Principal Clinical/Forensic Psychologist

NHS; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 64,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading children's healthcare trust in the UK seeks a Principal Clinical/Forensic Psychologist to provide specialist support for children and young people. This role involves psychological assessments, multi-agency collaboration, and offering consultation and training. With opportunities for service development, this position supports flexible working arrangements. The ideal candidate will have a doctoral-level psychology qualification and experience in mental health services. Competitive salary and benefits are offered.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Health and wellbeing programs

Exclusive discounts

Qualifications

• Doctoral level training in clinical/forensic psychology required.
• Further specialist training in specific psychological approaches needed.
• Experience in mental health services for children and young people.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments for children referred to the service.
• Lead psychological formulation and care planning in a multi-agency context.
• Supervise and develop more junior psychologists.

Skills

Psychological assessment

Clinical supervision

Multi-agency collaboration

Communication skills

Education

Post-graduate training in clinical/forensic psychology

HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist

Job description

Principal Clinical/Forensic Psychologist

The closing date is 22 December 2025

We are looking for a dynamic psychologist to help shape and implement innovation to our offer of support and ways of working with young people, their families and the professional networks around them.

Within Community CAMHS we have recognised that some of our current ways of working may not be what is needed for some of the young people and families most in need of care and support and we are committed to work towards change and improvement. If you are passionate about ensuring high quality care for young people and families who experience multi layers of disadvantage, this may be the job for you.

This is an exciting development and will offer a psychologist in this post opportunities for service development, leadership, and co‑production. At the core of this role is the ability to provide psychologically informed support for multiagency and multidisciplinary colleagues, alongside delivering highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention with young people and families. A keen interest in working in complex safeguarding and in a multiagency way is essential.

You will be supported by a large, compassionate, and professionally diverse team within Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust.

Our service supports flexible working and people that want part time or additional hours may be considered.

Main duties of the job

• Provide specialist psychological assessments and interventions for children and young people referred to the service.
• Lead on psychological formulation and care planning within a multi‑agency context.
• Offer consultation, training, and support to non‑psychologist colleagues and carers.
• Contribute to service development, clinical governance, audit, and applied research.
• Supervise and help develop more junior psychologists and trainees.
• Promote a culture of learning, reflective practice, and collaborative working.

About us

At Sheffield Children's, our purpose is clear: to provide healthier futures for children and young people. Our three strategic aims are Outstanding Patient Care, Brilliant Place to Work, and Leaders in Children's Health.

We work with partners across local, regional, and national levels to deliver physical and mental healthcare in both acute and community settings. Many of our clinicians are nationally and internationally recognised for their expertise.

We're proud that 73% of colleagues would recommend Sheffield Children's as a place to work, placing us among the top five NHS trusts in England -- and the top-ranked trust in the North East and Yorkshire -- in the latest NHS Staff Survey.

Our nearly 4,000 colleagues bring our CARE values -- Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence -- to life every day, creating a kind, welcoming environment where patients and families feel safe and supported.

As we approach our 150th anniversary in 2026, we're excited to keep building our leadership in children's health, improve experiences for patients and staff, and focus on our communities and population health.

We also offer excellent benefits to support your wellbeing, with generous annual leave and pension schemes, health and wellbeing programmes, and exclusive discounts -- helping you thrive at work and beyond.

Job responsibilities

For more information on the main responsibilities for this post, please refer to the job description and person specification.

Please note that Sheffield Children's uplift pay to meet the Real Living Wage, which is £12.60 per hour.

Diversity Statement

At Sheffield Children’s, we are committed to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and supports everyone's success. We prioritise Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in our recruitment practices, creating a welcoming space for people of all backgrounds, including ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ members.

Recognising that inclusivity is an ongoing effort, we review our processes and welcome feedback to enhance our practices. A diverse team strengthens our organisation and the quality of care we deliver. For ideas on how we can improve, please contact our Recruitment Manager at [e-mail]. Together, we're building a workplace where everyone belongs.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

• Post‑graduate training (doctoral level equivalent) in clinical / forensic psychology (or its equivalent prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuro‑psychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
• Further specialist training & supervision in specific psychological approaches and with specific client groups supported by a programme of professional development as identified in an agreed personal development plan.
• Further post‑doctoral training, supervision and experience in the specific area of service
• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist
• Post‑doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Further formal training, qualification or accreditation in specialised psychological approaches (eg BPS DECP, DNP, UKCP etc).

Experience

• Assessed experience and competencies normally acquired through working as a qualified clinical/forensic psychologist, including significant experience in services for children with mental health, health and/or neurodevelopmental difficulties.
• Experience of working and communicating with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course; in particular, children of pre‑school, primary school age and adolescents, as well as work with family groups and adults, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems and verbal and physical abuse.
• Specific experience and competencies in clinical/forensic psychology, including in‑and out‑patients and consultation to professional colleagues.
• Experience of delivering and/or supervising presentations across a range of sectors- including (a) CAMHS, (b) physical health/paediatrics, (c) child development, (d) learning disabilities, (e) neuropsychology, (f) social services/child protection, (g) Pre‑school/Early Years, (h) adolescence, (i) forensic, (j) primary care and community development.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co‑ordinator and also within the context of a multi‑disciplinary care plan.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
• Experience of representing a psychological perspective within the context of multi‑disciplinary care.
• Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
• Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of children with specific health or developmental difficulties.
• Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.

Knowledge and Skills

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to children of all ages, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non‑professional groups.
• Doctoral level knowledge and or equivalent of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practised within the field of clinical psychology.
• Well‑developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. eating disorder, dual diagnoses, child protection, chronic or terminal illness, severely challenging behaviours etc.).
• Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessment and intervention approaches in specific modalities (e.g. family therapy, cognitive therapy, psychotherapy etc.) or integrative approaches.

Personal Attributes

• Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
• Ability to identify, and employ as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Commitment and competencies in multi‑disciplinary and multi‑agency working.
• Ability to develop and use complex multi‑media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.

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.

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

£64,455 to £74,896 a year per annum pro rata