Principal Clinical Psychologist

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 64,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading children's healthcare provider in Sheffield seeks a Principal Clinical Psychologist to deliver specialist psychological services. This role involves assessments, interventions, and collaboration across multi-agency contexts, focusing on improving child and adolescent mental health. Applicants should be HCPC-registered Clinical Psychologists with relevant experience and training. Competitive salary offered.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Health and wellbeing programmes

Exclusive discounts

Qualifications

• HCPC-registered Clinical Psychologist.
• Expertise in psychological assessment and therapy.
• Experience in child clinical psychology and neuropsychology.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments and interventions.
• Lead psychological formulation and care planning.
• Consult and support non-psychologist colleagues.

Skills

Psychological assessment

Therapeutic intervention

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Education

Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology

Job description

Go back Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

Overview

Principal Clinical Psychologist

The closing date is 08 October 2025

Join our experienced and compassionate team within Sheffield Children's! Our team works across two sites - Centenary House and The Becton Centre - and collaborates to deliver high-quality, evidence-based psychological care for children, young people, and families. As a Principal Clinical Psychologist, you will provide specialist psychological services within Community CAMHS, supporting innovation and excellence in mental health care.

We're looking for an HCPC-registered Clinical Psychologist with:

• Post-graduate doctoral-level training in clinical psychology (or equivalent) as accredited by the BPS.
• Expertise in psychological assessment, formulation, and therapeutic intervention.
• Additional post-doctoral training and experience in specific therapeutic approaches and client groups.

Help shape the future of child and adolescent mental health in Sheffield. Apply now and be part of a forward-thinking and supportive team!

Main duties of the job

• Reporting into the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist, your responsibilities will include:
• 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.

Equality and Diversity

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.

#LI-Onsite

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology, (or its equivalent for those trained 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
• Registration as a Clinical Psychologist with Health Professions Council (or other domain title as agreed)
• 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 psychologist for a minimum of four years with 2 years at a highly specialist level and 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 child clinical psychology and paediatric neuropsychology including work with acute and chronic illness presentations, in- and out-patients and consultation to professional colleagues.
• Experience of delivering and/or supervising child and family 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