Principal Practitioner Psychologist - Pain

NHS; Manchester; On-site; GBP 64,000 - 75,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading mental health trust in Greater Manchester is seeking a Principal Practitioner Psychologist to join the team at Wythenshawe Hospital. This part-time role focuses on delivering high-quality pain management services and involves supervising other psychologists. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in pain management psychology and will work closely with a multidisciplinary team to enhance patient care and service efficacy. Competitive salary and excellent staff benefits included.

Benefits

27 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Excellent pension

Cycle to work scheme

Wellbeing programme

Employee discounts

Fuel cards for applicable roles

Qualifications

• Considerable experience of working as a practitioner psychologist in pain management.
• Experience of group-based CBT interventions.
• Experience in assessment and therapeutic work with adults.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist assessment, consultation, and intervention for chronic pain.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary staff in service developments.
• Supervise other practitioner psychologists.

Skills

Advanced psychological assessment skills

Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams

Consultation skills

Supervision of psychologists

Education

British Psychological Society Accredited Doctoral Degree

Registered with HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist

Job description

Job summary

0.6WTE Band 8B Principal Practitioner Psychologist - Pain

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced practitioner psychologist to work in partnership with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) to contribute at a senior level (alongside another 8B colleague) to the ongoing delivery of high quality, psychologically informed pain management. The role includes a particular focus on offering senior support and oversight to the development of the pain services including contributing to Pain Management Programme and providing management/clinical supervision to other practitioner psychologists.

You will be joining a well-developed group of practitioner psychologists working within physical health psychological services. The post holder will be based at Wythenshawe Hospital but provide up to 1 day a week input into a community pain team in Trafford. You would be supported by the Head of Physical Health Psychological Services for GMMH and have access to peer supervision from an experienced practitioner psychologist already in post.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will have experience of and enthusiasm for working within the chronic pain specialism and will provide a service of specialist assessment, consultation and intervention, working with a team of multidisciplinary staff. There are excellent opportunities within the service to become involved with service developments and with audit and research projects. The service has close links with Lancaster and Liverpool Doctorate Training Programmes and GMMH is the Host Trust for the Manchester Doctorate Programme.

There is a principal practitioner psychologist already in post and the successful candidate will benefit significantly from working alongside them as part of their induction and ongoing development.

About us

Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) Foundation Trust employs over 7,000 members of staff, who deliver services from more than 122 locations.

We provide inpatient and community-based mental health care for people living in Bolton, the city of Manchester, Salford, Trafford and the borough of Wigan, and a wide range of specialist mental health and substance misuse services across Greater Manchester, the northwest of England and beyond.

Greater Manchester is one of the world's most innovative, original and exciting places to live and work. From the beauty of the surrounding countryside to the heart of the vibrant inner city with great shopping, entertainment and dining options.

Wherever you go you will experience a great northern welcome with people famed for their warmth, humour and generosity.

Our people enjoy their work, have opportunities to learn and develop their skills and are encouraged to generate new ideas that improve care for our service users.

Details

• Date posted: 03 November 2025
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 8b
• Salary: £64,455 to £74,896 a year per annum pro rata
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Part‑time
• Reference number: 437‑7444209‑A

Job locations

• Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, M23 9LT

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification.

Staff benefits

• Pay Enhancements
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays rising to 29 after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years
• Excellent pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrifice car scheme
• Wellbeing programme
• Blue Light Card Discounts
• fuelGenie Fuel Cards (for applicable roles)

Person Specification Qualifications

Essential

• British Psychological Society Accredited Doctoral Degree in Clinical, Health or Counselling Psychology.
• Registered with the Health & Care Professions Council as a “Practitioner Psychologist”.

Desirable

• Training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological relevance (e.g. staff training, research methodology, and/or other fields of applied psychology)
• Training in management skills

Experience

Essential

• Considerable experience of working as a practitioner psychologist in relevant settings and services (i.e. Pain Management).
• Experience of group based CBT interventions
• Considerable experience in assessment and therapeutic work with adults with mental health/psychological needs in the setting of physical health problems
• Experience of representing practitioner psychology services in multidisciplinary settings.
• Experience of providing supervision (professional / clinical), teaching and/or training.

Desirable

• Experience of applying legislation and national guidance in relation to the physical health specialism
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the life span and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, in‑patient.

Knowledge

Essential

• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical/counselling/health psychology.
• Evidence of CPD as recommended by HCPC, BPS & KSF.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies.

Desirable

• Well‑developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific groups (i.e. those with chronic illness/traumatic medical histories).

Skills

Essential

• Highly developed skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Ability to work effectively within a multi‑disciplinary team and to liaise effectively with other professionals.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professionals and non‑professional groups.
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.

Other

• 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.

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).

Employer details

Greater Manchester Mental Health NHSFT

Wythenshawe Hospital

Manchester

M23 9LT

Website: https://www.gmmh.nhs.uk/