Senior Forensic Psychologist

Serco Limited; Bristol; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 71,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Health and wellbeing

Training and development

Discounts

ShareSave scheme

Volunteer charity day

Employee networks

Job summary

Serco is seeking a Senior Forensic Psychologist to join HMP Ashfield, a Category C prison in Bristol. This full-time role leads a team of forensic psychologists and guides rehabilitation initiatives, using EMDR, schema therapy, and diverse approaches.

You will assess risks, shape interventions, and empower offenders toward a positive future. You’ll contribute to safeguarding the prison, supervising staff, and delivering offender programs, while collaborating with prison teams and external

Qualifications

• Chartered status with the British Psychological Society.
• Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council as a Forensic Psychologist.
• Registered RAAPS member with the BPS.
• Strong knowledge of the Offender Personality Disorder pathway and complex offender formulations.
• Experience completing parole reports and assessments (WAIS IV, HCR-20, PCL-R, IPDE, SARA).

Responsibilities

• Undertake forensic risk assessments to support safer custody.
• Act as professional witness in parole board hearings and multi‑agency meetings.
• Lead and contribute to offending behaviour programmes.
• Deliver training on topics such as personality disorder or managing difficult behaviour.
• Ensure all work complies with the code of conduct and BPS guidelines.

Skills

BPS Chartered

HCPC registration

RAAPS member

Offender pathway knowledge

Forensic assessments WAIS IV/HCR-20/Pc

Job description

Senior Forensic Psychologist

Full Time, 40 hours - Permanent

Location: HMP Ashfield, Bristol, BS16 9QJ

Salary:Up to £61,475.75per annum & Corporate Company Benefits

Ready to think differently about rehabilitation?

Discover an exciting opportunity to enrich your career as a Senior Forensic Psychologist at HMP Ashfield, at Category C prison for male sexual offenders. From a new Therapeutic Community to the use of EMDR and schema therapy, here you can enhance your experience and career with a variety of therapeutic approaches.

This isn't a typical prison psychology role. You'll be a leader, a strategist, and a catalyst for change. You'll work directly with prisoners facing complex challenges, including mental illness, personality disorders, cognitive deficits, self-harming behaviours and significant offending histories. Managing a team of forensic psychologists and forensic psychologists-in-training, you'll use your expertise to assess risks, guide rehabilitation programmes, and empower prisoners for a positive future.

Make an impact at Serco

As a Senior Forensic Psychologist at HMP Ashfield, you'll play a crucial role in supporting the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners. By conducting psychological assessments and providing expert consultancy to prison staff, you'll help shape interventions that directly address offending behaviour. Your work will not only contribute to the safety and wellbeing of individuals but also enhance the broader rehabilitative efforts of the prison, ultimately helping reduce re-offending and supporting the safe reintegration of offenders into society.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Undertaking forensic risk assessments of prisoners that contribute to the safer custody of residents
• Acting as a professional witness in parole board hearings, multi-agency meetings, and other formal settings
• Leading and contributing to the development and delivery of offending behaviour programmes
• Delivering training on topics such as personality disorder, psychopathy or managing difficult behaviour
• Ensuring all work adheres to our code of conduct and British Psychological Society (BPS) guidelines

As an active stakeholder in the Rehabilitative Culture strategy of the prison, you'll stay up to date on knowledge and research in the field of Forensic Psychology, particularly in relation to the rehabilitation of offenders.

Join a place you can grow

At Serco, we believe in continuous development, and you'll find plenty of opportunities to grow in this role. You'll work within a supportive and collaborative team that is passionate about making a difference in the lives of others. We offer a range of professional development and CPD activities, and we actively promote from within.

You’ll also receive:

• Pension: Up to 6% contributory pension scheme
• Health and wellbeing: Employee Assistance Programme, Bupa Anytime HealthLine, wellbeing app, 30% off at Serco-managed leisure centres, and 24/7 access to a virtual GP service and free flu jabs
• Training and development: Ongoing support and training opportunities to enhance your skills and career progression, with your professional training fees paid.
• Discounts: Discounts across around 1,000 retailers, from food and clothing to days out, entertainment and travel.
• ShareSave scheme: Save regularly with the choice to buy Serco shares at a discount at the end of your savings period.
• Charity: Support a charity or organisation with a paid volunteering day each year. You can also choose to donate to your favourite charity tax-free, through our Payroll Giving Scheme, and donate your pennies from your monthly pay to the Serco People Fund Charity.
• Employee networks: Join a network where colleagues can come together, meet new people, find support, share ideas and be part of a real community.

What you'll need

To succeed in this role, you should:

• Hold Chartered status with the British Psychological Society
• Be registered as a Forensic Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Be on the Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors (RAAPS) with the BPS
• Have a strong awareness and knowledge of the Offender Personality Disorder pathway, with the experience and ability to make good clinical formulations of offenders with complex needs
• Have experience completing parole reports and carrying out assessments such as WAIS IV, HCR-20, PCL-R, IPDE and SARA
• Be able to work in a multi-disciplinary way and bring a collaborative approach to your work with your team and with those in our care

Desirable (but not essential)

• Post-qualification experience working in secure settings

A little bit about us

At Serco, we're a fast-growing company, serving governments around the globe. Our work spans a wide range of sectors including Justice, Immigration, Defence, Leisure, Healthcare, Transport, and Citizen Services. We're committed to delivering, improving and redesigning public services for the benefit of everyone, guided by our values of Trust, Care, Innovation, and Pride.

Our inclusive recruitment process:

We see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We're a proud holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard and a Disability Confident Leader, championing fair access to employment and equal opportunities for all. As such we're open to flexible working arrangements and we'll make reasonable adjustments from interview through to employment.

As part of the Disability Confident Scheme, disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.

#sercopsychologicalservices

About Serco

At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services. We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks - SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging.

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leaderemployers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.

At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the Ban the Box' pledge (some may be exempt due to thenature of the role and the security clearance required).