Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a dedicated, enthusiastic psychologist who has an interest in leadership and service development, to lead the development and delivery of high-quality psychological services within the CHPS Community Psychology service, providing clinical leadership, supervision, and service development. The postholder will also offer operational support to the Psychological Professional Lead for CHPS, as well as deputising on their behalf as required, contributing to strategic planning, governance, and workforce development.
Community Psychology comprises of two teams: Long Term Conditions Psychology and TULIP, the Maternal Mental Health Team (MMHT). Long Term Conditions Psychology offer assessment and psychological therapy services across Waltham Forest, Barking & Dagenham and Thurrock, seeing patients who are impacted by their physical health issue. The Maternal Mental Health Team is a trustwide pathway which provides assessment and psychological interventions for women and their partners experiencing Birth Trauma, Tokophobia and Perinatal loss such as miscarriage, still birth, medical termination, and those that have had a loss of a baby through removal by children’s social care.
Main duties of the job
To take the lead as the Principal Clinical Psychologist in providing a high quality specialist health psychology service for CHPS Community Psychology services, including Long Term Conditions Psychology Services and Maternal Mental Health Services.
To provide, develop and manage highly specialist clinical health psychology interventions to patients with complex needs.
To clinically supervise less experienced psychologists, counsellors, assistants, trainees or other professionals and offer training, consultation, supervision and support.
To be responsible for overseeing research and evaluation within Clinical Health Psychological Therapies and undertake service development work relevant to the particular needs of the specialty.
To offer operational support and to deputise where necessary for the Psychological Professional Lead for CHPS.
Working for our organisation
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.
They are:
We are kind.
We are respectful.
We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Starting with NELFT
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend a number of drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period.
High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15%of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,714 and a maximum payment of £5,941 - per annum, pro rata for part time).
Use of AI
Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI
during the recruitment process.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology, or equivalent, accredited by the BPS AND HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist. OR Accredited qualification in psychotherapy OR Accredited qualification in counselling AND Full membership of BABCP, BACP, UKCP or other appropriate professional body
Desirable criteria
2. Additional specialist training in advanced therapy skills, such as Psychodynamic, CBT and Family therapy
Other
Essential criteria
3. To be able to travel efficiently throughout the NELFT area
Experience
Essential criteria
4. Experience and skills in the application and delivery of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention, management and evaluation across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings, within the NHS, including risk assessment and management of complex cases.
5. Leadership and management experience
6. Experience of delivering psychological therapy in physical health services, and/or maternal health services
7. Experience of clinically supervising others.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
8. Understanding of the psychological issues relating to Clinical Health Psychology Services. This will include knowledge of the impact of existing mental health problems or learning disabilities, such as psychosis, personality disorders, drug and alcohol problems etc. on maternal mental health related conditions
9. Knowledge and enthusiasm for working psychologically with physical health issues, and long term health issues in particular. AND/OR Knowledge, enthusiasm and sensitivity for working psychologically with people with traumatic experiences of their maternity and gynaecological issues, including sub-fertility, traumatic delivery, foetal abnormality, stillbirth and neonatal death.
10. An awareness of NHS priorities
Skills
Essential criteria
11. Well-developed skills in holistic care that takes into account the mind, body and spiritual aspects of human experience.
12. Skill in triage of complex caseloads and referrals and working in close liaison with related services, such as, PPIMHS, Talking Therapies and psychiatric liaison and signposting onward when appropriate
13. Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues within and outside the NHS.
Benefits
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
14. A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
15. A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
16. Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
17. Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.