Principle Applied Psychologist

Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust; Doncaster; On-site; GBP 67,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Principal Applied Psychologist (Clinical or Counselling) Band 8b in Doncaster. The post offers a permanent contract, full time hours, and flexible working arrangements, with a salary scale of £66,582–£77,368 per annum.

The post involves high specialist psychological work with complex mental health needs, leadership responsibilities, and supervision of a multidisciplinary team to ensure integrated, high-quality care.

Qualifications

• Post-graduate training in clinical/counselling psychology accredited by BPS.
• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist and ongoing CPD.
• Post-doctoral training in additional psychological practice areas.
• Experience supervising doctoral trainees and teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention.
• Lead and supervise psychological therapists and multidisciplinary colleagues.
• Contribute to service development, quality improvement and strategic planning.
• Promote reflective practice and psychologically informed care across pathways.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Risk assessment

Clinical supervision

Multiagency working

Psychometric tests

Education

Post-graduate training (doctoral level) in clinical / counselling psychology

HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist

Post-doctoral training in specialized areas

Trained in clinical supervision

Registration with BPS

Job description

Main area Principle Applied Psychologist (Clinical or Counselling) Grade NHS AfC: Band 8b Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week Job ref 376-DCGM-0297-A

Employer Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Forest Gate, Tickhill Road Town Doncaster Salary £66,582 - £77,368 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 04/11/2026 23:59

NHS AfC: Band 8b

Job overview

This exciting role provides highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for individuals with complex mental health needs, drawing on a range of evidence-based therapeutic models. The post holder will work with complexity, risk and uncertainty, offering psychological expertise to support formulation-driven and integrated care.
Alongside a significant clinical caseload, the post holder will take a senior leadership role, providing supervision, clinical oversight and consultation to psychological therapists and multidisciplinary colleagues. They will support reflective practice and promote psychologically informed thinking across teams and pathways.

Main duties of the job

Working with senior clinical and operational leads, the post holder will contribute to service development, quality improvement and strategic planning, supporting effective pathways and responsive, high-quality care within system pressures. Strong leadership, communication and consultation skills are essential, with the ability to influence.
A key aspect of the role is shaping and sustaining a culture of psychological safety, containment and shared responsibility. The post holder will promote reflective practice, curiosity and psychologically informed responses to clinical and organisational challenges, supporting staff to think and work with complexity.
They will also support staff wellbeing and resilience, helping teams process the emotional impact of clinical work and maintain effective, cohesive functioning in high-pressure environments.
We particularly welcome applicants with an interest in trauma and complex emotional needs.

Working for our organisation

Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) employ around 4000 talented colleagues who are very much appreciated, valued, and respected.

We have a wide portfolio which includes mental health, physical health, learning disability and drug and alcohol services.

We are dedicated to the development of our our people and hold a learning half day every month for our colleagues.

We are passionate about enhancing the quality of our service and we work hard to attract and select the right colleagues for our organisation. Our goal is to employ those who share our passion for providing first class care while remaining committed to our vision and values. Please view our Strategy using the link below:

To find out more about working for RDaSH and the fantastic benefits we offer visit our website:

We are committed to inclusive cultures and really value people in our organisation, view our Allyship video on YouTube to find out more:

The main terms and conditions of service can be found here:

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if there are a high amount of applications

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please view the attached job description and person specification to view the full details about the role

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if there are a high amount of applications

Person specification

Qualifications

• Post-graduate training (doctoral level equivalent) in clinical / counselling psychology (or its equivalent prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS.
• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist
• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees
• Experienced in care co ordination
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Registration with BPS
• Additional post doctoral training in working with complex emotional needs, e.g., DBT.

Experience

• Working as a qualified applied psychologist within the designated service including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings.
• Working with people with complex emotional needs.
• Exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care as a care co ordinator/key worker and leader of a multidisciplinary team
• Liaison and joint working with statutory, voluntary and private sector agencies
• Teaching, training, clinical supervision of other psychological practitioners.
• Active participation in quality and service improvement initiatives.
• Leading a therapy team

Knowledge

• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health and its implications for clinical practice.
• Project Management / audit / quality Improvement knowledge

Skills

• Evidence- based practice relevant to the role & in the care of difficult to treat groups e.g. dual diagnoses, additional disabilities or severely challenging behavior
• Risk assessment and risk management & clinical governance
• Communicate highly complex, highly sensitive and contentious information effectively, to a wide range of people
• Adapt creatively the evidence base for interventions in mental health for clients with communication difficulties / learning disabilities.
• Articulate the value added by applied psychology services within the context of multidisciplinary mental health and learning disability healthcare provision.
• Undertake complex multiagency working and liaise with multiple systems
• Utilise psychometric tests competently
• Provide effective teaching, training and clinical supervision for the multidisciplinary team.
• Identify, provide and promote appropriate interventions / means of support for carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours.
• Utilise appropriate clinical governance mechanisms within own work.
• Project Management / audit / quality Improvement skills

Please note, not all vacancies or applications are eligible for sponsorship.

Please note, there have been some changes made to Home Office guidance including changes to salary thresholds for sponsorship applications and eligibility for dependent visas from 9 April 2005 and from 22 July 2025

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a high number of applications.