Practitioner Psychologist

Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust; England; On-site; GBP 67,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Band 8b Practitioner Psychologist to join our Community Forensic Services across Norfolk and Suffolk. You will manage the psychology service, provide highly specialist assessment, formulation and intervention, and lead service development within a multidisciplinary team.

The post requires HCPC registration, substantial experience with complex presentations and risk, and a commitment to trauma-informed practice.

Qualifications

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology and eligibility for chartered status with the BPS.
• Registered Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC.
• Evidence of CPD in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.

Responsibilities

• Provide highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention within a community forensic setting.
• Lead on service development, evaluation and quality improvement within the team.
• Provide supervision and training to psychology staff and trainees; contribute to MDT practice and care pathways.

Skills

Risk assessment

Communication

Medico-legal reporting

Clinical leadership

Education

Doctoral level training in clinical psychology

HCPC registration

CPD in specialised areas

Job description

We are seeking a highly skilled Band 8b Practitioner Psychologist to join our Community Forensic Services, working across both Norfolk and Suffolk, supporting individuals with complex mental health, offending, and risk-related needs to live safely and successfully within the community. The post holder will be responsible for managing the existing psychological service within the Norfolk Forensic Community Team and developing the newly commissioned psychological service within the Suffolk Forensic Community team.

The post-holder will provide highly specialist psychological services, delivering assessment, formulation, intervention, consultation and risk management for individuals with complex mental health, offending and forensic needs. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, the post-holder will contribute to care planning, service development and the promotion of psychologically informed practice across the service. The role includes leadership responsibility for Community Forensic Service development and evaluation, supervision of psychology staff and trainees, and partnership working with health, social care and criminal justice agencies.

The successful candidate will be an HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologist with substantial experience of working with complex presentations and risk. They will have strong skills in formulation, consultation, supervision, and multidisciplinary working, alongside a commitment to recovery-focused and trauma-informed practice.

Main duties of the job

Working with the community psychology team, (which consists of one additional qualified psychologist and two band 4 assistant psychologists), the post-holder will provide highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for individuals with complex mental health, offending and risk-related needs within a community forensic setting.

The successful candidate will provide consultation and specialist advice to multidisciplinary colleagues, external agencies and partner organisations. They will promote psychologically informed and trauma-informed practice across the service, working collaboratively with health, social care and criminal justice partners to support effective care pathways and positive outcomes for service users.

As a senior member of the team, the post-holder will provide clinical leadership, supervision and training to psychology staff, trainees and other professionals. The successful candidate will work closely with the Consultant Psychologists within the team to contribute to service development, quality improvement, audit and research activities, ensuring that services are evidence-based, responsive to need and delivered in accordance with professional, ethical and organisational standards.

About us

At Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, inclusion is at the heart of how we work. We are committed to creating a fair, transparent and accessible recruitment process where every candidate has the opportunity to succeed.

We actively encourage applications from people from all backgrounds, particularly those currently underrepresented in our workforce, including those from the global majority. We recognise that not everyone has equal access to opportunities and are working to address this.

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and ensuring all candidates receive a positive and equitable experience.

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Job responsibilities

Within the wider NSFT Secure Services team, we employ a diverse and supportive team of psychologists, including clinical, counselling and forensic psychologists, offering a wider support network, with the opportunity for the successful candidate to continue to develop their expertise via training and professional development, opportunities for leadership and service development within a specialist forensic pathway.

Working as part of a wider multidisciplinary team, they will lead on service development and evaluation, contribute to comprehensive care planning, risk assessment and risk management, ensuring that psychological understanding informs decision-making and supports recovery, safety and community integration.

The key responsibilities for this role are:

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology, or its equivalent, including eligibility for chartered status with the BPS
• Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Evidence of CPD in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice

Experience

• Specialist complex psychological assessment and treatment of people with a wide range of mental health problems, of varying severity and complexity.
• Extensive experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist and evidence of specialist knowledge gained through practice and ongoing training
• Teaching, training and delivering clinical supervision.
• Representing psychology within MDT setting (clinical and organisational contexts).

Skills

• Assessment, evaluation and management of risk associated with mental ill health and related psychopathology
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively complex, highly technical and clinically highly sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Production of reports suitable for public presentations and presentation in medico legal setting

Knowledge

• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnosis, people with additional disabilities etc.)
• Legislation and its implication for clinical practice and the appropriate management of people presenting with mental health problems
• Providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups

Other

• Ability to travel independently

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.

£66,582 to £77,368 a yeargross per annum pro rata