Assistant Psychologist

NHS; Highweek; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 30,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in the UK is seeking an Assistant Psychologist to work at HMP Channings Wood. This role involves supporting the psychological care of offenders, conducting assessments, and participating in therapeutic groups. The ideal candidate holds a psychology degree and has experience in mental health or forensic settings. Benefits include NHS employment perks, 20 flexible hours per week, with a focus on career development. Applications require proof of ID and right to work documentation.

Benefits

NHS AfC employment benefits, including pension

Opportunity for career and personal development

Qualifications

• Experience working with service users with mental health problems or learning disabilities.
• Experience working in forensic settings with offenders.

Responsibilities

• Support and enhance the professional psychological care of offenders.
• Assist in psychological assessments and interventions under supervision.
• Contribute to multi-disciplinary discussions and care guidelines.

Skills

High levels of communication skills (written and verbal)

Ability to apply psychological knowledge

Interest in working with individuals with mental health problems

Education

A lower second class (2.2) honours degree or higher in psychology

Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society

Job description

Are you ready to unlock your potential within a challenging, creative and fast paced work environment? Do you want towork with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past?

We are currently expanding recruitment and are looking foracompassionate, knowledgeable and motivated Assistant Psychologist to join our friendly team atHMP Channings Wood

Our healthcare team have a real impact on promoting health and well-being to those in prison and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patients future resettlement back into the community. We directly deliver Mental Health, Physical Health, Pharmacy and Clinical Substance Misuse in an integrated healthcare delivery model to provide effective and responsive care to improve wellbeing and support better outcomes in the future.

As part of our mental healthteam, you will enjoy all the benefits of NHS AfC employment (inc pension) with the opportunity to work within a forward-thinking service, who encourage career and personal development to all staff to increase their clinical and interpersonal skills.

20 hours per week - flexible working pattern available but ideally will work 2x shifts one week and 3x shifts the next

**Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post**

Main duties of the job

As an Assistant Psychologist at HMP Channings Wood you will be supporting and enhancing the professional psychological care of offenders within the service. This will include; providing psychological assessment and psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, working independently according to a plan agreed with the qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures and to assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, development of audit and/or research projects, teaching.

Specifically, you will provide psychological therapy services to service users residing in HMP Channings Wood. The assistant psychologist will be part of the integrated mental health team within the prisons, which provide a range of psychological services from self-help literature to individual and group therapies. The integrated mental health team work within a trauma informed care model which includes supporting prison colleagues by providing teaching, training and consultation.

Interviews will take place on Monday 23rd February 2026 face to face at HMP Channings Wood. There will be no online interviews for this role.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London.

Our wider services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We're Kind
• We Listen
• We Care

Job responsibilities

Management responsibilities

• To assist in the design and implementation of service development projects with the service as required.
• To attend meetings in which service developments are planned and discussed

Clinical

• To undertake psychological assessments of clients applying psychological theory, including neuro-psychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.
• To assist in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a clients problems, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, in the prison setting.
• To assist in the coordination and running of therapeutic groups or clinical projects.
• To work with other staff to assess or support service users in the prison and contribute to multidisciplinary discussions or care guidelines as agreed with the psychologist/psychological therapist providing supervision.
• To assist in the development of a psychological based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings where care takes place

Research

• To assist in the design and implementation of audit and research projects.
• To undertake data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes.
• To create graphs or charts to collate or summarise data on individual interventions or treatment programmes.
• To assist in producing visual or material or user-friendly information for interventions with clients

Communication

• In common with all assistant psychologists, to receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines.
• To gain wider experience of professional psychology within the NHS over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post holder is employed.
• To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.
• To contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographicID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonw ̧h Office website ( http://www.fco.gov.uk/en).

Person Specification

Qualifications

• A lower second class (2.2) honours degree or higher in psychology
• Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society

Skills

• High levels of communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be emotive
• An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
• An interest in working within forensic settings with individuals with mental health problems

Experience

• Experience of working with service users with mental health problems, learning disabilities or offenders

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.