Psychologist (Basic Grade), CHIPPS

Childhood Matters; Cork; On-site; EUR 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Defined contribution pension

Enhanced maternity/paternity benefit

Additional Annual leave

Financial support for further教育

Job summary

Childhood Matters is recruiting a Clinical/Counselling/Educational Psychologist to join our MDT and work across Tusla-funded specialist teams in Ireland. Interventions are attachment- and trauma-focused, using models like DDP, Theraplay, MBT, SAI and more.

You will contribute to MDT discussions, assess presenting needs, and provide both direct and indirect therapeutic input for children in care and their carers.

Qualifications

• Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling/Educational Psychology or equivalent.
• Experience delivering attachment-based/trauma-focused interventions is essential.
• Post-qualification experience in child mental health settings is important.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality psychological input to children in care and their carers within MDTs.
• Support the team through supervision, formulation, and education.
• Hold and manage a clinical caseload with autonomous workload planning and client discharge.
• Engage in service development and lead complex cases in interagency contexts when required.
• Compile comprehensive assessment and treatment reports for children and families; may attend court as needed.

Skills

Clinical psychologist

Trauma-informed care

MDT teamwork

Communication

Education

Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling/Educational Psychology

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

Childhood Matters is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at improving developmental and life outcomes for children 0-18 years old. We also work directly with parents and foster carers to support and develop parenting in challenging contexts. As an organisation we strive to positive impact the wider professional network we operate within through external training, research and professional development opportunities.

We are committed to embedding an evidence-based culture of trauma-informed care and therapeutic practice and hold ourselves to high standards in all engagement with service users, colleagues and stakeholders alike. We are committed to research and evaluation and continually assess the effectiveness of our service through independent research and partnership with third level institutions. We strive to be a positive place to work, providing staff with reflective practice, regular supervision and a training budget.

With current offices and services in Blackrock, Blackpool, Clonakilty and Farranree we employ 130 staff across all departments. We offer competitive salary packages as well as benefits including enhanced maternity leave; pension contribution scheme; health care plans; flexible working hours; internal and externally provided training opportunities, and competitive annual leave entitlement.

Role requirements

Purpose of Role:

Childhood Matters is seeking to recruit a Clinical/Counselling/Educational Psychologist to join our MDT and work across our Tusla-funded specialist teams.

Interventions across all services are attachment and trauma focused, and incorporate dyadic and systemic ways of working with the child, carers and team around them. We use a relational approach and draw on models such as Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP); Theraplay; Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT); Sensory Attachment Intervention (SAI) among others. Our Multidisciplinary Teams are currently comprised of clinical psychologists, occupational psychologists, play therapists, child art psychotherapists, social workers and social care workers.

The successful candidate/s will play a key role in contributing to MDT discussions of each child or family’s needs as well as those of the system around them, formulating the presenting difficulties and considering appropriate intervention. The clinician/s joining our organisation will provide both direct and indirect therapeutic input. They will liaise with partner agencies to endeavour to achieve positive outcomes for children in care, or on the edge of care, and their carers, working to build/restore placement stability and enhance key relationships in the child’s family/support network.

Reporting Relationship: The successful candidate will report to the Clinical Lead for the Service.

Duties and Responsibilities

• To work as a member of multi-disciplinary teams, providing high-quality, psychological input to children in care and/or their carers.
• To support psychological practice within the team through consultation, supervision, formulation and training/education.
• To be responsible for holding and managing a clinical caseload and exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the planning and prioritising of own workload and the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients within the bounds of the service’s operational policies.
• To engage with service development opportunities, developing leadership capacity and autonomous responsibility where appropriate.
• To operate as lead clinician on complex cases in interagency contexts when required.
• To compile comprehensive assessment and treatment reports and any other reports as required in connection to the children and their parents with whom they are working.
• To use analytical and judgment skills and be responsible for taking clinical management decisions in complex clinical issues (with support of senior colleagues).
• To provide consultation, mentorship, supervision and advice about psychological issues to other members of the team/service and other professionals working with service users, across a range of agencies/settings as appropriate.
• Promote an effective and productive team ethos, fostering our Childhood Matters trauma-informed and trauma-responsive approach at all times.
• Promote equality, diversity and human rights, and treat others with dignity and respect ensuring services are developed, managed and delivered to meet specific needs linked to protected characteristics.
• Promote equality, diversity and Human Rights in working practices by developing and maintaining positive working relationships, ensuring that colleagues are treated fairly and contributing to developing equality of opportunity and outcomes in working practices.
• Contribute to developing and maintaining equality of opportunity in working practices by complying with legislation and organisational policies. Advise colleagues about equality, diversity and human rights policies and procedures and ensure they are followed.
• To attend court, if required, as an expert witness.
• An ability to offer attachment-focused, evidence-based psychological interventions tailored to meet the individual needs of children/young people and their carers referred to CHIPPS.
• An ability to work dyadically with carers and children as well as systemically with the network around the child.
• Familiarity with key legislation relating to children in the care of the state and awareness of partner agencies involved in working with children in care.
• Experience in conducting cognitive assessments and using psychometric tests and routine outcome measures in child mental health services.
• Skills in the provision of supervision and consultation to both external and internal professionals and teams (where appropriate and dependent on level of experience).
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written) and an ability to explain psychological concepts to non-clinical professionals/colleagues as well as to children/young people and carers.
• Excellent time management skills and an ability to meet deadlines and prioritise workload.
• Exceptional organisational skills and a capacity to balance clinical tasks and administrative workload including clinical note-writing, letter/report writing, updating of services databases etc.
• High level of knowledge of developmental trauma, attachment, child development and neurodiversity, and child and adolescent mental health issues.
• Awareness of the complexities and challenges of working therapeutically with children who have experienced developmental trauma as well as their carers and the system around the child.
• Knowledge of psychological theory and research in the field of developmental trauma, attachment and therapeutic models and frameworks relevant to this population.
• An understanding of the use creative, non-directive approaches in therapy for children who have experienced developmental trauma.
• An excellent understanding of safeguarding children issues as well as an understanding of care and control, notification procedures and equal opportunities, data protection and general good practice.
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Outlook; Power Point, and Excel.

Desirable skills and knowledge

• CPD/training completed in any of our core therapeutic models including Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP); Theraplay; Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT) approaches; Sensory Attachment Intervention (SAI), Therapeutic Life Story Work (TLSW) or other attachment-focussed interventions and systemic approaches to working with developmental trauma.
• Experience of consulting to/liaising with social care teams and professional groups such as teachers, court-appointed guardians and other professionals in the justice system.
• Post-qualification experience as a Psychologist in a child mental health setting.
• Experience of using digital clinical record systems.

Health & Safety

Comply with and contribute to the development of policies, procedures, guidelines and safe professional practice and adhere to relevant legislation, regulations and standards.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time.

Eligibility Criteria Qualifications

• Doctorate in Clinical Clinical/Counselling/Educational Psychology (or equivalent if training was pre-doctorate accreditation)
• Qualification recognised by an accrediting body i.e. PSI, BPS
• Experience of providing attachment-based psychological interventions to children who have experienced developmental trauma is important.
• At least two years post qualification experience working as a clinical psychologist is required to be considered for the senior position.

Tenure

The vacancy is permanent, whole time.

Additional information

Details of Services: Childhood Matters is a not-for-profit organisation that provides child and family services aimed at supporting positive childhood outcomes, developing parenting capacity, strengthening family resilience, and contributing to healthier, more sustainable communities.

Parent and Infant Unit: Nationwide parenting capacity-building and assessment residential service for complex parents and infant situations where distinct child protection concerns.

CHIPPS: CHIPPS is a specialist attachment-focused, trauma-informed mental health service for children and young people in care.

Young Parents Support Programme: The Young Parents Support Programme (YPSP for short) is the only targeted community-based support service for young parents in Ireland.

The Limetree Project: Therapeutic community-based family support and family contact project, in partnership with South Lee & West Cork Social Work Department to include out of hours service.

Supervised Contact: Contact Service provides structured supports and interventions for children who are in the care of TUSLA to have contact with their parents, siblings and other family members.

Placement Support Project: This project is aimed at stabilizing at-risk foster placements, and supporting family reunification through intensive multidisciplinary support over a 10-week period, and the provision of a stability roadmap specifically tailored to the family. Emergency place of safety respite is incorporated into this project. We are expanding this service into County Kerry this year also.

Crèche & Preschool: Award-winning Community Crèche and Childcare facility to include afterschool programme with a current capacity of 124 children.

Secondary School: One Year Leaving Certificate programme in partnerships with Cork Education and Training Board, providing parents opportunity to advance education when using clinical family services

Employment Support Service: Vocational training for long term unemployed individuals within therapeutic and trauma-informed environment.

Remuneration

The Salary scale for the whole time equivalent of this post is Aligned with the HSE Psychology (Basic Grade) Salary Scale June 2026

Working Week

The standard working week applying to the whole time equivalent of this post is: 37.5 hours.

Annual Leave

The annual leave associated with the whole time equivalent of this post is: 25 days pro rata

Probation

A probationary period of 6 months will apply

Additional Benefits

• Defined contribution pension scheme.
• Enhanced maternity and paternity benefit.
• Additional Annual leave days.
• Financial support for further education.

Why work with us

At Childhood Matters, clinicians are supported by peer consultation, ongoing professional development, and a caseload that respects sustainable practice. We invest in our people because we know that sustainable practice requires it.