Highly Specialist Clinical / Counselling Psychologist

Oxfordshire County Council; England; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Oxfordshire County Council seeks a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist to join our multidisciplinary team at the Community Family Clinic. This role supports vulnerable children and families, allowing for extensive clinical development, creativity in interventions, and participation in research initiatives, all within a supportive environment.

Benefits

Generous pension

Relocation package

Allocated funding for CPD

Supportive team environment

Qualifications

• Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist with interest in evidence-based practices.
• Committed to enabling positive change and supporting families.
• Ability to lead clinical practice with creativity and innovation.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Clinical Team input in one of three localities managing a family therapist and psychological practitioner.
• Provide specialist psychological assessments and interventions.
• Support vulnerable children and families to improve life chances and reduce safeguarding concerns.

Skills

Evidence-based practice

Team collaboration

Curiosity and open-mindedness

Compassion

Education

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

Job description

About Us

How about joining the Clinical Team at Oxfordshire County Council in our new Community Family Clinic initiative?

You will be joining our highly regarded multidisciplinary Clinical Team led by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist. Together, we strive towards a creative, dynamic, and evidence-based approach that strongly draws on trauma-informed, developmental, and systemic models. The team supports each other in working in often complex areas through regular team meetings, supervision spaces, and monthly reflective practice facilitated by the highly regarded Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Family Therapist Arlene Vetere. Team members are supported in their development, and we have allocated funding for CPD. As a team, we also work closely with the clinical psychology doctoral training at Oxford University, developing opportunities for research and service innovation, and supervising trainee placements.

We are expanding our services to children, young people, and families in Oxfordshire with an innovative Community Family Clinic initiative, where you will work with other Clinical Psychologists, Family Therapists, and Psychological Family Practitioners. The Clinical Team is a highly regarded therapeutic team within Oxfordshire County Council, with a strong value base and full support for its members. We want people in our team to thrive professionally so they can best support the children and families we serve.

Over the past eight years, we have quadrupled in size, developed innovative tools, published papers, and collaborated with colleagues across the UK and Europe. Our outdoor therapeutic centre, equipped with mountain bikes, canoes, camping gear, and Land Rovers located by the river in central Oxford, offers opportunities for truly innovative work. Additionally, Oxfordshire County Council is an outstanding employer, offering very generous work conditions, including an Agenda for Change salary, a generous pension, and a relocation package.

About the Role

In this specific role, you will be working as part of our Clinical Team alongside the Family Solutions Service. The FSS comprises the Family Help and Statutory Teams, providing support to vulnerable children and their birth families to reduce safeguarding concerns and improve life chances for children aged 0-19. As a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist, you will lead the Clinical Team input in one of three localities, managing a team consisting of a family therapist and a psychological practitioner. You will be supported by two other Grade 8b Clinical Psychologists leading the other localities, and by the entire Clinical Team, which operates as a united, independent entity across areas. Our primary goal is to support children, parents, and families in addressing issues that may contribute to family breakdown and, whenever possible, support families to remain together.

This role offers extensive opportunities to develop your clinical skills by working with a diverse range of needs and experiences, including families, children, and young people across various ages, and supporting staff teams. You will be able to utilize and develop a wide array of skills in delivering innovative interventions to meet the complex needs of this population, including providing specialist psychological assessments and interventions based on models such as systemic thinking, Video Interaction Guidance, MBT, trauma-informed approaches, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. As part of the wider Clinical team, you will continue to explore ways to meet these needs flexibly, combining creativity and innovation with evidence-based practice. This role also provides an excellent opportunity to lead in extending and innovating practice, including building on the team’s research and publication efforts. We have published two papers on consultations with teams and residential children’s homes, and recently contributed a chapter to a forthcoming book on safety and protection within residential children’s homes.

We are also eager to meet with you to discuss any specific skills and experiences you wish to further develop in this role.

About You

We are looking forward to welcoming a Clinical Psychologist committed to enabling and promoting positive change. You should be enthusiastic, compassionate, and a team player who enhances our team environment. Your interest in continuous learning will be demonstrated by how you utilize evidence-based practices to inform your work. We use formulation as our entry point for all interventions, so your ability to remain curious and open-minded about presentations and intervention effectiveness is crucial. We believe families can be helped, and that supporting parents to reach their potential can prevent family breakdowns.