Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Clinical Research Fellow

Job overview

We are seeking an enthusiastic, values-driven Consultant Psychiatrist to join Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust in a unique combined post within the Early Intervention Service and the Mental Health Mission Midlands Translational Centre, in partnership with the University of Birmingham. This full-time 10 PA role brings together 6 PAs of permanent clinical consultant activity and 4 PAs of academic activity on a 24-month fixed-term basis. The post offers an exciting opportunity to combine senior clinical leadership in early psychosis with protected academic time as a Senior Clinical Research Fellow, helping to shape innovative, evidence-based mental health care across Birmingham and Solihull.

The clinical component will be based within the Early Intervention Service, providing expert psychiatric assessment, formulation, treatment planning, senior decision-making and clinical leadership for people experiencing early psychosis or at-risk mental states. The academic component will support the delivery and development of high-quality translational mental health research aligned with the Mental Health Mission, Trust priorities and the development of research-active clinical services.

The role is ideal for a consultant psychiatrist who wants to deliver excellent patient-centred care while building or extending a clinical academic portfolio in psychosis, early intervention, personalised care, translational research and innovative service delivery.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide comprehensive psychiatric assessment, formulation and management plans for people under the care of the Early Intervention Service, providing senior clinical decision-making, risk management and shared clinical leadership within a recovery-focused multidisciplinary team. They will work collaboratively with service users, families, carers, primary care and partner organisations to deliver safe, inclusive and person-centred care, and will support effective transitions into, within and out of services, including liaison with wider Trust and community pathways.

The post holder will also lead and support research activity within the Mental Health Mission Midlands Translational Centre, including study delivery, clinical trials, research governance, recruitment to studies, dissemination, publications, service evaluation, audit and future grant development. They may act as Principal Investigator or support senior research leadership for studies relevant to psychosis, early intervention, personalised prognosis, treatment innovation and reducing inequalities in access and outcomes.

The role will contribute to grant applications, academic outputs, national research networks and the development of competitive research fellowship applications, while engaging with industry partners to expand experimental medicine and innovation capacity.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will provide consultant psychiatric input to the Early Intervention Service, supporting people experiencing early psychosis or at-risk mental states. Responsibilities will include assessment, diagnosis, formulation, treatment planning, prescribing, risk assessment and management, multidisciplinary team working, care planning and liaison with families, carers and partner agencies. They will provide senior clinical advice and leadership to support safe, recovery-focused and person-centred care, including effective transitions between services and pathways.

The academic component will involve supporting translational research through the Mental Health Mission Midlands Translational Centre, including study delivery, recruitment, research governance, dissemination, publications, service evaluation, audit and future grant development. The post holder will work with NHS, university, industry and wider partner organisations to promote a strong research culture, increase access to innovative studies and embed evidence into routine practice.

The post holder will contribute to clinical governance, quality improvement, audit, teaching and supervision, and will support the development of research-active clinical teams. This will include encouraging recruitment to studies, supporting innovation and dissemination, contributing to academic outputs and helping generate evidence that informs service improvement, future care pathways and national practice.

Applicant requirements

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.