Band 8a Principal Clinical Psychologist

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services); Colchester; On-site; GBP 53,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare sector employer seeks a Principal Clinical Psychologist to provide trauma-informed psychological services in Colchester, supporting military personnel. The role involves delivering assessments and therapy, training professionals, and contributing to mental health care standards. Applicants must be HCPC registered and hold a Doctorate in psychology. Competitive salary of £53,755 to £60,504 pro-rata based on experience, with opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Annual Leave and Privilege Days

Professional registration fee reimbursement

Access to gym and swimming pool

Flexible working opportunities

Qualifications

• Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with HCPC
• Experience working with complex mental health presentations
• Skilled in psychological therapies and evidence-based care

Responsibilities

• Provide psychological assessments for serving personnel
• Offer therapeutic interventions for complex cases
• Supervise and train other therapists and professionals

Skills

Trauma-informed care

Collaborative working

Psychological assessment

Communication skills

Education

Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology

Membership of Division of Clinical or Counselling Psychology

Job description

Overview

Band 8a Principal Clinical Psychologist at Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services), Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH), based at Merville Barracks in Colchester. The closing date is 23 September 2025

We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for a Band 8A Clinical Psychologist to join our team at the Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH), based at Merville Barracks in Colchester. This is a unique and rewarding role where you will deliver high-quality, trauma-informed, client-centered occupational mental health care to serving military personnel across the East of England. You will also have opportunities to contribute to the psychological care of military personnel detained at the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC).

What we offer:

• 2.5 Privilege Days a year, in addition to AFC Annual Leave / Bank Holiday allowance (pro-rata) [plus wellbeing initiatives]
• Opportunities for hybrid working (minimum 60% of time in office)
• Professional Registration fees (e.g., HCPC) reimbursed
• Personal annual CPD budget, plus monthly in-house CPD programme
• Access to specialist modality specific supervision groups
• Quarterly events with Clinical / Counselling Psychologists working in defence UK-wide
• Free parking
• Access to an on-site gym and swimming pool
• Friendly team with regular team and social events

Main duties of the job

Responsibilities include and are not limited to:

• Provide highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and intervention for serving personnel, including offering advice and consultation to non-psychologist colleagues, line managers and carers.
• Provide psychological therapy for complex cases, with flexibility to offer up to 30 treatment sessions.
• Work collaboratively with the MDT and collaborate with internal and external agencies to ensure joint up safe and effective care.
• Clinically supervise other therapists and other professionals
• Develop and deliver training in areas relevant to practice for multi-disciplinary staff
• Utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development / quality improvement initiatives
• Provide clinical and professional supervision to trainees undertaking Doctoral training
• Work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification document for further information.

What We’re Looking For

We welcome applications from Clinical Psychologists who are:

• Experienced in working with complex mental health presentations, particularly where there are comorbid conditions and complex trauma presentations.
• Skilled in trauma-informed care and applying evidence-based psychological therapies to complexity.
• Keen to work as part of a team and to collaborate with others to ensure high standards of clinical care and practice
• Interested in working within a unique occupational health context.

Ready to Apply

If you're passionate about delivering impactful psychological care in a unique and supportive setting, we'd love to hear from you.

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification document for additional duties.

Selection Process

At application stage you will be assessed against the following:

CV:

• Please provide information of how you meet the criteria set out in the Job Description. You may wish to further include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlined in the job advert.

Please ensure you demonstrate that you have the required skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications and memberships in your CV and that you have saved it, making sure that any reference to your personal details have been removed from your CV prior to submitting your application.

At interview you will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours:

• Leadership
• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

At interview a case study will be required, the case study will be provided 10 minutes before the interview.

Please note: the link to a YouTube channel for tips on answering behaviour-based questions has been omitted in this refined version.

The sift will be completed within 10 working days of the vacancy closing date. Interviews will be held on a date to be confirmed.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

There will be no reimbursement for any travel expenses for the interview.

Requests to work flexibly and/or part time will be considered, taking into account business needs. Please note the salary will be pro-rata where part time hours are undertaken.

All employees joining Ministry of Defence who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a 6-month probation period (unless otherwise advised) effective from the employment start date.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

Access to the NHS pension scheme is available to the successful candidate.

If found successful for this position, you will be required to provide evidence of your immunity to Hepatitis B. Please note that evidence of your vaccination is not a proof of your immunity, but your serology levels will be required. Failure to provide sufficient evidence may result in the offer of employment being withdrawn.

To be considered for this role, qualifications and memberships detailed must be held in full, prior to submitting your application.

The post does NOT offer relocation expenses. Non-Standard move applicants will be eligible for the full package, subject to eligibility.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

This vacancy is part of the A Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

This is a Fixed-term Appointment as a Band 8a Principal Clinical Psychologist in the Merville Barracks. Your responsibilities will be as described in this job advert. The reason you are appointed for a fixed period is to cover a gapped military role. This post will therefore begin on your appointment date and will end on 19.06.2027. You should be aware that when your Fixed-term Appointment at MOD comes to an end, arrangements will be made in line with the FTA policy.

If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact [e-mail].

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

Person Specification

Behaviour Statement

• Have you been dismissed for gross misconduct relating to bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation from any role in the past five years, or resigned or otherwise left a role but would have been dismissed for such gross misconduct because of an adverse decision, had you continued in that employment?
• Please respond with Yes or No as appropriate.

Qualifications

• Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent as accredited by BPS conferring eligibility for Chartership).
• Other related academic qualifications to Masters or Doctorate level.

Registrations and Memberships

• HCPC Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist under protected title.
• Full membership of Division of Clinical or Counselling Psychology. Training must have included models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.

Provide a CV

• Please copy and paste your full CV as your response to this question; you will not be able to upload your CV as an attachment.
• Please ensure to refer to the essential criteria where applicable as your application may be rejected should insufficient information to shortlist be included.
• Please use double spacing where possible
• Please provide your membership registration number.
• You are required to be registered with the relevant professional body, as detailed in the advert, prior to submitting your application.
• Your application will not progress should you fail to provide a valid membership registration number.

Experience

• Demonstrable experience of working as a qualified clinical or counselling psychologist (at Band 7 or above) and ability to evidence completion of relevant training/preceptorship in order to be able to carry out the full range of supervisory activities as appropriate to an NHS Band 8a grade post.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of exercising responsibility for clients psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan.
• Relevant prior experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist in adult mental health or an associated client group where the experience gained is relevant and transferable.
• Experience of clinical research (either implementation or supervision).
• Experience of teaching and training.

Knowledge and Skills

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as required by HCPC.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
• Higher level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.

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.

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services)

£53,755 to £60,504 a year pro-rata, pay award pending