Relational Lead – Band 8A: Sponsorship Available

East London NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

Tower Hamlets Talking Therapies is seeking an experienced relational therapist with leadership experience to lead our established relational therapies pathway. This role combines clinical, professional and operational leadership, with responsibility for overseeing and developing the delivery of high-quality brief psychodynamic and systemic therapies within a high-performing NHS Talking Therapies service. The successful candidate will build on the strengths of our established provision and help shape its future development.

The post holder will join a dynamic multidisciplinary service comprising clinicians trained in a broad range of therapeutic approaches, including Brief Psychodynamic Therapy (including DIT), Systemic and Couple Therapy, EMDR, CBT, Counselling, Mindfulness-Based Interventions and Guided Self-Help.

The Relational Therapies Lead will be a member of the service leadership team, working closely with fellow pathway leads and senior managers to support day-to-day service delivery, workforce development, quality improvement and strategic planning. The post holder will provide leadership and oversight of the relational therapies pathway, including clinical supervision, duty management, recruitment, governance, service improvement and performance management, while contributing to the wider development of the service.

Main duties of the job

Tower Hamlets offers the opportunity to work with one of London’s most diverse and vibrant communities, with a wide range of presenting difficulties. We are committed to delivering accessible, inclusive and culturally responsive care and are looking for a leader who can support high-quality relational therapy provision that meets the needs of our local population.

We are looking for an experienced Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist, Psychodynamic Psychotherapist or Systemic Psychotherapist who can demonstrate leadership experience beyond direct clinical work and is ready to contribute to the ongoing development, management and strategic direction of the relational therapies pathway. This role would suit someone with a combination of strong clinical skills and emerging or established leadership experience.

This is a permanent full-time position. In line with service requirements, all clinical staff are expected to work one late evening per week (11:00am-7:00pm).

Person Specification

Education/ Qualification/ Training

Essential

  • HCPC registered Counselling or Clinical Psychologist OR Masters Level qualified Psychodynamic or Systemic Psychotherapist with relevant registration and accreditation status with UKCP

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working in an primary care or NHS Talking Therapies (previously IAPT) setting delivering evidence based psychological interventions
  • Advanced skills in at least one other Psychological Therapy modality (e.g. Brief Psychodynamic, Integrative, Systemic therapy, CfD (Counselling for Depression), IPT (Interpersonal Therapy).
  • Experience of providing brief psychotherapy
  • Experience of managing waiting lists.
  • Experience of line management of staff
  • Experience of contributing to or overseeing delivery against service performance and recovery targets

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

  • Able to demonstrate expertise in one or more therapeutic orientations, or with one or more areas of clinical presentation.
  • Able to arrive at appropriate formulations. Able to compare and select from a range of treatment options, based on formulation.
  • Ability to work autonomously and to manage conflicting demands between Service Users, the health care system and broader contexts Skills to undertake appropriate clinical audits
  • Excellent reporting and presentation skills.
  • Able to provide & receive complex, sensitive or contentious information in a highly emotive and sometimes hostile atmosphere, in a range of relationships and settings.
  • Able to use highly specialist skills of empathy to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.

Supervision, teaching, training

Essential

  • Understanding of, and commitment to the supervision process.
  • Significant experience of providing clinical supervision to qualified/ trainee clinicians
  • Able to organise and deliver teaching and training.
  • Able to contribute a Psychological perspective in work with other professional groups.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Closing Date: 8 November 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.