Band 8b Principal Clinical Psychologist

NSFT; Norwich; Hybrid; GBP 67,000 - 77,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

In-house training

Career progression

Holiday entitlement 27-33 days

Job summary

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Clinical Psychologist (Band 8b) to join our psychology team. The post focuses on co-occurring substance use and mental health, with supervision of junior staff and involvement in strategic CoSUM work.

You will deliver specialist assessments and interventions for adults with complex needs, contribute to service development, and support training across the multidisciplinary team within our addiction and mental health services.

Qualifications

• HCPC registered as a Practitioner Psychologist.
• Experience working with adults with complex mental health needs including substance use.
• Skilled in psychological assessment, formulation and intervention.
• Committed to reducing stigma and improving access to care.
• Motivated to influence practice beyond individual clinical work and contribute to system transformation.
• Committed to co-production of training and services.

Responsibilities

• Deliver specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for people with complex CoSUM presentations.
• Provide specialist consultation on mental health needs of CoSUM service users to staff in treatment systems.
• Support referral pathways and access to mental health services.
• Facilitate joint case management and integrated care planning.
• Supervise and oversee the work of qualified and trainee Psychologists in CGL roles.
• Contribute to service development, audit, evaluation and workforce training.
• Support the strategic work of the Lead Psychologist.
• Help shape culture change and improve patient experience across the local system.

Skills

HCPC registered as Practitioner Psych;

Experience with adults with complex MH

Psychological assessment, formulation,

Education

Doctoral level training in clinical psychology

Chartered status with the BPS

Job description

Main area Mental Health Grade Band 8b Contract Permanent Hours

• Part time
• Flexible working

18.75 hours per week (There may be some limited scope for flexible working.) Job ref 246-WSN8337862

Site County Hall Town Norwich Salary £66,582 - £77,368 gross per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 26/10/2026 23:59

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience.

Please note due to the nature of our roles and patient demographic, you will be required to undertake physical intervention training and remain trained, as required by your role.

Job overview

Are you passionate about improving outcomes for people with co-occurring substance use and mental health difficulties?

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Clinical Psychologist to join NSFT's innovative psychology team working across Norfolk's Change Grow Live (CGL) drug and alcohol services, whilst also contributing to the strategic Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health (CoSUM) work within NSFT.

This unique role sits at the interface of mental health and addiction services, supporting one of the most underserved populations in healthcare. You will provide specialist psychological consultation, assessment, formulation and intervention for people experiencing co-occurring conditions, alongside overseeing and supervising qualified and trainee Psychology colleagues in their CGL clinical roles, and contribute to NSFT’s strategic CoSUM system development work.

We are looking for someone who is:

• HCPC registered as a Practitioner Psychologist.
• Experienced in working with adults with complex mental health needs including significant substance use.
• Skilled in psychological assessment, formulation and intervention.
• Passionate about reducing stigma and improving access to care.
• Motivated to influence practice beyond individual clinical work and contribute to wider system transformation.
• Committed to co-production of training and services.
• Able to be creative and flexible with how care is delivered to best meet the needs of our service users.

Main duties of the job

Working as part of a growing psychology team led by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, you will:

• Deliver specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for people with complex CoSUM presentations.
• Provide specialist consultation in relation to the mental health needs of CoSUM service users to staff in both treatment systems
• Support referral pathways and access to mental health services.
• Facilitate joint case management and integrated care planning.
• Supervise and oversee the work of qualified and trainee Psychologists working in their CGL clinical roles.
• Contribute to service development, audit, evaluation and workforce training.
• Support the strategic work of the Lead Psychologist.
• Help shape culture change and improve the experience of care for people with co-occurring conditions across the local system.

Working for our organisation

As an employer, I and Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust are particularly committed to enabling our staff to do the very best they can through support and training, as well as opportunities for progression. We are confident, therefore, that the right candidate will have a real chance to make a positive impact to the lives of young people in Norfolk.

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk?The people here are warm and welcoming, you’ll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We’re an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Clinical Psychologist to join NSFT's innovative psychology team working across Norfolk's Change Grow Live (CGL) drug and alcohol services, whilst also contributing to the strategic Co-occurring Substance Use and Mental Health (CoSUM) work within Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.

This unique role sits at the interface of mental health and addiction services, supporting one of the most underserved populations in healthcare. You will provide specialist psychological consultation, assessment, formulation and intervention for people experiencing co-occurring conditions, alongside overseeing and supervising qualified and trainee Psychology colleagues in their CGL clinical roles, and contribute to NSFT’s strategic CoSUM system development work.

The post offers an excellent opportunity to develop your expertise in addiction, complex mental health difficulties and system leadership, while working closely with multidisciplinary colleagues across NHS and voluntary sector services.

We are looking for someone who is:

• HCPC registered as a Practitioner Psychologist.
• Experienced in working with adults with complex mental health needs including significant substance use.
• Skilled in psychological assessment, formulation and intervention.
• Passionate about reducing stigma and improving access to care.
• Motivated to influence practice beyond individual clinical work and contribute to wider system transformation.
• Committed to co-production of training and services.
• Able to be creative and flexible with how care is delivered to best meet the needs of our service users.

Working as part of a growing psychology team led by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, you will:

• Deliver specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for people with complex CoSUM presentations.
• Provide specialist consultation in relation to the mental health needs of CoSUM service users to staff in both treatment systems
• Support referral pathways and access to mental health services.
• Facilitate joint case management and integrated care planning.
• Contribute to service development, audit, evaluation and workforce training.
• Supervise and oversee the work of qualified and trainee Psychologists working in their CGL clinical roles
• Support the strategic work of the Lead Psychologist
• Help shape culture change and improve the experience of care for people with co-occurring conditions across the local system.

The post offers an excellent opportunity to develop your expertise in addiction, complex mental health difficulties and system leadership, while working closely with multidisciplinary colleagues across NHS and voluntary sector services.

Some of the benefits you can expect:

• a comprehensive in house & external training programmes
• career progression
• starting annual leave of 27 days per annum increasing to 33 days pa based on length of service (plus paid bank holidays)
• NHS discounts and many more.

Interview dates are yet to be set; you will be contacted via email and invited to book a time. These emails may go to your SPAM, so please keep checking all your emails if applying.

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Person specification

Qualifications

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology, or its equivalent, including eligibility for chartered status with the BPS
• Further post-qualification, post-graduate training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Registered as a practitioner psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Evidence of CPD in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice

Experience

• Specialist complex psychological assessment and treatment of people with a wide range of mental health problems, of varying severity and complexity.
• Extensive experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist and evidence of specialist knowledge gained through practice and ongoing training.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups and presenting problems including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
• Representing psychology within MDT setting (clinical and organisational contexts).
• Experience of clinical work in a setting relevant to the post

Skills

• Use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
• Assessment, evaluation and management of risk associated with mental ill health and related psychopathology.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively complex, highly technical and clinically highly sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Production of reports suitable for public presentations and presentation in medico-legal setting.
• High level knowledge in the assessment and evaluation of psychological therapies.

Knowledge

• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnosis, people with additional disabilities etc.)
• Practitioner level knowledge of at least two models of psychological therapy.
• Legislation and its implication for clinical practice and the appropriate management of people presenting with mental health problems

Other

• Commitment to continuing professional development, to partnership working and to reflective clinical practice.
• Able to identify, and employ appropriate clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice.
• Ability to travel Independently
• Undertake physical intervention training and remain trained in techniques, as required by role
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• Experience of providing specific support intervention and strategy for staff.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT, DUE TO THE HIGH NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR CERTAIN ROLES, THIS VACANCY MAY CLOSE EARLIER THAN THE ADVERTISED CLOSING DATE. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

YOUR APPLICATION

We can provide all our job application materials in alternative formats so that these are accessible to everyone. Should you require any documents within this job pack in an alternative format, please do not hesitate to contact us at [e-mail].

PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU USE A HOTMAIL, MSN OR YAHOO E-MAIL ACCOUNT, YOU WILL NEED TO CHECK YOUR "JUNK" MAIL REGULARLY AS THESE EMAIL PROVIDERS WILL DIVERT ANY COMMUNICATION FROM THIS TRUST/NHS JOBS STRAIGHT INTO YOUR " JUNK" INBOX.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES Apart from its legal duties in relation to equality and diversity, the Trust recognises and actively promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.

As a part of the Disability Confident Employer Guaranteed Interview Scheme we interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job vacancy (outlined in the Person Specification).. We encourage you to indicate your eligibility through TRAC jobs when applying.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post may be 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.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.