Band 8b Principal Practitioner Psychologist

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Birmingham

On-site

GBP 67,000 - 77,000

Part time

3 hours ago

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Job summary

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Principal Practitioner Psychologist to lead the Severe Asthma Psychology Service based at Heartlands Hospital. The role combines clinical leadership, expert assessment, and supervision within an MDT focused on psychologically informed care for patients with severe asthma.

You will drive service development, supervise trainees, and collaborate with asthma psychology colleagues nationally while delivering high-quality psychological care

Qualifications

Qualified practitioner psychologist with experience in a designated physical health service.
Experience delivering expert clinical practice and supervising non-psychologists.
Leadership in service development, transformation initiatives and quality improvement.

Responsibilities

Lead, develop and strategically oversee the Severe Asthma Psychology Service.
Provide expert clinical assessment and interventions for asthma and breathing conditions.
Deliver supervision and training to trainees and non-psychology staff; consult within MDT.
Influence practice through professional governance and multidisciplinary collaboration.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Supervision of trainees

Training others

Consultation & MDT collaboration

Trauma-informed practice

Education

Graduate Basis for Registration

Doctoral-level postgraduate training in clinical/counselling/health psychology

HCPC Practitioner Psychologist registration

Job description

Job Summary

Are you a compassionate and committed clinical psychologist who champions inclusivity and making healthcare more psychologically-informed? An opportunity has arisen for a Principal Practitioner Psychologist to lead our Severe Asthma Psychology Service based at our Heartlands Hospital site. The Birmingham Regional Severe Asthma Service is a specialist tertiary level service that offers an MDT approach to the management of severe asthma and related breathing conditions. Psychology is well respected in the service and provides direct clinical assessment and intervention to patients at an individual and group level, on an inpatient and outpatient basis. Psychology is well integrated into the MDT and inputs into specialist clinics, offers reflective practice and teaching and training to the team. The role provides an exciting opportunity to collaborate with other psychologists working in asthma psychology nationally. You will be welcomed by asthma service colleagues who are keen to support in the continued development of the service, as well as being a valued colleague in our ever-growing and recently established Department of Psychological Services. If you thrive on challenge, creativity and a dynamic and supportive work environment, along with the opportunity to develop and shape the future of the service, this is the job for you. Please contact Lead for Clinical Health Psychology (Sahil Suleman) on 0121 3714455 or email sahil.suleman@uhb.nhs.uk for further queries/information.

Main Duties, Tasks & Skills Required

You will ideally have experience of working in asthma and/or related physical health settings, but our principal aim is to recruit a psychologist with the right passion and skills to continue to lead and develop the service. In addition to providing expert clinical practice, this will include skills in delivering supervision and training to non‑psychologists, as well as consultation and broader approaches to supporting psychologically‑informed care within your MDT and the Trust. You will be able to demonstrate a developed understanding of the psychological aspects of asthma and breathing conditions and how this may interact with pre‑existing vulnerabilities and mental health. Having experience in working with trauma would be an advantage. You will be a senior clinical leader responsible for the delivery, development, and strategic oversight of highly specialist psychological services, contributing to strategic service planning, transformation initiatives, and quality improvement programmes, influencing practice within asthma and more widely for trust‑wide psychological services. This post is 30 hours per week and is predominantly based at Heartlands Hospital, with some requirement of travel to other UHB sites.

About Us

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust strives to have an inclusive culture where everyone feels like they belong, can thrive, knows that they add value and feels valued. We do this by developing compassionate and culturally competent leaders, being values driven in all that we do and by creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace that thrives on the diversity of our people. As such we want to attract and recruit talented individuals from all backgrounds, and for each of you to feel supported for the diversity you bring, to achieve your full potential. For those staff with a disability, including physical disability, long‑term health condition, mental health or neurodiverse condition, this also means being committed to making reasonable adjustments needed for you to carry out your role.

Job Description

For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description.

Qualifications

Essential

The Graduate Basis for Registration (further to completion of an honours degree in psychology accredited by the British Psychological Society, or, in the case of courses that are not accredited or where the first degree is not in psychology, by completion of the Society's Qualifying examination, or completion of a Society accredited Conversion Course).
Satisfactory completion of a British Psychological Society accredited Doctoral Level postgraduate professional training course in clinical/counselling/health psychology (or equivalent for those trained prior to doctorate introduction), the completion of which includes the study of models of psychopathology, psychometric and neuropsychological assessment, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
Registration with the HCPC as a Practitioner Psychologist

Desirable

Post‑doctoral training in one or more highly specialist areas of psychological practice relevant to the clinical service area.
Formal post qualification training in relevant management or healthcare leadership skills.
Post qualification experience and/or formal training in supervision, enabling the post holder to independently supervise trainees in accordance with relevant criteria adopted by local training courses.

Experience

Essential

Considerable experience of working as a qualified practitioner psychologist including in the designated physical health function with which this post is concerned.
An understanding of the specific needs and difficulties of people within the speciality the post is based with.
Experience of very highly specialist psychological assessment and individual and group‑based treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including primary and secondary/ specialist care and inpatient / residential, outpatient and community team settings.
Experience of the professional management of qualified and pre‑qualified practitioner psychologists, psychology assistants, graduate and undergraduate students and other grades of staff within a psychology service.
Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, with clients of all ages across the lifespan and of wide‑ranging presenting problems that reflect the full spectrum of clinical complexity and severity.
Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
Relevant post‑qualification experience, and formal training in supervision, enabling the post holder to independently supervise clinical psychology trainees in accordance with relevant criteria adopted by local university practitioner psychology training course criteria (e.g. clinical/counselling/health psychology doctorate courses).
Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for the psychological care and treatment of referred clients, and of working within a multidisciplinary context wherein carries responsibility for the psychological aspects of a multidisciplinary care plan.
Experience of representing psychology within a multidisciplinary context.
Significant professional leadership, especially professional development, clinical governance and supervision and appraisal.

Desirable

Experience of working in acute physical health settings and particularly life‑limiting illness (if relevant to the post).
Experience of adapting psychological therapy to physical health conditions and settings.
Experience of the multi‑professional management of teams or services within the designated speciality.
Experience of representing the profession in local policy forums.
Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
Experience of working therapeutically with 'difficult to treat' clients.
Highly developed and advanced knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific 'difficult to treat' groups (e.g. personality disorder, challenging behaviour, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
Advanced level knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies.
Evidence of leadership and management skills

Additional Criteria

Essential

Is a 'team player' and has demonstrated ability to work and deliver to team and organisational objectives
Awareness of own strengths & weaknesses and impact on others.
Empowering others -- striving to facilitate others' contributions, nurturing capability and long term development of others.
Adaptable and able to work flexibly when required (e.g. in the light of changing service priorities).
Capacity for tolerating frustration, change and high levels of demand with an ability to work effectively under pressure.
Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.

Desirable

Personal experience of mental health problems (e.g. personal or as a carer/family member).

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website. From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.

UK Professional Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Pay scheme

Agenda for Change

Band

Band 8b

Salary

£66582.00 to £77368.00 Yearly

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-Time, Flexible Working