Assistant Psychologist

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust; Chelmsford; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare trust in Essex is seeking a full-time Assistant Psychologist to join their Older Adult Psychological Services. This role offers opportunities to work across various settings, supporting clinically vulnerable individuals, conducting assessments, and enhancing psychological service delivery while receiving training and peer support.

Benefits

NHS discounts for staff

Excellent training facilities

Flexible working options

Season ticket loans

Salary sacrifice schemes

Qualifications

• Experience in clinical settings with vulnerable groups is preferred.
• Willingness to develop expertise in psychological interventions.
• Strong communication skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Support qualified psychologists with assessments and interventions.
• Co-facilitate therapy groups and contribute to service improvement.
• Engage with multidisciplinary teams and participate in research projects.

Skills

Clinical assessment

Neuropsychological assessment

Group therapy

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Psychology

Graduate basis for Chartered Membership

Job description

Job Overview

We are excited to offer a full-time opportunity for a motivated Assistant Psychologist to join our dynamic Older Adult Psychological Services in Mid Essex. This role is ideal for someone looking to gain diverse clinical experience and develop key skills in assessment, intervention, consultation, and research within the NHS. You will support qualified psychologists in delivering neuropsychological assessments, co-facilitating therapy groups, and providing structured individual interventions to service users and carers. You may also assist with multidisciplinary assessments related to behaviours in dementia, and contribute to the planning of clinical interventions.

The role includes opportunities for involvement in audit and research projects, data analysis, and service improvement initiatives. You will attend clinical meetings, liaise with professionals across services, and help share psychological knowledge within teams. Working across community, inpatient, and care home settings, you will receive regular supervision, peer support, and comprehensive training.

Based in Mid Essex (Chelmsford, Maldon, Braintree), our central hub is the award-winning Crystal Centre, offering excellent transport links, amenities, and outdoor spaces. We are committed to inclusion, staff wellbeing, and flexible working. We warmly welcome informal enquiries and look forward to your application.

This vacancy will close early should we receive a high number of applications.

Main duties of the job

You will contribute to the work of the psychology team within the Specialist Dementia and Frailty Service in Mid Essex by supporting qualified psychologists in the undertaking and delivery of a range of clinical and research based tasks. You will (co-) facilitate psychological and neuropsychological assessments within the Memory Assessment Service, co-facilitate group therapy programmes, and deliver structured individual interventions with service users and / or carers. You may contribute to the multidisciplinary assessment and intervention planning in the context of work with behaviours in dementia that challenge or cause concern, as well as provide support to qualified staff in the planning and development of clinical interventions.

You will be working across various settings (community, inpatient and care homes). You will attend clinical meetings and contribute to the sharing of psychological knowledge and case discussion; and you will be supported to communicate sensitively with a wide range of multidisciplinary professionals. You will also be involved and supported to develop expertise in the collection of and analysis of data for the purpose of ongoing research / audit projects evaluating service outcomes and planning service delivery. You will have opportunities to contribute to service improvement and develop your clinical leadership skills.

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for further details.

Working for our organisation

EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;

• Season Ticket Loans
• NHS discounts for staff
• Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
• Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
• The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
• Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
• Day One Flexible Employer
  
  
  

The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment

Join our Staff bank

What is Staff Bank?

Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.

All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.

If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.

Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Important Professional References

Make sure that as a part of your application you have professional references with business contract information covering your last three year employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.

As a newly appointed employee you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post, the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Applications for Job Share are positively welcomed.

Equal Opportunities Employer

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [e-mail] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Covid Vaccination

Although Covid vaccinations are no longer a mandatory requirement within the NHS we continue to encourage and support the vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against Covid19. The safety of our staff and patients is a top priority for us at EPUT.

If you would like to book a Covid vaccination or would like more information please contact us by emailing [e-mail] .