Lead Cons Practitioner Psychologist, Professional Lead For Pp

Sussex Partnership Nhs Foundation Trust; Waldron; On-site; GBP 77,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust invites an experienced senior psychological professional to lead the Psychological Professions within Forensic Health Services. This strategic role shapes pathways, culture and system-wide practice, partnering with colleagues to advance psychologically informed care for forensic populations.

As a core member of the leadership team, you will provide professional direction, workforce planning, supervision and governance across inpatient, community and

Qualifications

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology, including psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more therapies and lifespan development.
• Post-doctoral training in additional specialised areas of psychological practice relevant to the Care Group/Service.
• HCPC Registered as a practitioner Psychologist.
• Pre-qualification training/qualifications in research methodology, staff training or other applied psychology fields.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and professional leadership for psychological professions across Forensic Health Services and contribute to the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Provider Collaborative.
• Work with divisional leadership to support safe, effective services and bring a strong psychological voice to planning and transformation.
• Lead systems for governance, supervision, CPD, recruitment, and professional standards across forensic pathways.
• Offer expert professional advice on governance and standards as required.
• Support supervision, reflective practice and psychologically safe systems for service users and staff.
• Shape policy and service developments to strengthen psychologically informed forensic care across pathways.
• Lead inclusive recruitment and workforce planning aligned to transformation programmes.
• Champion inclusive, culturally sensitive practice with equality, diversity and inclusion embedded.
• Foster wellbeing through supervision, CPD, and communities of practice for psychological professionals.
• Provide consultation on complex forensic care, formulation, risk and service design.
• Lead audit, research, teaching and routine outcome measurement for continuous improvement.
• Maintain specialist clinical caseload and high clinical credibility within area of practice.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Clinical credibility

Education

Post-graduate doctoral training in applied psychology

Post doctoral training in specialised areas of psychological practice

HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist

Pre-qualification training in research methodology

Job description

Job summary

We are looking for an experienced and compassionate senior psychological professional to join us as Professional Lead for the Psychological Professions in our Forensic Health Services. This is a significant leadership role within the Specialist Division, offering the chance to shape a pathway, a culture and a system, while working alongside committed colleagues who are ambitious about the contribution of psychological professions to forensic care. The role will provide strategic leadership across low and medium secure inpatient services, Forensic Outreach Services, the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway and Mental Health Treatment Requirement services. The majority of services are in Sussex, with some extending into Surrey, and all are part of the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Provider Collaborative. The post may also be asked to consult and advise on Forensic CAMHS services.

The role is open to practitioner psychologists, psychological therapists and psychotherapists who meet the requirements of the relevant attached job description and person specification. We would warmly welcome applications from candidates who can bring senior clinical credibility, professional leadership experience and a strong commitment to developing psychologically informed services for people with forensic histories or at risk of offending.

Main duties of the job

Working as a core member of the Forensic Health Services leadership team, and in close collaboration with the Director of Psychological Professions and senior operational and clinical colleagues, you will bring a distinctive psychological voice to service development, risk governance, culture change and partnership working. You will help ensure that formulation-driven practice, evidence-based interventions and compassionate, trauma-informed approaches are embedded across forensic pathways, in line with the Trust strategy and the Psychological Professions strategic priorities for 2025-2030.

You will provide professional leadership, and where appropriate line management, to registered and unregistered psychological professionals across forensic inpatient, community, outreach and specialist pathway services. A central focus will be strengthening supervision, professional development, workforce planning, recruitment, clinical governance, service improvement, research, audit and evaluation so that psychological professions are supported to improve access, outcomes and quality of care for service users, carers and families.

About us

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health, learning disability and neurodevelopmental services across diverse coastal, rural and urban communities, with strong links to partners across health, social care, probation and criminal justice. Within Forensic Health Services, you will be joining committed multidisciplinary teams and senior leaders who want the psychological professions to be visible, valued and influential in improving care. Together, we are working to strengthen reflective, compassionate and inclusive approaches for people who may present with complex mental health needs, offending histories, trauma and risk.

Job responsibilities

• Provide strategic and professional leadership for psychological professions across Forensic Health Services, with a Trust-wide focus on forensic psychological practice and contribution to the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Provider Collaborative where appropriate.
• Work as part of the divisional leadership team and with senior professional leads for nursing, allied health professions and medicine to support safe, effective and sustainable services, bringing a clear psychological voice to business planning, transformation, service development and partnership working.
• Lead systems for professional governance, supervision, appraisal, continuing professional development, job planning and standards of professional practice for psychological professionals across forensic pathways.
• Provide senior professional advice on psychological professions governance and professional standards where required.
• Support robust supervision, reflective practice and psychologically safe systems that promote compassionate, trauma-informed and inclusive care for both service users and staff.
• Shape service and policy developments that strengthen psychologically informed forensic care across secure, community, outreach and specialist pathways, including partnership with probation, criminal justice, social care, commissioning and voluntary sector colleagues.
• Lead inclusive recruitment, workforce planning and professional development approaches that support a skilled, sustainable and diverse psychological professions workforce, aligned to transformation programmes and future service needs.
• Champion inclusive and culturally sensitive psychological practice, ensuring that equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded through supervision, CPD, recruitment, service development and divisional action planning.
• Foster staff and team wellbeing through supportive supervision, wellbeing conversations, clear role expectations, access to CPD and opportunities for psychological professionals to connect through communities of practice and peer networks.
• Provide expert consultation and advice on complex forensic psychological care, formulation, risk, service design and professional practice.
• Lead and contribute to audit, research, teaching, training, service evaluation and routine outcome measurement, using evidence, psychological theory and high-quality data to inform continuous improvement and innovation.
• Hold a specialist clinical caseload and maintain advanced clinical credibility within your area of psychological practice.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology [or its equivalent for those trained before 1996 or outside the UK] as approved by the HPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
• Post doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice relevant to the specific Care Group/Service.
• HPC Registered as a practitioner Psychologist
• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.

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 (Opens in a new tab). 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 (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

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.

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 (Opens in a new tab).

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 (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Create a job alert for this search

Lead Cons Practitioner Psychologist, Professional Lead for PP • Hellingly, United Kingdom