Overview
An exciting and unique maternity cover opportunity within our Devon cluster prisons to provide psychological therapies at HMP Channings Wood. The post is a 12 month contract starting January 2026. The post holder will manage their own clinical caseload and supervise pre-qualified psychological therapists. Supervision Skills training will be provided if required and you will receive clinical supervision from an experienced Lead Psychologist. Development sessions will be offered to support career planning and professional development.
Please contact Dr Khyati Patel, Consultant Forensic Psychologist & Head of Psychological Therapies, Prison Mental Health Service, Devon Cluster, for an informal chat about the role. Applications from newly qualified psychological therapists or those nearing qualification will be considered. Important Sponsorship Information: we are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.
Main duties of the job: see responsibilities section below.
Details Date posted: 09 October 2025. Band 8a, Salary £47,810 to £62,682 per year. Contract: Fixed term, Duration: 12 months. Working pattern: Full-time. Reference: 277-7533454-CHAN. Job location: HMP Channings Wood, Greenhill Ln, Denbury, Newton Abbot, TQ12 6DW.
Responsibilities
* To provide direct psychological care (assessment and intervention) and support the delivery of psychologically informed care by all disciplines within the service.
* To provide highly specialist psychological therapy assessments, formulations and interventions.
* To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of community clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans, including initiating planning and review of care plans with input from clients, their carers, referring agents and others in the network of care.
* To provide line management to designated assistant psychologists.
* To provide culturally appropriate psychological therapy interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.
* To communicate, in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, information that may be contentious or highly distressing concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care.
* To produce reports on clients in a timely manner that convey the key findings of psychological assessment and formulation and treatment outcome in a manner understandable to recipients including clients and referrers.
* To undertake psychometric and neuropsychological testing as appropriate, including selecting, administering and scoring tests and interpreting findings in context of all relevant information.
* To undertake risk assessment, risk monitoring and risk management for individual clients in line with Trust and inter-agency policies, and provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
* To work in partnership with other disciplines and maintain links with statutory and non-statutory agencies as appropriate.
* To ensure that all services provided are acceptable and accessible to the diverse communities served.
* Implement outcome measurement as determined by the local service.
* Attend and contribute to psychology and directorate meetings and forums.
* See Job Description and Person Specification for further information.
Education, Qualifications and Experience
* Essential: Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession or equivalent with demonstrable practice; postgraduate qualification at Doctorate or MSc/PG Diploma level with supervised practice; registration with the relevant professional body (eg HCPC/UKCP/BACP/BABCP).
* Desirable: Completed training in clinical supervision; training or qualifications in research methodology or related fields.
* Experience: Essential – specialist psychological assessment and treatment of adult clients with complex needs, experience in diverse and multicultural contexts, and professionalism in handling distressing situations. Desirable – experience in forensic/secure settings and in teaching/training.
* Skills: Essential – advanced psychological assessment, intervention and management skills; ability to administer and interpret psychometric tests; ability to provide consultation to professional and non-professional groups.
Additional Information
National Security Vetting is required for this role in a prison setting and will be completed as part of pre-employment checks. Applicants must provide: proof of right to work, proof of ID (including one photograph ID), proof of address, address history for 5 years, and any required overseas documentation as needed. Guidance on overseas checks can be found on government websites. UK registration with the appropriate professional body is required.
About the employer: Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust provides a wide range of NHS health and mental health services in community and secure settings, including prison health services. The organisation values kindness, fairness, listening and care.
#J-18808-Ljbffr