Job overview
We are looking for a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist to join our friendly and dynamic CAMHS Inpatient multi-disciplinary team to cover maternity leave for 12 months. Consideration would be given to a newly qualified preceptee or somebody looking to develop from 7 to 8a clinical Psychologist.
The Hope unit is a 12 bedded general adolescent unit which provides assessment, care and mental health treatment to young people aged 13-18.
We are a compassionate and resilient team, present with purpose, reflecting and growing together. Through kindness, support, appreciation and passion, we create a positive environment where both staff and young people are encouraged to thrive. Every day, we lead with care, celebrate our strengths, and commit to excellence, because together, we make a lasting impact.
PCNFT is proud to be the lead provider for CAMHS Inpatient Care within Greater Manchester. As such the post holder will opportunity for collaborative working, service and professional development.
Job Summary
- To provide a qualified specialist CAMHS clinical psychology service to clients of the service, providing specialist psychological assessment and therapy including DBT, Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapies and psycho-dynamically informed psychotherapies.
- To provide supervision and reflective practice to the Hope unit staff team.
Main duties of the job
- To provide specialist psychological assessments and formulation of young people who have been admitted to the unit
- To formulate and implements plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s mental health problems.
- To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups within and across teams.
- To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both therapeutic and theoretical models and highly complex factors
- To provide specialist psychologically informed advice, guidance, supervision and consultation to other professionals. Including direct support of the assistant psychologist
- To offer specialist therapy in a range of therapeutic modalities.
- To work autonomously and as one of the senior members of the multi-disciplinary team within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.
- To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the CAMHS Service
- To take the lead in the development of new areas of service delivery and care pathways.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
please see detailed job description and person specification. please note this role is for maternity cover for 12 months.
Person specification
Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, including psychometric testing, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups.
- Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations
- Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour
- Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
- Ability to work flexibly including some evenings and occasional weekends
Knowledge
Essential
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and young people and mental health.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS.
- Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.
Desirable
- Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies for children and young people
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies.
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework
Experience
Essential
- • Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist (with demonstrable experience at a specialist level).
- • Experience of working with children and young people presenting with the full range of clinical severity across a wide range of care settings severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- • Experience of working with families and carers.
- • Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a MDT care plan
- Experience of teaching, training and / or professional and clinical supervision.
Desirable
- • Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- • Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
- • Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
Qualifications
Essential
- • Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- • Registration with BPS
Desirable
- • Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
- • Specialist training in therapeutic work with children, young people and families.
work related circumstance
Essential
- Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
- Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
- Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Specialist Clinical Psychologist - CAMHS Inpatients with Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in Ashton Under Lyne, North West, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Psychologist role. The advertised salary is £49,387 - £64,750 per annum, pro rata. The contract type is Fixed term: 12 months (maternity cover). The application deadline is 16 Jul 2026.
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