Lead Consultant Practitioner Psychologist / Professional Lead for Psychological Professions

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust; Hellingly; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Leadership development access

Research support and innovation

Staff wellbeing and safe workplaces

Strategic direction across forensic•

Job summary

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Lead Consultant Practitioner Psychologist / Professional Lead for Psychological Professions to provide strategic leadership across forensic health services in Sussex. The role shapes services, governance and workforce development, promoting evidence-based, trauma-informed practice within low and medium secure settings and related pathways.

You will work with senior leaders to influence service strategy and professional influence, supporting

Qualifications

• Senior psychological professional with leadership experience across complex services.
• Experience in service development, governance and workforce planning.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and professional leadership for psychological professions across Forensic Health Services.
• Lead service development, transformation and business planning across forensic pathways.
• Oversee supervision, professional governance, appraisal and CPD for staff.
• Offer expert consultation on complex psychological care, formulation, risk and service design.
• Support recruitment, retention and development of a skilled psychological workforce.
• Champion trauma-informed, culturally responsive and reflective practice.
• Lead research, audits, teaching and service evaluation activities.
• Maintain a specialist clinical caseload to support leadership credibility.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Clinical leadership

Workforce development

Governance

CPD

Research & evaluation

Teaching & supervision

Team leadership

Formulation-driven practice

Job description

Lead Consultant Practitioner Psychologist / Professional Lead for Psychological Professions

NHS AfC Band 8d

Permanent | Part time, 30 hours per week

Based at The Firs, Hellingly

Could you provide strategic leadership for psychological professions across forensic services in Sussex?

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced senior psychological professional to become our Professional Lead for Psychological Professions within Forensic Health Services.

This is a significant leadership opportunity within our Specialist Division, offering the chance to shape services, influence culture and strengthen the contribution of psychological professions across a diverse range of forensic pathways.

Working alongside senior operational and clinical leaders, you will provide strategic leadership across low and medium secure services, Forensic Outreach Services, the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway and Mental Health Treatment Requirement services, helping to ensure psychologically informed practice is embedded throughout the patient journey.

The opportunity

This role offers the opportunity to influence care at both service and system level.

As a core member of the Forensic Health Services leadership team, you will bring a distinctive psychological perspective to service development, transformation, governance, workforce planning and partnership working.

You’ll work closely with the Director of Psychological Professions and senior colleagues across nursing, medicine and allied health professions to ensure evidence-based, formulation-driven and trauma-informed approaches remain central to the delivery of forensic care.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future direction of psychological professions within a large and evolving forensic service.

What you’ll be doing

• Providing strategic and professional leadership for psychological professions across Forensic Health Services
• Supporting service development, transformation and business planning across forensic pathways
• Leading systems for supervision, professional governance, appraisal, CPD and workforce development
• Providing expert consultation on complex psychological care, formulation, risk and service design
• Supporting recruitment, retention and development of a highly skilled psychological professions workforce
• Championing psychologically informed, trauma-informed and culturally responsive practice
• Strengthening reflective practice, staff wellbeing and psychologically safe working environments
• Leading and contributing to research, audit, teaching, service evaluation and quality improvement activity
• Maintaining a specialist clinical caseload to support professional credibility and leadership

About you

We’re looking for an experienced and compassionate senior psychological professional with a strong track record of leadership, service development and professional influence.

You will bring senior clinical credibility alongside the ability to lead strategically across complex services and systems.

Applications are welcomed from practitioner psychologists, psychotherapists and psychological therapists who meet the professional requirements of the role.

Most importantly, you’ll be passionate about developing psychologically informed services, supporting multidisciplinary teams and improving outcomes for people with complex mental health needs, offending histories, trauma and risk-related presentations.

Why join Sussex Partnership?

Sussex Partnership provides mental health, learning disability and neurodevelopmental services across Sussex and works closely with partners across health, social care, probation and criminal justice services.

Within Forensic Health Services, you’ll join a team that values the contribution of psychological professions and is committed to strengthening compassionate, reflective and evidence-based practice.

We offer:

• Flexible working opportunities
• Access to leadership development and professional networks
• Strong support for research, service evaluation and innovation
• Commitment to staff wellbeing and psychologically safe workplaces
• Opportunities to shape strategic direction across specialist forensic services
• A culture that values trauma-informed, inclusive and recovery-focused care

Make your mark on forensic psychological services

If you’re looking for a senior leadership role where you can influence workforce development, clinical practice and service strategy while maintaining a strong professional voice, we’d love to hear from you.