaboration

Education

Doctorate in Psychology

HCPC registration

Job description

Go back Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Applied Principal Psychologist–Band 8B

The closing date is 09 December 2025

This role is within the Mental Health division of BCHFT. As the largest clinical Division in the Trust, the MH Division includes Community, Urgent care, and Clinical Health Psychology services. Although this role is Wolverhampton based, it is possible that psychology resource may need to be supplemented in other adult community mental health localities in the future, in which case the applicant may be required to move their base to a different geographical area.

This is a leadership role with the Psychology team of the Wolverhampton adult Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). This psychology team consists of clinical and counselling psychologists, CBT therapists and DBT therapists.

The post holder will be supported and accountable to the team manager, and be professionally and clinically supervised by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist based in Wolverhampton.

The post holder will be keen to work in a multi-disciplinary environment, and able to develop complex formulations, offer supervision, consultancy, and training to multi disciplinary colleagues and other members of the psychology team. They will help to develop multidisciplinary understanding of psychological approaches to mental health recovery.

Main duties of the job

As a Principal Applied Psychologist in Wolverhampton South CMHT you will be working alongside colleagues and a Consultant Clinical Psychologist to support newly developed clinical pathways and trauma-informed care. This will include evidence-based therapies for psychological trauma, personality disorder, psychosis and bipolar disorder and other secondary care level mental health presentations. There is an opportunity to join our well supported DBT pathway. You will work as part of an integrated team and play a role in the governance and oversight of the psychologists and psychological practitioners in the team. You will work alongside another Principal Applied Psychologist (in the Wolverhampton North CMHT) to achieve these aims, taking a lead on strategic and service development initiatives, service evaluations and other projects, as agreed with your professional leads.

We are linked closely to Birmingham, Aston and Wolverhampton Universities. The successful candidate will participate in supporting and managing student psychologists on placements within the team, including undergraduates, masters students and trainee clinical, counselling and forensic psychologists.

Members of our psychology team have wide-ranging therapeutic interests ranging from psychodynamic, to CAT, DBT, CBT and EMDR, as well as expertise in consultancy, supervision and training. This creates an inspiring and supportive network.

About us

As part of Community Transformation, psychological therapies are fully integrated into four CMHTs across our four localities (Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley and Walsall). We work within a strong multi-disciplinary ethos, with good links with Tier 1 (Primary Care and Talking Therapies), the Recovery College and VCSE partners.

The CMHTs are supported by specialist services which also include psychological therapists: Complex Emotional Needs Service; Eating Disorders; Perinatal Services; 18-25s Transitions Team; Early Intervention in Psychosis; Clinical Health Psychology.

In BCHFT we are keen to promote cohesiveness and wellbeing in our psychology staff group. There are a number of Trust initiatives that support this and regular opportunities to engage, learn and share good practice.

We value our staff groups and work hard to ensure that people feel valued for both their effort and delivered outcomes, and that this is reflected in regular feedback. We are pleased to utilise all Regional or National opportunities for training when they arise. Current training initiatives within community services include the National PT-SMHP framework, which has allowed several of our staff to undertake post graduate diploma training in NICE based therapies.

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose

Accountable for own professional practice in the delivery of highly specialist psychological care to clients with highly complex and contentious mental health conditions or learning disabilities which include challenging behaviours and possible risk of physical aggression.

To be compassionate in meeting the needs of clients, their carers and families.

To promote at all times a positive image of people with mental ill health or learning disabilities.

To promote at all times a positive image of the service and the wider Trust.

In line with the banding of the post and its service context to:

• Exercise supervisory/professional responsibility for other psychological therapists
• Provide leadership in multi-disciplinary training and development
• Provide leadership in service audit and development
• Provide leadership in service evaluation and research
• Ensure that a psychological perspective is brought to service redesign and cultural change

Main Duties/Responsibilities

1.0. Clinical Responsibilities, Patient Contact

1.1. Provides highly specialist psychological assessment of clients with highly complex and contentious conditions based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of data from a variety of sources, which may include neuropsychological testing.

1.2. Responsible for recognising the potential for or signs of client harm, abuse or neglect, including poor clinical practice, reporting all such concerns and taking all reasonable steps to protect the client. Responsible for identifying and reporting concerns regarding the safeguarding of children who may be at risk.

1.3. Undertakes risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and provides highly specialist advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management and the high physical risks inherent in the client group.

1.4. Formulates plans for highly specialist psychological therapy and/or management of clients mental health conditions based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and evidence-based practice. Negotiates the implementation of such plans with clients and/or their carers.

1.5. Implements a range of highly specialist psychological therapies for individual clients, carers, families and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations as required.

1.6. Undertakes highly skilled evaluations and makes decisions about treatment options.

1.7. Provides highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other staff contributing directly to clients diagnosis, formulation and intervention plan.

1.8. Facilitates decision-making by planning and mapping processes/interventions with members of the team to determine the most appropriate treatment modality or service for clients.

1.9. Leads the multi-disciplinary care team in the development and implementation of multi-disciplinary care plans where appropriate. Monitors progress during the course of multidisciplinary interventions.

1.10. To liaise with other professionals working within the NHS, Social Inclusion and Health and the voluntary sector on matters relating to client care that have implications for the service.

2.0 Supervisory/Professional Responsibility

• 2.1. Clinical supervision of Trainee Applied Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists
• 2.2. Supervises Band 7 and 8a Applied Psychologists
• 2.3. Specialist psychological supervision and scaffolding in a care pathway/cluster
• 2.4. Line manage Assistant Psychologists
• 2.5. Will hold responsibility and accountability for their own actions, ensuring appropriate support and supervision is sought when required.
• 2.6. To keep abreast of current developments in this field through reading, attendance at appropriate training courses, and a range of other CPD activities, and to ensure that a log is kept of this in line with HCPC requirements.
• 2.7. To contribute, as appropriate, to the teaching offered on the local Applied Psychology training courses.

3.0 Multi-Disciplinary Training and Development

• 3.1. To work with members of the multi-disciplinary team to develop and maintain psychologically minded ways of understanding and working with clients using the services, both to promote and maintain the mental health and coping strategies of the clients and to maintain the safety of clients and staff.
• 3.2. Provides highly specialist advice, guidance and consultation to other direct care staff in MDT
• 3.3. Provide clinical supervision to other direct care staff in MDT
• 3.4. Ensures appropriate clinical supervision and scaffolding is in place to enable embedding of psychological skills in relation to a specific care pathway/cluster
• 3.5. Assesses the need for and develops a plan for training in psychological interventions for the team in relation to a specific care pathway/cluster
• 3.6. Devises and delivers training to staff which may include those outside immediate MDT in consultation with Consultant Applied Psychologist

4.0 Service and Organisational Development

• 4.1. Clinically leads MDT in development, implementation and monitoring of MD care plans/ pathways/clusters
• 4.2. Takes a lead role in MDT delivery of CQUIN and QIP projects, NICE benchmarking and compliance requirements as required within MDT
• 4.3. Able to identify service priorities and to work with Consultant Applied Psychologist and/or Team/Service Managers on developing these into action plans

5.0 Service Redesign and Cultural Change

• 5.1. Bring an understanding of psychological change processes to own role within MDT and to help MDT to cope with changes, in consultation with Consultant Applied Psychologist
• 5.2. Bring an understanding of psychological change processes to help Team/Service Managers to devise suitable plans for change
• 5.3. Represent a psychological perspective in regular specific Division-wide forums around governance, quality and redesign under guidance from Consultant Applied Psychologist

6.0 Service Evaluation and Research

• 6.1. Take a lead role in clinical audits as required within MDT
• 6.2. Evaluates training and competencies of staff who have been trained in psychological therapies in relation to the care pathway/cluster
• 6.3. Undertake service evaluation and research
• 6.4. Working on projects from conception to delivery
• 6.5. Leading projects across MDTs in agreement with Consultant Psychologist and Team/Service Manager
• 6.6. Engaging multiple stakeholders in project work including service users and/or carers
• 6.7. Developing and implementing outcome monitoring within MDT
• 6.8. Supervise Applied Psychology trainee service evaluation and/or research

7.0 Other

• 7.1. To undertake any other duties of a similar nature consistent with the responsibilities of this post in order to provide a quality Forensic Community Team service.

Person Specification

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied Psychology (or its equivalent) as accredited by the BPS including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• HCPC registration as an Applied Psychologist with Chartered Status
• Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Working as a qualified applied psychologist within the designated service including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across a range of care settings.
• Exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care as a care coordinator within the context of a multidisciplinary team.
• Liaison and joint working with statutory, voluntary and private sector agencies
• Teaching, training, consultancy and clinical supervision and field supervisor for doctoral theses.
• Research and development
• Active participation in quality and service improvement initiatives
• Evidence-based practice relevant to the role
• Risk assessment and risk management
• Clinical governance
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health and its implications for clinical practice
• Audit and research methodology
• Social inclusion agenda
• Communicate highly complex, highly sensitive and contentious information effectively, to a wide range of people
• Adapt creatively the evidence base for the interventions relevant to the client group
• Articulate the value added by applied psychology services within the context of multidisciplinary mental health and learning disability healthcare provision
• Undertake complex multiagency working and liaise with multiple systems
• Utilise psychometric tests competently
• Provide effective teaching, training, consultancy and clinical supervision for the multidisciplinary team
• Identify, provide and promote appropriate interventions / means of support for carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours
• Utilise appropriate clinical governance mechanisms within own work
• Utilise multimedia materials for presentations in professional, academic and public settings
• Able to work in accordance with the Trust Values and Behaviours
• Able to engage with vulnerable people and work effectively in highly distressing and challenging circumstances
• Respects and has awareness of the advantages of joint working with other experienced professionals in a multidisciplinary setting
• Able to work flexibly and co-operatively as part of a team
• Able to use own initiative and make decisions independently
• Committed to continual quality and service improvement
• Self-aware and committed to professional and personal development. Able to accept and respond positively to feedback from supervision
• Enthusiasm for a broad range of psychological phenomena, theories and application
• Be compassionate, empathetic and caring to everyone
• Enable yourself and others to act with confidence and authority in order to achieve the best outcome for everyone
• Work with others. Be inclusive by understanding and valuing others to achieve the best results for everyone and everything we do
• Act with transparency and honesty, respect and value others to do the right thing at the right time for everyone
• Highly developed knowledge and skills in the care of difficult to treat groups e.g. dual diagnoses, additional disabilities or severely challenging behaviour
• Registration with BPS
• Project management

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Address

Penn Hospital (but may be required to work within other Black Country CMHT localities)