Senior Clinical Psychologist - Autism Assessment Pathway

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in London is seeking a Senior Clinical Psychologist for its Autism Assessment Pathway. This role is pivotal in providing high-quality psychological services to children and families, ensuring compliance with national guidelines and leading the psychological governance within the team. Candidates should possess extensive clinical experience, a doctoral level qualification in clinical psychology, and a strong background in neurodevelopmental assessment.

Qualifications

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology.
• Registered with the HCPC, BPS and DoN.
• Qualification in neurodevelopmental assessment for autism.
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.

Responsibilities

• Lead on the provision of a highly specialist clinical psychology service for children in the autism assessment pathway.
• Conduct specialist psychological assessments and consultations.
• Supervise junior psychologists and contribute to service development.

Skills

Communication

Clinical Assessment

Psychotherapy

Team Leadership

Education

Doctoral level training in clinical psychology

Qualification in neurodevelopmental assessment for autism

Registered with HCPC and BPS

Job description

Senior Clinical Psychologist - Autism Assessment Pathway

Employer St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Location London, United Kingdom Salary Competitive Closing date 10 Jul 2025

View more categories View less categories Discipline Life Sciences ,Psychology Hours Part Time Result Type Jobs

Job summary

This is a new post that will form an essential part of the autism diagnostic pathway MDT, ensuring compliance with national guidelines and leading on the provision and governance of psychology within the pathway.

The post holder is expected to lead on the provision of a highly specialist clinical psychology service for children (0-8yrs) seen within the autism assessment pathway. This will involve undertaking screening assessment, specialist psychological assessment and providing psychological consultation, advice and expertise to other clinical staff.

The post holder will be required to liaise with clinicians at St George's Hospital, and at other connected agencies across South West London and within the local integrated care system (ICS) to ensure that the evolving service complements current local service provision and fits the vision for improved neurodevelopmental assessments for children and young people.

Main duties of the job

Main duties include Specialist screening and assessment of parents of children 0-5 and 0-8yr on the autism assessment pathway

Leading on service development

Supervision of more junior psychologists inputting into the pathway

About us

St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey.Our sites include St George's Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).

After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.

Job description

Job responsibilities

**Please see the attached supporting job description and person specification document, which contains more information about the role and requirements. Please ensure your application refers to the job description and person specification**

Job description
Job responsibilities

**Please see the attached supporting job description and person specification document, which contains more information about the role and requirements. Please ensure your application refers to the job description and person specification**

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS
• Registered with the HCPC, BPS and DoN
• Qualification in neurodevelopmental assessment for autism (ADOS-trained)
• Formal training in the supervision of other psychologists

Desirable

• Postdoctoral training in psychological therapeutic approaches that can be applied to working with paediatric patients (e.g. ACT, CFT, EBMA)

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity indicating the ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
• Experience in applying psychological therapy within a family context
• Substantial experience (minimum 3 years) of working as a qualified psychologist in a paediatric service.
• Experience of working in a neurodevelopmental assessment service
• Experience of contributing to and managing MDTs
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for patients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan
• Significant experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
• The ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.

Desirable

• Experience in completing cognitive assessments and the use of key psychometric assessment tools such as the WISC-V, WPPSI-IV
• Experience of professional management and supervision of qualified and prequalified clinical psychologists and psychologists in training
• Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts

Knowledge

Essential

• Doctoral level or post-qualification knowledge of systemic and organisational working within a health care setting.
• Doctoral level knowledge of clinical Psychology, showing sophisticated understanding of models of assessment and intervention related to neurodevelopmental conditions.
• Knowledge of legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the patient population and mental health.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.

Skills

Essential

• Skilled in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management that frequently require sustained and intense concentration
• A high level ability to communicate effectively at both a written and oral level complex, highly technical and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and a wide range of lay and professional persons within and outside the NHS.
• Skilled in providing consultation and training to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Ability to contain and work with organisational stress and ability to 'hold' the stress of others.
• 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.
• Must be able to provide effective clinical leadership and to demonstrate leadership and managerial skills
• Ability to articulate and interpret clearly the role of the profession of clinical psychology based upon a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy.
• Must be able to plan for delivery of a specialist service, both short/medium and long term

other

Essential

• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC

Person Specification
Qualifications

Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS
• Registered with the HCPC, BPS and DoN
• Qualification in neurodevelopmental assessment for autism (ADOS-trained)
• Formal training in the supervision of other psychologists

Desirable

• Postdoctoral training in psychological therapeutic approaches that can be applied to working with paediatric patients (e.g. ACT, CFT, EBMA)

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity indicating the ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
• Experience in applying psychological therapy within a family context
• Substantial experience (minimum 3 years) of working as a qualified psychologist in a paediatric service.
• Experience of working in a neurodevelopmental assessment service
• Experience of contributing to and managing MDTs
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for patients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan
• Significant experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
• The ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.

Desirable

• Experience in completing cognitive assessments and the use of key psychometric assessment tools such as the WISC-V, WPPSI-IV
• Experience of professional management and supervision of qualified and prequalified clinical psychologists and psychologists in training
• Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts

Knowledge

Essential

• Doctoral level or post-qualification knowledge of systemic and organisational working within a health care setting.
• Doctoral level knowledge of clinical Psychology, showing sophisticated understanding of models of assessment and intervention related to neurodevelopmental conditions.
• Knowledge of legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the patient population and mental health.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.

Skills

Essential

• Skilled in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management that frequently require sustained and intense concentration
• A high level ability to communicate effectively at both a written and oral level complex, highly technical and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and a wide range of lay and professional persons within and outside the NHS.
• Skilled in providing consultation and training to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Ability to contain and work with organisational stress and ability to 'hold' the stress of others.
• 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.
• Must be able to provide effective clinical leadership and to demonstrate leadership and managerial skills
• Ability to articulate and interpret clearly the role of the profession of clinical psychology based upon a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy.
• Must be able to plan for delivery of a specialist service, both short/medium and long term

other

Essential

• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC

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.
UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

Additional information
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.
UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

Employer details

Employer name

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address

St George's Hospital

Paediatric Offices, 2nd Floor Lanesborough Wing

London

SW17 0QT

Employer's website

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