Band 4 Assistant Psychologist - SOLAR TEDS

NHS; Knowle; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting for a Band 4 Assistant Psychologist at the Freshfields Clinic in Knowle, Solihull. The role supports assessment and low-level psychological interventions for children and young people with eating disorders, within a multidisciplinary team.

You will contribute to group work, outcome measures, and service development, reporting to a Clinical Psychologist.

Qualifications

• Honours degree or higher in psychology.
• Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society.
• Postgraduate training in relevant psychology/research areas.

Responsibilities

• Assist psychological assessments and support formulation‑informed interventions.
• Contribute to group work and collect/outcome measures.
• Prepare clinical materials and support service development activities.
• Work within a multidisciplinary team and under supervision of a psychologist.

Skills

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Interpersonal skills

Knowledge of eating disorders

Education

2:1 psychology degree

Graduate membership of BPS

Postgraduate training in psychology

Job description

Band 4 Assistant Psychologist - SOLAR TEDS

Band 4

Main area TEDS SOLAR Grade Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 436-8415568

Site Freshfields Clinic Town Knowle, Solihull Salary £28,392 - £31,157 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 17/11/2026 23:59

Please note that this post may close earlier than the indicated closing date if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Job overview

Solar provides specialist mental health support to children and young people (0-18 years) experiencing a range of emotional, behavioural and psychological difficulties. We are recruiting to an Assistant Psychologist post within Solar TEDS (The Eating Disorder Service).

This role offers an excellent opportunity to gain experience working within a psychologically informed multidisciplinary team supporting children, young people and families with eating disorders.

The role will involve supporting the assessment of young people referred to the service, offering low level psychological interventions, providing meal support, helping with the delivery of groups and workshops, inputting outcome measures, contributing to service developments, service evaluation and audit and supporting the clinical/administrative functions of the team. The post holder will work closely with clinical psychologists and the wider MDT.
The post holder may also be required to work flexibly across teams within Solar in response to service need, development opportunities and the needs of children, young people and families.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will support the delivery of psychologically informed care within TEDS, working alongside clinical psychologists and the wider multidisciplinary team to support children, young people and families with eating disorders.

The Assistant Psychologist will assist with psychological assessments, support formulation‑informed interventions, contribute to group work, and help collect and record outcome measures. The role will also involve preparing clinical materials, and supporting service development activities.

The post will be based in TEDS at Freshfields Clinic in Knowle, and may include travel to other bases and home visits where required. The post holder will work under the supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist and may be expected to work flexibly across teams in response to service need. We are looking for motivated, reflective psychology graduates with strong communication and organisational skills, experience working with children or vulnerable groups, and an interest in mental health, eating disorders and neurodevelopmental needs. The ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team is essential.

Working for our organisation

Welcome to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Our 4000 clinical and support staff help us to improve mental health wellbeing and meet the needs of the 70,000 people we serve each year. We provide a range of mental healthcare services across Birmingham and Solihull, as well as specialised services nationally. We also offer medical, nursing and psychology training and are proud of our international reputation for both research and innovation.

Our population is culturally diverse, characterised in places by high levels of deprivation which create an increasing demand for our services and a necessity for us to make sure everyone can access the help they need. We are a team of compassionate, inclusive and committed people working together to provide excellent care to support our community. If you are looking for a place to belong, where you can make a real difference to people’s lives, join our team where our warm welcome is waiting for you.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information about the main responsibilities please view the attached job description and person specification.

Person specification

Training and Qualifications

• An upper second class honours degree or higher in psychology
• Entitlement to graduate membership of the BritishPsychological Society.
• Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology and/or research

Experience

• Experience of working with young people with mental health problems and/or or of working with eating disorders under the supervision of a qualified psychologist
• Paid work in a setting providing direct care.
• Experience of working with children and young people with mental health difficulties
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience of working with neurodivergent children and young people
• Experience of working with eating disorders
• Experience of working with parents/carers and families

Knowledge and Skills

• Experience of collecting research data, including questionnaire design and interviewing.
• Knowledge of psychological approaches to working with young people with eating disorders

Personal

• An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
• Under the day-to-day direction of a qualified psychologist, has ability to work independently, reliably, consistently and with initiative (seeking guidance when necessary).

Other

• Communicates a genuine passion for working with young people with eating disorders

Our Trust is committed to treating individuals fairly and ensuring they have the same opportunities to fulfil their potential, even if this means doing things differently for different people sometimes. We are working hard to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity within Birmingham and Solihull and that our services meet the needs of all diverse service users and carers.

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. As part of our safe recruitment practice pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. As part of the selection process you may be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, however all cases of criminal record history are dealt with on a case by case basis.

Please note, if applicable for your role you will be required to cover the cost of your DBS certificate. This will be deducted from your salary over 3 months.

All successful applicants will be required to complete the Trust’s induction programme. The Fundamental (Statutory and Mandatory) training will be in an e-learning format. You will be required to complete training modules online (approx. 9-14 hours depending on post) by the end of your second week with us.

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process we may contact you via email to advise you of the interview details. Please ensure you access your email account from which you applied regularly once the position has closed. Our selection process may involve more than one interview or assessment.

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the United Kingdom (UK) are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. However, please ensure that you check if this role meets the eligibility criteria for sponsorship. Non UK /Republic of Ireland candidates wishing to apply can self‑assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here Browse: Work in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . The minimum salary threshold for a Health and Social Care is £25,000 and for the Skilled Worker route is £38,700. If the starting salary for this role is below this, we will not be able to provide sponsorship.

Relocation expenses may be reimbursed subject to eligibility. The policy provides for reimbursement up to £8,000.

Please note - if you are applying for a role within Police custody, due to Police Vetting requirements you must have been a UK resident for the last years.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.