Job summary
This vacancy is for a 12 month post covering maternity leave.
A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a dynamic and motivated Clinical Psychologist to join Durham Children and Young Peoples Service in-house therapeutic team - The Full Circle, based in Annfield Plain, County Durham.
The Full Circle's focus is to support children and young people who have experienced developmental trauma due to experiences of neglect and abuse. The team works in close partnership with children looked after, children in need, residential, fostering and adoption services and has close links with partnership agencies including Education and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services within post holder will have theopportunity to develop boththeir clinical and leadership skills and be an integral member of a strong leadership team. The Full Circle team is committed to providing a trauma informed approach and supporting wider children and young people services to understand and respond to children's trauma in the most helpful way.
Main duties of the job
The post involves offering clinical support and guidance to the team which consists of therapeutic social workers, a clinical nurse specialist and an existing consultant clinical psychologist. It also includes consultation and training to social workers and other professionals working across CYPS along with support to foster carers, parents and residential services. The post involves working with children complex needs requiring collaboration and partnership working with a range of systems. Part of this role will be to support Durham County Council's growing residential services and working in innovative and creative ways to support the most complex young people in Durham's care.
About us
The Full Circle are proud of their Investing in Children Membership Award(TM) status, which recognises and celebrates examples of imaginative and inclusive practice with children and young people.
Ofsted have also recognised how valuable Full Circle Support is"The therapeutic service provided by Full Circle is invaluable. Using evidence based research, the service is making a real difference to children who have been traumatised by adverse childhood experiences, as well as supporting their carers." (September 2019). At their more recent inspection, Ofsted said of children, young people and families, "They receive tailored and highly effective support with their emotional needs from the specialist therapeutic Full Circle team. Foster carers and adopters are well supported by social workers and Full Circle in the transition and continuing care of children placed with them." (May 2022)
Details
Date posted
29 October 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 8a
Salary
£55,690 to £62,682 a year per annum
Contract
Fixed term
Duration
12 months
Working pattern
Full-time
Reference number
346-DDC-051-25-A
Job locations
Full Circle
Morrison Road
Annfield Plain
DH9 7XW
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will provide a range of roles and responsibilities as detailed within the job description. This will include the delivery of highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation and interventions to children and their carers with complex needs through direct clinical work, offering clinical supervision and multiagency consultation, staff training alongside leading on service development and evaluation.
Candidates should be significantly experienced clinicians with excellent interdisciplinary working skills and interested in developing and delivering an innovative service. Experience in the field of community child and adolescent mental health including with children who are looked after is essential. Leadership skills and behaviours are integral to the recruitment process.
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.
For more information on the role please contact in the first instance, Dr Alison Foster, Consultant Clinical Psychologist - k
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
1. Post-graduate training (doctoral level equivalent) in clinical / counselling / forensic psychology (or its equivalent prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS.
2. Post doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
3. HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist
4. Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees
5. Trained in care co-ordination
6. Evidence of continuing professional development
Desirable
7. Registration with BPS
Experience
Essential
8. Working as a qualified applied psychologist within the designated service including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across a range of care settings.
9. Exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care as a care coordinator within the context of a multidisciplinary team.
10. Teaching, training and clinical supervision and field supervisor for doctoral theses.
11. Quality and service improvement and evaluation.
Skills
Essential
12. Communicate highly complex and highly sensitive information effectively, to a wide range of people
13. Provide effective teaching, training and clinical supervision for the multidisciplinary team.
14. Work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team and undertake care co-ordination/lead practitioner responsibilities
15. Utilise psychometric tests competently
16. Undertake complex multiagency working and liaise with multiple systems
17. Identify, provide and promote appropriate interventions / means of support for carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours.