Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen to for an experienced Principal Clinical or Counselling Psychologist (8b) to lead our Wandsworth YJS and PRU CAMHS team which is a specialist Tier 2 CAMHS provision within Wandsworth which is embedded with the YJS service and PRUs (primary & secondary). We are looking to recruit a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist with experience in supervision, leadership and service development and are particularly looking for someone who is passionate about working with children and families who present with complex social and contextual needs, including those with multi-agency involvement, in contact with the Youth Justice System, and/or excluded from mainstream education.
The Professional lead will need to be a driven, innovative leader who can work closely with partner agencies, contribute to strong working relationships and spotlight the needs of the young people served who are marginalised and struggle to access mainstream provisions in health and education.
Wandsworth is a diverse London borough and we particularly would particularly welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.
Main duties of the job
Key aspects of the role include:
- Ensuring the safe and effective delivery of psychological therapies within the YJS/PRU CAMHS service including undertaking complex assessments, formulation and interventions for children and young people.
- Clinical Governance systems, including; safe and effective delivery of psychological therapies and on overview of the demand and capacity and supervision of staff
- Robust interagency working with the relevant staff in YJS, social care, education, local authorities and voluntary sector partners to ensure close multi-agency working.
The Professional lead will be supported and supervised by the Consultant Clinical Psychologist/P&P Lead for Wandsworth and will have the opportunity to join the Wandsworth and LD CAMHS Professional Leads meeting once every two months with the other five Professional Leads within the Wandsworth CAMHS whole service. Also they will be able to join the Wandsworth CAMHS Psychology meeting bi-monthly with other Psychologists across the Wandsworth CAMHS teams.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Ensure the systematic provision of a high-quality specialist psychological therapies service including clinical psychology, child psychotherapy and systemic family psychotherapy to children, young people and their families/carers within the designated clinical service area
Supervise and support the psychological assessment and therapy provided by other psychology and psychotherapy (P&P) staff and other clinical members of the team who provide psychologically based care and treatment by agreement with the CAMHS Psychology and Psychotherapies lead
Work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service area, working with the CAMHS P&P lead to coordinate psychological assessment, treatment and therapy resources across the teams
Utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research. To propose and implement policy changes within the designated clinical service area
Practice clinically within a designated setting, and by example will uphold high standards of psychological and psychotherapeutic assessment, treatment and care.
Be a source of advice and guidance in relation to risk management and safeguarding.
Be responsible for the clinical governance structures that support and guide multi-disciplinary colleagues providing psychological therapies in community settings in designated service areas. These governance structures include professional and clinical supervision, PADR processes, CPD and training needs, and recording standards.
Directly provide clinical supervision to psychology and/or psychotherapy colleagues, and professional supervision to colleagues from a range of psychology and psychotherapy disciplines. Some supervision may be provided across borough boundaries.
Have a significant role in ensuring that the quality of child mental health work provided in the community is reflected both in clinical records and in data collected that will include the CAMHS minimum data set and CYP IAPT measures. It will be important to contribute to efforts to maximise the benefits of the electronic clinical record system that the service has adopted, and to ensure that clinicians record risk in accordance with policy and guidance.
Provide coordinated service leadership in designated areas in conjunction with Clinical Leads and Team Managers, advising on service developments.
Coordinate with Team Managers and Clinical Leads in managing clinical performance concerns.
Work to promote synergy and connection between local authority, third sector and health services so as to foster joined-up care and to maximise the benefit of available mental health resources for children, young people and their carers.
Promote service user involvement in shaping services.
Promote equality of access to healthcare and awareness of how social difference can influence treatment outcome and service user experience.
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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.
Person specification
Experience
Essential
- Substantial experience of working as a qualified psychologist or psychotherapist including experience of working at a highly specialist level with children and young people with a wide range of mental and behavioural disorders.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings.
- Experience of teaching, training and professional and clinical supervision.
- Experience of service development and leadership.
Desirable
- Experience of representing psychology or psychotherapy within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- Experience of working with mental health needs in multiple cultural contexts.
- Experience of managing the clinical performance of staff.
- Experience working children who present with complex social and contextual needs, including those with social services/multi-agency involvement, in contact with the Youth Justice System, and/or excluded from mainstream education (e.g. YJS CAMHS service and/or PRU CAMHS team (primary or secondary)
- Experience working with in partnership with local authorities, other statutory services (e.g. Youth Justice) and schools (multi-agency systems).
- Experience working with primary age children, including the supervision and delivery of interventions within an educational setting.
- Experience of working within communities and contexts where there are significant levels of cultural and social diversity.
Education & Qualifications
Essential
- Qualified Clinical Psychologist, or Qualified Counselling Psychologist
- An appropriate professional registration (e.g. as a Practitioner Psychologist under the Health Care Professions Council)
Desirable
- Post-doctoral/graduate training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice with children and young people (Particularly Youth Offending; Children in Social Care and/or PRUs). For example: TF-CBT; mentalisation therapy for children; DDP; EMDR; NVR).
- Leadership training/qualification.
- Clinical training as part of a CYP IAPT collaborative in a recognised evidenced based approach i.e. CBT, Parenting Skills or other.
- Training in the delivery and supervision of neuropsychological assessments (e.g. WISC-V; WAIS etc).
- Training in the delivery and supervision of neurodevelopmental assessments (e.g. ADI-R, ADOS-2).
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Lead Psychologist with South West London and St George's Mental Health Trust NHS Trust in Springfield University Hospital. It is listed as a Psychologist role. The advertised salary is £75328.00 to £86114.00. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 27 Aug 2026.
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