SHSCT_Highly Specialist Practitioner Psychologist Band 8B

Job details

• Branch: Newry & Mourne area (SHSCT)
• Location: Needham House Newry
• Directorate: Mental Health & Disability Services
• Salary: Band 8b (£64,455 - £74,896 )
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Opening Date: 18/05/26
• Closes: Tue, 02 June 2026 @ 4:00 PM
• Interview Dates: TBC

Notes

Online and manual applications accepted. Important Information If you are submitting a manual application, please post it to: Recruitment Shared Services, Rosewood Villa, Longstone Hospital Site, 73 Loughgall Road, Armagh, BT61 7PR. Applications received after the advertised closing date/time cannot be considered, so please allow enough time for postage. A waiting list may be created for similar posts that may arise while the waiting list is live, this may include temporary or part-time posts. This will be managed in line with the updated HSC waiting list principles effective from 1 April 2026. Where a part-time waiting list is required, one part-time waiting list will be created- regardless of any specific hours advertised, this waiting list will cover all future vacancies where part-time posts arise. A part-time post is defined as any post that has less than 37.5 hours per week.” Please remember to save or print a copy of the job description before submitting your application, as it will not be accessible afterwards. Flexible Working We welcome flexible working requests from day one. All HSC organisations offer a range of flexible working options. The options available for this post will depend on the requirements of the role. Find out more about flexible working options on our website.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title Highly Specialist Practitioner Psychologist.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

Band of Post: 8b

DEPARTMENT Psychology

DIRECTORATE Mental Health and Disability

REPORTS TO Consultant Clinical Psychologist within CAMHS

BASE Needham House Newry

ACCOUNTABLE TO The post holder will be accountable to the Assistant Heads of Psychology Services & Clinical Director of Psychology Services & managerially accountable to the Director & Assistant Director for Mental Health and Disability through the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist for Mental Health Services.

JOB SUMMARY

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join a compassionate, dynamic, innovative and valued Psychology Team within CAMHS. The post-holder will take a lead role ensuring the systematic provision of a specialist Clinical Psychology and Psychological Therapy service for children with moderate to severe mental health problems and their parents/carers within the Southern HSC Trust. The post-holder will be responsible for the day-to-day management, organisation and running of clinical services under the supervision and guidance of the Consultant Clinical Psychologist. The post-holder will take a lead role in developing and implementing models of practice in accordance with the CAMHS operational model. The post-holder will appreciate the need for continuous service improvement, innovative practice, flexibility, good communication, team cohesion and continuous professional development. The post-holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team with clinical colleagues in Step 3 CAMHS. The post-holder will offer specialist assessment, intervention, supervision, consultation and training of staff and other professionals working with children up to the age of 18 years. Interagency work will also be required.

The role will involve working autonomously within professional guidelines, exercising responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service. This will include helping to ensure that effective systems are in place for the clinical and professional supervision and support of all other psychologists for which the post holder has designated professional responsibility, including clear systems for professional appraisal and the identification of CPD needs. A requirement of the role will be to implement policy and service development changes within the area served by the team/service. The post-holder will act as a specialist resource to the wider professional community and to carry out audit, quality improvement, outcome measurement and research activities and/or programmes.

We would encourage interested candidates to contact us to for more information about our service. We look forward to hearing from you.

KEY DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical

Undertake a lead role in the day-to-day provision of a specialist Psychology and Psychological Therapy service for children and adolescents with mental health difficulties and their parents/carers within the Southern HSC Trust, under the guidance of the Consultant Clinical Psychologist.

Provide leadership in the implementation and integration of trauma informed and responsive practices within CAMHS within the Southern HSC Trust.

Collaborate and lead on the development and integration of psychological approaches within CAMHS.

Exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within CAMHS.

Provide highly specialist psychological assessments of patients based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations, and semi-structured interviews with children and young people, family members and others involved in the patient’s care.

Develop psychological formulations of presenting problems or situations that integrate information from assessments within a coherent framework that draws upon psychological theory and evidence and which incorporates interpersonal, societal, cultural and biological factors as well as health needs and the impact of mental health problems on the family.

Be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for children, young people, carers, families and groups, within and across teams, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

Evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the child, young person, family, and carers. To do this in the context of the child or young person’s mental health and any systemic factors which might be contributing to this.

Maintain a high degree of professionalism and respect for diversity, remaining aware of the power-imbalance that service users may experience.

Exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, psychological formulation, treatment and discharge of patients, and manage and maintain a caseload in line with service guidelines.

Provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other multidisciplinary professionals, both within Step 3 CAMHS, across other CAMHS specialisms and to professionals in related agencies; contributing directly to the patient’s formulation, diagnosis and treatment plans.

Provide clinical supervision and reflective practice to other team members, multidisciplinary teams and staff members where required.

Undertake comprehensive risk assessment and risk management for individual patients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management in line with policies and procedures.

Communicate, in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, to patients, family carers and others as appropriate, highly complex information that may be contentious or highly distressing concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of patients under their care.

Produce reports on patients, in a timely manner, that convey the key findings of psychological assessment and formulation and treatment outcome in a way that does justice to the complexity of the problems described, but that are understandable to the recipients of the reports, including patients and referrers.

Work in partnership with other disciplines and to maintain links with statutory, non-statutory and primary care agencies as appropriate.

Communicate across language and cultural barriers.

Work as an integrated member of the multidisciplinary team.

Maintain the highest standards of record keeping in accordance with professional code of practice and the Trust policy and procedures.

Ensure the maintenance of appropriate and adequate records of clinical work.

Receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior clinical psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.

Adhere to Safeguarding Children Policies and procedures and attend and contribute to Case Conferences and Looked after Children reviews if required.

Undertake projects or tasks or clinical activity outside the normal responsibilities when required.

Management

Be responsible and accountable for the provision of high quality, specialist psychology services within CAMHS under the direction of the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Head of Psychology Services.

Be a visible assertive and accessible figure who supports the services’ priorities.

Provide clear leadership to all staff within CAMHS and ensure the Trust has a highly skilled, flexible and motivated workforce to provide high quality care.

Contribute to identifying service priorities and service developments within CAMHS.

Support the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist or Assistant Head of Psychology Services with the strategic planning and the day-to-day operational aspects of service delivery as required.

Deputise for the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist as and when required.

Represent CAMHS and the Psychology Department on Trust wide and other committees, panels and groups as agreed with the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist or Assistant Head of Psychology Services.

Actively work to support and empower staff to develop and utilise leadership skills, ensuring they are invested in appropriate levels of authority to undertake their role effectively in an accountable manner.

Contribute to the culture of positive performance management through leadership, setting and maintaining high standards of practice whilst promoting a culture of effective team working, continuous improvement and innovation.

Work with the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist to maximise efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery.

Manage own workload and address own development needs through KSF appraisal.

Undertake the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.

Advise both operational and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.

To have operational management responsibility for junior staff in consultation with the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the specialism.

Conduct job plan and individual performance reviews as agreed with the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist or Assistant Head of Psychology Services

To regularly review performance of reporting staff and to provide guidance on personal and professional development requirements.

Delegate appropriate responsibility and authority to reporting staff as agreed with the Lead Psychologist in the specialism.

Be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of other staff when necessary.

Participate in committees, working parties etc. as appropriate.

Establish and maintain links with statutory and voluntary agencies, relevant to clinical work.

Advise both operational and professional management of those aspects of the service where psychological and /or organisational matters need addressing.

Undertake project management including audit and service evaluation to help develop service provision.

To carry out other designated duties, which may be required.

Research and Service Evaluation

Utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

Undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.

To have lead role in the design and implementation of service development projects within the service as required through the deployment of professional skills in research, Quality Improvement, service evaluation and audits.

Lead on Personal & Public Involvement (PPI) activity including consulting with children and their families or carers, regarding the development of services that may be offered or available to them.

Administrative

Comply with Department of Health, Trust and Department policies and procedures.

Implement and adhere to all relevant national, Trust and Psychology Service Department policies and procedures including guidelines for professional conduct.

Comply with departmental policies on CPD and supervision.

Maintain the highest standard of clinical record keeping, including electronic data and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and British Psychological Society (BPS)/Association Clinical Psychology (ACP).

Participate in Personal Contribution Framework.

Maintain and provide statistical returns for clinical work, as required.

Undertake specific administrative duties as required.

Teaching and Training

Support the service provision of clinical placements, provide clinical placements and be responsible for the training and supervision of Psychology Trainees on placement.

Participate in the organisation, teaching and training in the area of Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Develop psychological skills and understanding through advice, consultation, supervision, training and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychologically informed care to team and professionals working with CAMHS.

To take responsibility for own continuing professional development and continue to gain wider post-qualification experience of theoretical and practice issues in service-related areas.

This job description is not exhaustive. The tasks described are representative of the duties it is expected the post-holder will undertake within the grade-range of the post. Job content will be reviewed as necessary in consultation with the post-holder to reflect the changing nature of the post.

Human Resource Management Responsibilities

The Trust supports and promotes a culture of collective leadership where those who have responsibility for managing other staff:

Establish and promote a supportive, fair and open culture that encourages and enables all parts of the team to have clearly aligned goals and objectives, to meet the required performance standards and to achieve continuous improvement in the services they deliver.

Ensure access to skills and personal development through appropriate training and support.

Promote a culture of openness and honesty to enable shared learning.

Encourage and empower others in their team to achieve their goals and reach their full potential through regular supportive conversation and shared decision making.

Adhere to and promote Trust policy and procedure in all staffing matters, participating as appropriate in a way which underpins Trust values.

RAISING CONCERNS - RESPONSIBILITIES

The post holder will promote and support effective team working, fostering a culture of openness and transparency.

The post holder will ensure that they take all concerns raised with them seriously and act in accordance with the Trust’s ‘Your Right to Raise a Concern (Whistleblowing)’ policy and their professional code of conduct, where applicable.

The post holder will, in the event of a concern being raised with them, ensure that it is managed correctly under the Trust’s ‘Your Right to Raise a Concern (Whistleblowing)’ policy and ensure feedback/learning is communicated at individual, team and organisational level.

PERSONAL AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES (PPI)

Contribute to the co-ordination of the Trust’s PPI Strategy within the Division or other sphere of responsibility. This will include supporting active engagement with user groups and the voluntary and independent sectors in the design and delivery of services.

Promote and support the implementation of the Trust’s PPI Strategy and ensure all staff are aware of their responsibilities as appropriate to their job role.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The post holder will be required to

1. Ensure the Trust’s policy on equality of opportunity is promoted through his/her own actions and those of any staff for whom he/she has responsibility.

2. Co-operate fully with the implementation of the Trust's Health and Safety arrangements, reporting any accidents/incidents/equipment defects to his/her manager, and maintaining a clean, uncluttered and safe environment for patients/clients, members of the public and staff.

3. Adhere at all times to all Trust policies/codes of conduct, including for example: • Smoke Free policy • IT Security Policy and Code of Conduct • standards of attendance, appearance and behaviour.

4. Contribute to ensuring the highest standards of environmental cleanliness within your designated area of work.

5. Co-operate fully with regard to Trust policies and procedures relating to infection prevention and control.

6. All employees of the Trust are legally responsible for all records held, created or used as part of their business within the Trust including patients/clients, corporate and administrative records whether paper-based or electronic and also including emails. All such records are public records and are accessible to the general public, with limited exceptions, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Employees are required to be conversant with the SHSCT policy and procedures on records management and to seek advice if in doubt.

7. Take responsibility for his/her own ongoing learning and development, in order to maximise his/her potential and continue to meet the demands of the post.

8. Represent the Trust’s commitment to providing the highest possible standard of service to patients/clients and members of the public, by treating all those with whom he/she comes into contact in the course of work, in a pleasant, courteous and respectful manner.

This Job Description will be subject to review in the light of changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works. Other duties of a similar nature and appropriate to the grade may be assigned from time to time.

It is a standard condition that all Trust staff may be required to serve at any location within the Trust's area, as needs of the service demand.

17th December 2025

PERSONNEL SPECIFICATION

JOB TITLE AND BAND Highly Specialist Psychologist in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

DEPARTMENT / DIRECTORATE Psychology Services

BASE Needham House, Newry

SALARY Band 8b

HOURS Full time. Part time hours will be considered.

WAITING LIST

A trust waiting list may be complied for similar permanent/temporary, full/part time posts which may arise within the next 12 months.

Notes to applicants

You must clearly demonstrate on your application form under each question, how you meet the required criteria as failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. You should clearly demonstrate this for both the essential and desirable criteria.

Shortlisting will be carried out on the basis of the essential criteria set out in Section 1 below, using the information provided by you on your application form. Please note The Organisation reserves the right to use any desirable criteria outlined in Section 3 at shortlisting. You must clearly demonstrate on your application form how you meet the desirable criteria.

Proof of qualifications and/or professional registration will be required if an offer of employment is made – if you are unable to provide this, the offer may be withdrawn.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

SECTION 1: The following are ESSENTIAL criteria which will initially be measured at shortlisting stage although may also be further explored during the interview/selection stage. You should therefore make it clear on your application form whether or not you meet these criteria. Failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. The stage in the process when the criteria will be measured is stated below.

Factor

Criteria

Method of Assessment

Experience/ Qualifications/

Registration

Professional post-graduate qualification as a Practitioner Psychologist, recognized by the British Psychological Society (BPS), or BPS statement of equivalence.

Live registration as a Practitioner Psychologist, with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Have a minimum of 4 years post qualifying experience as a Practitioner Psychologist by commencement of post in a relevant area of clinical practice including at least one year post qualification experience within the Child and Adolescent Mental Health specialism.

Experience of working with Children and Adolescents presenting with complex Mental Health conditions such as severe and enduring Depression, Anxiety or OCD, Psychosis, complex Attachment disorders, somatoform disorders, or treatment resistant presentations.

Experience of exercising clinical responsibility for the psychological care and treatment of children and adolescents and of providing psychological input in a multidisciplinary team.

Post qualification training in a specialised area of psychological practice relevant to child and adolescent psychology (i.e. EMDR; CFT; CBT, ACT)

Post qualification training in supervision and experience in the provision of formal clinical and professional supervision.

Applicant must have experience in staff management, conducting individual appraisal and performance reviews.

Experience of representing psychology in working group, service meetings or committees contributing to Child Mental Health Services, service planning and development.

Experience of providing staff support to other disciplines.

Experience of providing training/teaching to other professional groups in psychological concepts.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Other

Hold a current full driving licence which is valid for use in the UK and have access to a car on appointment.

This criteria will be waived in the case of applicants whose disability prohibits driving but who have access to a form of transport approved by The Organisation which will permit them to carry out the duties of the post.

Shortlisting by Application Form

SECTION 2: The following are ESSENTIAL criteria which will be measured during the interview/ selection stage:

Skills/Abilities

Compassionate values with warmth, empathy, enthusiasm and ability to contribute to a team approach.

Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological and psychometric assessment, intervention and management in work with children and families frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.

Ability to draw on and integrate broad range of psychological theories and theories of child development and therapy with clinical practice and service provision.

Ability to cope with stressful interpersonal situations including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of emotive and distressing problems.

Flexible approach to meet the needs of the post.

Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.

Skills in providing specialist psychological advice and formal consultation to multidisciplinary professionals contributing directly to formulation and treatment plans and collaborative team working.

Skills in service development and leadership, including initiating, leading, implementing, and evaluating service developments.

Ability to occupy an autonomous, resilient, leadership role managing multiple demands and navigating across multidisciplinary services.

Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.

Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical and clinical sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.

Interview / Test

Knowledge

Knowledge 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 settings.

Evidence of relevant post-qualifying professional development, which is relevant to the knowledge and understanding of theoretical models required to assess and provide treatment for children/young people and their systems within the area of Child & Adolescent Mental Health.

Applicants must have a good knowledge of contemporary clinical and organisational issues within Health & Social Services generally, and within the specialism of child and adolescent mental health and child health.

Understanding of the implications of working in an acute or community setting.

Knowledge of child development including the influencing role of attachment relationships and trauma experiences.

Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised interventions for children and families with mental health conditions.

Knowledge of contemporary, relevant and high level clinical governance frameworks in relation to supervision, service development and policy development.

Masters level (or above) knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of mental health research.

Knowledge of current issues, policies and guidelines relevant to providing a psychology service within CAMHS.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

SECTION 3: these will ONLY be used where it is necessary to introduce additional job related criteria to ensure files are manageable. You should therefore make it clear on your application form how you meet these criteria. Failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted

Factor

Criteria

Method of Assessment

Experience

Ability to work systemically with families

Effective communication skills are required, verbal, written and electronic.

Experience of providing clinical or professional line management with Practitioner Psychologists.

Experience in designing, planning and undertaking clinical research and service evaluation.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Qualifications

Applicants must have completed and be willing to undertake further specialist clinical and leadership training.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will need to demonstrate at interview that they have the required competencies to be effective in this demanding leadership role. The competencies concerned are set out in the NHS Healthcare Leadership Model, details of which can be found at http://www.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/resources/healthcare-leadership-model.

Particular attention will be given to the following dimensions

• Inspiring shared purpose

• Leading with care

• Evaluating information

• Connecting our service

• Sharing the vision

• Engaging the team

• Holding to account

• Developing capability

• Influencing for results.

As part of the Recruitment & Selection process it may be necessary for The Organisation to carry out an Enhanced Disclosure Check through Access NI before any appointment to this post can be confirmed.

THE ORGANISATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER

Successful applicants

may be required to attend for a Health Assessment

can expect to be placed at the minimum point of the pay scale, although a higher starting salary, within the range of the pay band may be available if the person appointed has experience relevant & equivalent to the post. If the successful candidate is an existing HSC employee moving to a higher band, AfC Pay on Promotion will apply.

All staff are required to comply with the Trust’s Smoke Free Policy.

All staff are expected to display the HSC Values at all times