Practitioner Psychologist Band 8b – Forensic Psych Services: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

1 x Band 8b Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist Post – (0.8wte)

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Psychologist, with considerable clinical experience working in forensic inpatient services, to join EPUT’s Forensic Psychological Service in a combined clinical and leadership role.

Main duties of the job

This role will involve providing highly specialist clinical services to forensic patients (0.5 wte) as well as providing operational leadership (0.3 wte) within the service. The post will be based at Brockfield House (Wickford, Essex) and will also include some clinical and management responsibility for staff at EPUT’s other forensic inpatient units: Edward House (Chelmsford, Essex), Robin Pinto Unit (Luton) and Wood Lea Clinic (Bedford).

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

• Doctoral training in psychology
• Postgraduate training including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by HCPC.
• HCPC Registered as practitioner psychologist
• Post graduate level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practised within the clinical or forensic fields of psychology.

Skills/experience

Essential

• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical 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 in the administration and interpretation of Structured Professional Judgement risk assessments (including the HCR-20, RSVP and SARA), as
• Experience of providing clinical supervision to staff carrying out group and individual work with forensic mental health or forensic learning disability patients
• Significant experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for client’s psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified psychologist and also within the context of multidisciplinary care plan

Desirable

• Experience of initiating and taking an active role in service-development

Personal

Essential

• The ability to create and maintain effective relationships within the clinical team and with a range of professionals.
• Team Player, inspirational to others, ability to negotiate ‘win win’ situations.
• Ability to work independently
• Confident and approachable.

Desirable

• Personal experience of mental health problems.

Knowledge

Essential

• Formal training in the supervision of other psychologists
• Knowledge of legislation, and its implications in relation to the client group and mental health
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC by completion of CPD log demonstrating a minimum of 40 hours per year
• Well-developed knowledge of theory and practice of highly specialised forensic psychological assessment methodologies
• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc.)

Closing Date: 13 September 2026