Clinical Director and Head of Profession

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; Cardiff; On-site; GBP 114,000 - 132,000; Full time

Job summary

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board in Wales is seeking a Clinical Director and Head of Profession for Psychology and Psychological Therapies. This senior post provides strategic, professional and clinical leadership across our large health system and acts as the principal adviser to the Board on psychological care.

You will lead governance, workforce development, quality, safety and strategic transformation across community, acute, mental health and specialist services, aiming to improve

Qualifications

• Registered Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Doctoral level qualification in a relevant area of psychology (HCPC eligibility).
• Significant experience as a Consultant Practitioner Psychologist or equivalent senior leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Lead Psychology and Psychological Therapies (PPT) across Cardiff and Vale UHB.
• Act as Director of Psychology for the Mental Health Clinical Board.
• Oversee professional governance, risk management and regulatory compliance.
• Drive strategic service development and transformation across NHS Wales services.
• Represent PPT within senior organisational forums and develop partnerships.

Job description

Clinical Director and Head of Profession

Band 9

Main area Allied Health Professions: Clinical Psychology Grade Band 9 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 001-PST071-0926

Site Woodland House Town Cardiff Salary £114,475 - £131,732 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 24/09/2026 23:59

WHO WE ARE:

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of the largest Integrated Health Board in the UK, employing over 16,000 staff and providing over 100 specialist services. Serving a population of around 500,000 people living in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, we are focussed on the health and care needs of our local population whilst also working with our partners to develop regional services. Together we are committed to improving health outcomes for everyone and to delivering excellent care and support.

Our mission is “Living Well, Caring Well, Working Together”, and our vision is that every person’s chance of leading a healthy life should be equal. We have recently refreshed our strategy, Shaping Our Future Wellbeing, which sets out the Health Board’s Vision for improving the health and wellbeing of the populations we serve by 2035 through the delivery of our strategic objectives; Putting People First, Providing Outstanding Quality, Delivering in the Right Places, and Acting for the Future. We have challenging times ahead, but we are confident that by tackling these challenges together, we can support people to live healthier lives and reduce the unfair differences in the prevalence of illness and health outcomes we see in our communities today. We aspire to deliver outstanding care and treatment for people when they need it, where they need it; care that compares well with the best in the world, but to do so, we need to transform how we deliver services over the next decade and beyond.

We are a values-driven organisation and out goals will only be realised if our values are at the heart of everything we do. Created by colleagues, patients and their families and carers, our values are:

We are kind and caring

We are respectful

We have trust and integrity

We take personal responsibility

OUR REGION:

Wales has much to offer with miles of stunning coastline, UNESCO world heritage sites and beautiful countryside. Cardiff, the thriving Welsh capital, has something for everyone. It is a fantastic city to live and work in with an abundance of sports, arts and cultural attractions. Situated to the west of Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan offers a combination of beautiful Welsh countryside and a dramatic natural coastline, as well as charming towns including Penarth and Cowbridge. Those seeking more culture may find themselves drawn to the National Museum, St Fagan’s Museum of Welsh Life or the Millennium Centre, home of the Welsh National Opera. Whether city life or rural living, Cardiff and the Vale offers the best of both worlds.

Job overview

Lead the future of Psychology and Psychological Therapies across Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board seeks an exceptional senior practitioner psychologist to become our Clinical Director of Psychology and Psychological Therapies and Head of Profession.

This is an opportunity to provide strategic, professional and clinical leadership across one of Wales' largest and most diverse health systems. Working closely with Executive Directors, Clinical Board leadership teams and professional colleagues, you will shape the future of psychologically informed healthcare across the organisation, ensuring services are safe, effective, equitable and evidence based.

As the Health Board's most senior professional leader for Psychology and Psychological Therapies, you will act as the principal adviser to the Board and Executive Team on matters relating to psychological therapies and psychologically informed care. You will hold Health Board wide responsibility for professional governance, workforce assurance, quality, safety and strategic development across services.

This is a role with genuine influence. You will lead one of the largest psychology and psychological therapies workforces in NHS Wales, shaping organisational strategy, service redesign and psychologically informed approaches across community, acute, mental health and specialist services.

Main duties of the job

Professional Leadership and Governance

• Acting as lead for Psychology and Psychological Therapies (PPT) across Cardiff and Vale UHB
• Act as Director of Psychology for the Mental Health Clinical Board.
• Leading professional governance arrangements.
• Ensuring effective systems for risk management and regulatory compliance

Corporate Accountability and Assurance

• Providing assurance regarding governance, compliance and professional standards.
• Supporting Board level assurance processes.

Strategic Workforce Leadership

• Leading workforce planning for PPT
• Developing strategies to support recruitment and retention.
• Supporting education, training and development.

System Leadership and Transformation

• Embedding psychologically informed approaches.
• Supporting organisational culture and psychological safety
• Leading the development of trauma informed systems
• Promoting co production and lived experience approaches
• Supporting transformation initiatives
• Reducing health inequalities

Quality, Outcomes and Improvement

• Leading quality improvement programmes
• Promoting research, innovation and evidence based practice
• Supporting outcome measurement
• Driving improvements in patient outcomes, staff experience and service effectiveness

Executive and Partnership Leadership

• Representing PPT within senior organisational forums
• Developing effective partnerships across organisational and system boundaries
• Representing Cardiff and Vale UHB within regional, national and all Wales networks

Working for our organisation

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of the largest Integrated Health Boards in the UK, employing over 17,000 staff, providing over 100 specialist services. Working across 6 hospital sites, we have a diverse range of career opportunities to offer. Serving over 500,000 people living in Cardiff and the Vale, we are focussed on the health and care needs of our local population whilst working with our partners to develop regional services. Together we are committed to improving health outcomes for everyone, delivering excellent care and support.

Our mission is “Living Well, Caring Well, Working Together”, and our vision is that every person’s chance of leading a healthy life should be equal. Our 10‑year transformation and improvement strategy, Shaping Our Future Wellbeing, is our chance to work collaboratively with the public and our workforce to make our health board more sustainable for the future.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We are looking for an inspiring and credible professional leader who can demonstrate:

• Registered Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Doctoral level qualification in a relevant area of psychology
• Significant experience as a Consultant Practitioner Psychologist or equivalent senior leadership role
• Extensive experience of strategic leadership within complex healthcare systems
• Significant experience of professional, clinical and workforce governance
• Demonstrable track record of leading large scale service transformation and improvement
• Experience of influencing organisational strategy and working with senior executive leaders
• Strong understanding of quality, safety and assurance frameworks

Personal Qualities

You will be:

• An inspirational and compassionate leader
• A skilled communicator and influencer
• Credible at Board and Executive level
• Committed to inclusion, belonging and equality
• Passionate about improving population health outcomes
• Able to build effective partnerships across organisational boundaries
• Committed to the principles of co production and psychologically informed care

This role offers an exceptional opportunity to influence healthcare at scale.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Shape the future of psychological care across one of Wales' largest health systems
• Influence organisational strategy and service transformation
• Lead a highly skilled and diverse professional workforce
• Drive innovation, research and quality improvement
• Champion compassionate leadership, psychological safety and trauma informed care
• Improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for the populations we serve

Join us and help create a health system where psychological knowledge and expertise influence how care is designed, delivered and experienced across Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Person specification

Qualifications and Knowledge

• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical and Counselling)
• Doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or equivalent qualification conferring HCPC eligibility)
• Evidence of advanced post-qualification CPD demonstrating senior leadership capability
• Advanced knowledge of professional, ethical and regulatory frameworks (e.g. HCPC, BPS)
• Strong understanding of NHS Wales policy, strategy and system-wide service transformation

Experience

• Significant post-qualification experience at Consultant or equivalent level
• Demonstrable experience of senior professional leadership across psychology and/or psychological therapies services.
• Experience of organisation-wide professional governance, including standards, supervision, CPD and assurance.
• Proven track record in strategic service development, transformation and improvement initiatives
• Experience advising Executive and Board-level stakeholders
• Experience of workforce leadership, including management of senior staff and professional leads.

Skills and Attributes

• Highly developed strategic thinking and system leadership capability within complex organisations
• Strong communication, influencing and negotiation skills at Executive and Board level.
• Ability to analyse, synthesise and communicate complex and sensitive information.
• Credible, visible and values-based leadership with high levels of integrity and accountability
• Ability to lead across organisational, professional and system boundaries
• Commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion and psychologically informed leadership.
• Welsh Language Skills

MANAGING YOUR APPLICATION:

We are committed to promoting inclusion, where all staff have a sense of belonging. We welcome applications from everyone and recognise the need for our workforce to represent the diversity of the population we serve. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment where staff treat one another with dignity and respect and where diversity is celebrated. We aim to create a working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential no matter their disability, sex, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity or marriage and civil partnership status.We are keen to break down barriers in the UHB, and encourage applications from under-represented groups.

Applicants are invited to apply in Welsh. Any application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application made in English.

The UHB reserves the right to close this vacancy after 24 hours if a large number of suitable applications are received. Therefore, we encourage early applications to ensure consideration for this post.

Please check your email account regularly. Successful applicants will receive all recruitment related correspondence via the email account registered on the application form.

To work in the UK, all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship to obtain either a Health and Care visa or Skilled Worker visa , unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply should self‑assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship by visiting Work in the UK . If you are eligible for the Health and Care visa, application costs are lower and you do not need to pay the annual Immigration Health Surcharge.

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.

Name Rim Al-Samsam Job title Clinical Director, Mental Health Clinical Board Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 02921 824967 Additional information

Emma Cooke, Executive Director of AHPs, Health Science and Community Development [e-mail]