Principal Psychologist | Integrated Front Door Clinical Lead

Dorset Healthcare University Nhs Foundation Trust; Wareham; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Dorset HealthCare is recruiting a Principal Psychologist to lead the Integrated Front Door Team within our Pan Dorset CAMHS. The role combines clinical leadership with strategic service development, shaping how young people access high-quality, needs-led assessment aligned with the THRIVE model.

The post requires extensive experience as a Clinical Psychologist, leadership of teams, and a commitment to collaboration across health, social care and education partners.

Qualifications

• Qualified Clinical Psychologist with 5+ years post-qualification experience across CAMHS.
• Experience leading qualified and pre-qualified psychologists.
• Experience working with children, young people and families in mental health.
• Experience coordinating multi-agency partnerships and system-wide change.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional, clinical and strategic leadership within the Integrated Front Door Team.
• Influence service development and drive improvements across Dorset CAMHS.
• Offer expert psychological leadership, supervision and consultation to multidisciplinary colleagues.

Skills

Clinical psychology leadership

Thrive framework knowledge

Strategic service development

Supervision of psychologists

System-wide working

Education

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

HCPC registration

Job description

Job summary

Are you an experienced Clinical Psychologist ready to lead transformational change in Children and Young People's Mental Health Services?

Dorset CAMHS is seeking an exceptional Principal Psychologist for our Integrated Front Door (IFD) Team to provide professional, clinical and strategic leadership within our Pan Dorset service. This is an exciting opportunity to influence how children, young people and families access mental health support, ensuring that every referral receives a high-quality, needs-led assessment aligned with the THRIVE model of care. This is a PAN Dorset post working out of Wareham and Bournemouth.

Working alongside the CAMHS Head of Service, Deputy Head of Service and senior operational colleagues, you will play a pivotal role in shaping service delivery, supporting our highly skilled multidisciplinary workforce and driving continuous improvement across Dorset.

This is a highly influential role combining clinical expertise, operational leadership, workforce development and service innovation.

Main duties of the job

This role aligns with Dorset's THRIVE approach, ensuring children and young people receive the right support at the right time, with a strong focus on collaboration, shared decision‐making, prevention, early intervention and enabling young people to achieve their goals. You will play a key role in supporting engagement and helping young people access the networks and resources they need to thrive.

The post holder will have a passion for system wide working, be able to foster strong multi‑agency partnerships, working collaboratively with health, social care, education, voluntary sector and community partners to improve outcomes and create a seamless experience for families. You will provide expert psychological leadership, consultation and supervision to multidisciplinary colleagues, supporting evidence‐based practice and a psychologically informed culture across the system.

The role requires a strategic and operational leader who can drive service development, influence system‑wide change and ensure equitable access to support for children and young people. The successful candidate will combine advanced clinical expertise with excellent relationship‑building skills, a commitment to innovation and a passion for collaborative working to deliver high‑quality, responsive and person‑centred care.

Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which the Trust will cover the cost of.

About us

At Dorset HealthCare we're on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined‑up healthcare services. We're a dynamic, forward‑looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We do things differently here - it's one of the reasons the CQC rated us 'outstanding' in 2019. It's also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you're looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.

Our 7,000‑strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We're an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

Job responsibilities

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that AI can be a useful tool when completing your application. However, we are seeing an increasing over‑reliance of AI tools, which can negatively affect your application as it reduces a candidates individuality, and makes it difficult for us to gain a clear and authentic understanding of your experience, skills, and in turn your suitability for the role.

All submissions must be truthful and if you do use AI, it should only be used to enhance your application and not create your supporting statement in its entirety. Your supporting statement should be in your own words and must accurately reflect your personal experience and achievements. Where we have concerns that AI has been used to generate content that misrepresents your experience and suitability for the role, we may withdraw your application.

As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do [e-mail]

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working as a qualified Clinical Psychologist for a minimum of five years post‑qualification, with significant experience across children, young people and/or family mental health.
• Experience of professional leadership of qualified and pre‑qualified clinical psychologists.

Desirable

• Evidence of adopting a preventative and/or working in early help services for CYPF
• Evidence of working across partner agencies, specifically local authority and education partners

Additional requirements

Essential

• Must be capable of the clear articulation and interpretation of the role of the profession of clinical psychology based upon a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy.

Knowledge Skills and Training

Essential

• Skills in the use of complex and highly specialist methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Awareness of the Thrive framework and specifically able to evidence/reference working in a Thrive informed manner.

Knowledge Skills and Training

Essential

• Post‑graduate doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the British Psychological Society, (conferring eligibility for graduate membership) including specific models of psychopathology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
• Post‑doctoral accreditation in one or more additional specialised models of psychological therapy e.g CBT, CAT, DBT
• Skills in developing plans and structures to facilitate the flexible undertaking of complex activities across service and agencies.

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.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).