Principal Clinical Psychologist: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen to work in a 8b role as a Clinical Psychologist within our Community Specialist Division of Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS), formerly known as CAMHS, in a multidisciplinary team.

The successful post holder role involves delivering a high-quality service provision that promotes and improves the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people and their families.

You will have core professional registration following completion of post-graduate doctorate in clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, or fully completed training as a Counselling Psychologist as well as registered with the HCPC.You will have significant post-registration experience of highly specialist child and adolescent serviceof both core work and specific/specialist work of assessment and treatment with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature.

The Community Specialist CYPMHS services are a dynamic caring, supportive and hard-working team which prides itself in working professionally in collaboratively with young people and stakeholders in service delivery. There are opportunities to take a lead in areas of service delivery and specialist areas of interest.

Main duties of the job

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated Clinical Psychologist to join our Community Specialist Division within Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS),

The successful post holder will play a key role in delivering high-quality, evidence-based psychological services. The post holder will contribute a wide range mental health difficulties, including complex and high-risk presentations.

Applicants must hold professional registration accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), or have successfully completed accredited Counselling Psychology training, together with registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

The successful candidate will have significant post-registration experience working within specialist child and adolescent mental health services, with substantial experience in the assessment and treatment of children and young people presenting with complex psychological and mental health needs. Experience of multidisciplinary working, consultation, clinical supervision and service development will be highly desirable.

The team values professional development and continuous improvement, through structured supervision, professional support and competency development.

This is an excellent opportunity to further develop their clinical, leadership and service development skills within a supportive and well-established psychological therapies and multidisciplinary team.

Person Specification

Knowledge/Training/Experience

Essential

• Relevant training and professional registration as per person spec
• Post -doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice including CBT
• Post registration experience of specialist psychological assessmentand treatment with clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature

Desirable

• Specialist training in an appropriate area and knowledge of CAPA and CYP-IAPT
• Experience in neuropsychological assessment training in supervision of clinical/counselling psychologists

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Assessed experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children/adolescents with a wide range of presentations of varying severity. This would usually include post qualification experience, or other evidenced experience.
• Experience of working with moderate to severe mental health problems with a wide range of client groups across the whole life course with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity includingmaintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
• Demonstrate further specialist clinical experience and training within Child and Adolescent Mental Health, through a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a clinical / counseling psychologist over a minimum of 18 months, or an agreed alternative
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• Abilities to provide consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
• Good general knowledge of the literature and research concerning mental health interventions with children, particularly the clinical effectiveness of such interventions
• Knowledge of Child Protection Procedures
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for client’s psychological care and treatment both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan
• Good presentation and teaching skills and ability to use multi -media materials for formal presentations tolarge groups
• Experience of working within a multi-cultural framework

Desirable

• Experience of service quality monitoring e.g. clinical audit, evaluative research, etc
• Experience of having published in either peer reviewed academic or professional journals and/or books

Communication Skills

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to communicate orally 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 NHS
• Ability to work therapeutically with young people and their families
• Ability to work as a fully participating member of a multi-disciplinary team and the ability to respect and value other members contributions
• Positive problem solving approach

Physical Skills

Essential

• Car driver (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 which prevents you from driving)
• IT skills; include use of Microsoft Office and Outlook

Leadership

Essential

• Has experience of leading a team
• Can demonstrate leadership qualities in line with trust values

Desirable

• Has participated in CPD related to management and leadership

Closing Date: 18 October 2026