Clinical Psychologist

.OUR VALUES IN ACTION

• Care and Compassion • Quality and Teamwork • Dignity and Respect • Openness, honesty and responsibility

Base: Andrew Lang Unit, Selkirk, Scottish Borders.

NHS Borders Child and Young People’s Psychology team are delighted to invite applications for a permanent Band 8A Clinical Psychologist to join us.

We wish to recruit a Clinical Psychologist with enthusiasm for a range of evidence based therapeutic interventions and the flexibility to integrate their psychological knowledge to meet our service users’ needs and who will also find working with us a good fit themselves.

The post will contribute to the delivery of a Psychology service to children, young people and families across the Scottish Borders, embedded within a broadly defined multidisciplinary CAMHS mental health, neurodevelopmental and intellectual disability service.

The CYP Psychology team is a friendly and collaborative group comprising the Service Lead, 2 part-time 8Bs, 4 8As, 4 CAAPs, and 2 Assistant Psychologists in CAMHS, along with 2 part-time 8As in Paediatric Psychology. We provide core placements for Trainee CAAPs and both core and specialist placements for Trainee Clinical Psychologists. We have close links with Psychology colleagues across all specialities as part of the NHS Borders Psychology Directorate.

We welcome applications from qualified Clinical Psychologists with interest or experience in CAMHS or in closely related practice in the UK, and from Trainee Clinical Psychologists finishing their course in the next few months.

This role, just like our service, has a broad and inclusive remit. It includes the delivery of quality evidence based Psychological Therapies for children and young people with mental health presentations, the assessment of and interventions for young people with suspected intellectual disability, and collaborative multidisciplinary work for those with neurodevelopmental differences.

Alongside your own clinical cases, you will contribute to multidisciplinary core tasks, such as referral management, consultation, supervision, training and service development. Your job plan will take some account of your individual areas of strength, expertise and career developmental needs. Supervision, peer collaboration, continued professional development and mentoring for individualised career progression are features of our team culture.

NHS Borders CAMHS is a positive multidisciplinary environment, with a joint professional leadership structure as is embedded in numerous multiagency collaborative frameworks.

We provide support for community partners through consultation, coaching/mentoring (LIAM/BBA), direct neurodevelopmental assessments and interventions including CAMHS LD/ID, direct Tier 3 multidisciplinary and psychological interventions, and Tier 4 intensive community treatment. The CAMHS service includes Psychiatrists, CMHNs, LDNs, ND Specialist nurse, sessional AHPs and Administrative staff.

We have shared boundaries with one local authority, and as the smallest mainland health-board in Scotland we aim to be engaged and innovative with our multiagency and third sector partners to meet the needs of our rural community.

We have an office base with some clinic rooms at the Andrew Lang Unit, Selkirk. We run face to face clinics at the Borders General Hospital (near Tweedbank/Melrose), at numerous health centres across the Scottish Borders, alongside NearMe clinics. Many jobplans include planned working from home, but we mostly provide our service face to face (in line with our service user’s preferences and needs). Use of a motor-vehicle is almost essential in providing the service due to rurality.

The Scottish Borders is a beautiful rural region with reasonable property prices throughout its small towns, but many of the team commute from the Lothians.

Recruitment planning of other 8A sessions is underway both within CYP Psychology and other NHS Borders specialities. If you are interested in working with us but wish to explore more than 0.5WTE, have questions, or are interested in session combinations with other specialities, do feel free to call for a discussion.

Please contact: Dr Andy Gentil (Consultant Clinical Psychologist / Lead for CAMHS & Paediatric Psychology, NHS Borders): 01750 23715

As from 1st April 2026, the Agenda for Change full-time working week will be reducing from 37 to 36 hours per week. Part time hours will be reduced pro-rata. However, there will be a corresponding increase in the hourly rate so that pay will not be affected.

Due to legislative changes from 1 April 2025, this post may require a different level of criminal records check done than is currently the case. If the post is assessed as a "regulated role", your appointment will be subject to joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. If there is any change to what is currently required, this will be confirmed by either the Hiring Manager or the Recruitment Team. For more details on these changes please visit: Disclosure Scotland Changes.

To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.

As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.

For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found here.

It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form

**PLEASE NOTE: We cannot accept late applications so please ensure your application is submitted early**

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.