Job overview
Cambridge University Hospital Foundation Trust (CUH) is seeking a highly skilled and compassionate individual to join the new NHS Children and Young People's Gender Service (East of England) in the role of Practitioner Psychologist.
Based within the Paediatrics Department at CUH, the successful applicant will have extensive experience of delivering high quality, evidence-based assessments and care to children and young people.
The post holder will provide assessments, supervision and consultation to staff and be a source of neuropsychological and neurodevelopmental expertise to the MDT.
The Cass Review into gender services for children and young people has recommended that staff should maintain a broad clinical perspective by working across related NHS services in order to embed the care of children and young people with gender-related distress within a broader child and adolescent health context. In order to facilitate this, we encourage part-time applications from staff already working in other NHS or related services. We can also work with successful candidates applying for full-time roles to agree a job plan that includes a mix of gender service activity and activity in another clinical area.
The service operates Monday-Friday. Full or part-time (minimum 3 days per week) considered.
Main duties of the job
Based at Addenbrooke’s and Newmarket, to work with managers and clinical leads, to ensure the systematic provision of a high-quality psychological therapies service within the Paediatric Psychological Medicine Service. To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological therapies practice within the Paediatric Psychological Service.
The post holder will have an interest, and be experienced in, applying a range of psychological models in a flexible way, working directly with children, young people and their families. We meet regularly as a team to explore clinical dilemmas and share new learning across the service. Supervision will be provided by an experienced psychologist within the team. Additional opportunities include, but do not stop with, monthly team reflective practice and peer supervision, as well as participation in SIG networks locally and nationally. Service relevant CPD is actively encouraged.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.
This vacancy will close at midnight on 23rd August.
Benefits to you At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.
On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only café, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.
CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times. Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.
We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.
Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a Student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a Student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full time permanent contract unless you have: - applied for a Graduate visa - or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied
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
Skills
Essential
- • Specialist skill in the ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the service.
- • The ability to form and maintain good working relationships with others in multi-disciplinary and inter-agency settings.
- • The ability to form and maintain good supervisory and management relationships with others.
- • Capacity to write clear records and reports and to support others to do the same, in line with organisational and professional policies, procedures and guidelines.
- • Ability to raise and have difficult conversations with others in a professional, respectful and collaborative manner.
- • Able to provide & receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information in a highly emotive and sometimes hostile atmosphere, in a range of relationships and settings. Able to use specialist skills of empathy to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.
- • Able to support others to manage and process emotionally distressing information.
- • Demonstrate effective communication skills and experiences of using these with children, young people and families.
- • Knowledge and experience of gaining meaningful feedback from children, young people and families’ voice and inform meaningful change.
- • Experience of working in a ‘person-centred’ way which shows you can demonstrate values that are important to children, young people and families.
- • Knowledge and understanding of what children, young people and families feel is important to them and their lives.
- • Ability to integrate complex clinical information into a coherent formulation, making highly skilled evaluations and decisions taking a long term perspective where appropriate.
- • Ability to tolerate and reduce anxiety and distress in others, and use judgement skills to decide on relevant actions even in times of stress.
- • The ability to plan and organise your working week, prioritising tasks as appropriate and following lone working protocols.
- • The ability to plan and complete clinical tasks as directed and within reasonable timescales.
- • The ability to work with others and co-ordinate plans for identified service needs and organise a response that will meet the needs of service users.
- • The post holder must be competent in the use of IT equipment and commonly used computer programmes e.g. word, excel, SPSS, power-point.
- • Able to remain in, concentrate on and carry out cognitive assessments over prolonged periods of time.
- • Ability to travel and work in a variety of locations, e.g. clinic base, schools, home visits.
- • Evidence if personal resilience and aptitude for dealing with challenging, frequent distressing and highly emotional clinical work.
- • Ability to tolerate ambiguity and maintain own morale and motivation in challenging service delivery contexts.
- • Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.
- • Work independently and use initiative within a service consisting of a network of teams.
Knowledge
Essential
- • Understanding of relevant legislation pertaining to children.
- • High level knowledge of Clinical presentations in children and young people.
- • Knowledge of the theory and practice of short term and long term, evidence-based, clinical interventions.
- • Knowledge of child development and the impact of adverse childhood experiences.
- • Knowledge of neuropsychological assessment of children and adolescents.
- • Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents and safeguarding procedures and policies.
- • Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education structures, national policies and frameworks, evidence-based practice including NICE guidelines.
- • Knowledge of risk management and ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly to ensure safety.
- • Knowledge of supervision and leadership practice.
- • Knowledge of research methodology and outcome research methodology and outcome research design and ability to critically interpret research findings and data.
- • Knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act and DOLS legislation.
- • Knowledge of electronic patient record systems and the requirements around data reporting.
Experience
Essential
- • Additional training in a specialised area of psychological practice relevant to working with CYP with gender diversity through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice–based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma.
- • Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in an area of clinical practice relevant to CYP with gender diversity.
- • Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in an area of clinical practice relevant to CYP with gender diversity.
- • Experience of working collaboratively with service users and their families/carers, including using goal-based care and routine outcome measures in practice.
- • Experience of working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team and across agencies.
- • Experience of working with a range of children and young people with complex needs maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems and verbal abuse.
- • Experience of undertaking specialist psychological assessments and providing evidence-based interventions, with the ability to work with complex needs and undertake risk assessments.
- • Experience in providing teaching and training.
- • Experience of running groups.
- • Experience of safeguarding children and ensuring the safety of young people in partnership with other agencies as appropriate.
- • Experience that evidences an ability to attend to diversity and work in a way that promotes anti-discriminatory practice.
- • Experience of initiating, attending and contributing to multi-professional and inter-agency meetings.
- • Experience of managing and processing emotionally distressing information, seeking support as required.
Desirable
- • Experience in using neuropsychological assessments of cognitive functioning and/or learning disabilities in the context of diagnostic assessments of learning disabilities.
- • Experience of the assessment of capacity to consent and providing consultation to capacity assessments across a range of issues
Qualifications
Essential
- • A Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent e.g. Masters level qualification in Clinical Psychology if qualified before 1996.
- • Active registration as a Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC.
Desirable
- • Post qualification specialist therapy/assessment training relevant to children and young people.
- • Post qualification training or proven equivalent experience in supervision.
Additional Requirements
Essential
- • Ability to Travel.
- • The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of Together-safe, kind, excellent.
- • Actively promote and value equality, diversity and inclusion, treating others with dignity and respect.
- • Compliance with all Trust policies and procedures.
- • Evidence of working as an effective team member.
- • Demonstration of confidentiality.
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This advert is for Practitioner Psychologist - Gender Service with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridge/Newmarket. It is listed as a Band 7 Psychologist role. The advertised salary is £49,387 - £56,515 per annum pro rata. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 23 Aug 2026.
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