Overview
Employer: Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Site: Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield
Employer type: NHS
Salary: £47,810 - £62,682 per annum pro rata for part time staff
Closing: 06/10/2025 23:59
Interview date: 22/10/2025
Position
Senior Clinical/Counselling Psychologist in Physical Health
NHS AfC: Band 7/8a
Job summary
We are committed to helping our staff balance their work and home lives and ensure they feel supported, valued and appreciated so whilst you care for our patients and clients, we’ll take care of you. We offer career development opportunities, flexible working, good annual leave and pension schemes, health and wellbeing packages and financial support systems. Joining the Trust also provides access to salary sacrifice schemes and a range of discounts with retailers and service providers.
Job overview
If you are passionate about making a positive difference to the quality of life of people living with HIV, sexual health issues, and gynaecological difficulties, this varied and innovative permanent, part-time post sits within the Sexual Health, Infectious Diseases & Gynaecology service at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust (STHFT).
We aim to attract a committed, diverse and talented workforce who are passionate about delivering psychological care within an acute hospital setting and adapting approaches to meet service needs. We offer a supportive, dynamic work setting with opportunities to link with colleagues and develop your career.
We welcome HCPC registered Clinical or Counselling Psychologists with relevant experience; support will be given for anyone returning to the workplace. Trainees due to complete their course are welcome, with a preceptorship opportunity in this post (band 7 to 8a).
Main duties of the job
This post will work primarily into Sexual Health, Infectious Diseases and Gynaecology services.
There are opportunities to work with health and social care professionals from other disciplines, providing supervision and training, and guiding the wider staff group. Working with patients and team members, there is potential for a far-reaching positive impact on outcomes and quality of life for patients. There may also be opportunities to work with patients with other physical health conditions.
We value diversity of workforce as it broadens skills, experiences and ideas. The department has an active Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) group and welcomes applications from all backgrounds, with particular encouragement for applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community.
Please see the attachment “Department overview” for more details about working with us.
Please note vacancy banding is dependent on experience. The successful applicant will start at Band 7 unless they meet the threshold for Band 8a.
Working for our organisation
You would be part of a department that values its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors, providing benefits including professional development and policies to support work-life balance.
As a member of the department, you would join a substantial, experienced team with in-house professional development, including clinical supervision, special interest groups and wider project opportunities. The Trust supports flexible/hybrid working as appropriate to service needs. The attached document outlines the department strategy. The department has grown recently with new service developments and CPD support as required by individuals and organisation.
The department has strong links with the Sheffield, Leeds and Hull DClinPsy courses and offers placements to DCounsPsy trainees.
Applicants may be considered for other vacancies if interested.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post.
When applying, clearly demonstrate how you meet the role criteria.
This vacancy is available at either Band 7 or 8a. To be appointable at Band 8a, substantial post-qualified experience is required.
If appointed at Band 7, this will be a development role with progression to Band 8a upon completion of the in-house preceptorship programme and demonstration of the required competencies.
Person specification
Education and Qualifications
* (Band 8a) Doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996), or counselling psychology as HCPC accredited, including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan development psychology, as accredited by the British Psychological Society.
* (Band 7 & 8a) Professional registration with HCPC
* (Band 7 & 8a) Eligible for Practitioner Full Membership of the BPS Divisions of Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or working towards this – for band 7)
* (Band 7) Doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) with eligibility for September 2025 completion for applicants due to complete training in September 2025.
* (Band 7 & 8a) Pre-qualification training and qualifications in other fields of applied psychology.
Experience
* (Band 8a) Significant experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of patients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in-patient settings.
* (Band 8a) Experience with a wide variety of patient groups and presenting problems across clinical severity.
* (Band 8a) Experience representing psychology within multidisciplinary care and working clinically in health and medical settings.
* (Band 8a) Experience of working with health-related psychological problems and with MDT groups.
* (Band 7) Significant experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment across care settings and with patients across the lifespan.
* (Band 7) Experience of working in physical health settings and in multidisciplinary teams, including delivering psychologically informed groups.
Further Training
* (Band 8a) Minimum of 50 hours of clinical supervision over at least 24 months.
* (Band 7 & 8a) Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology and CPD evidence recommended by BPS/HCPC.
* (Band 8a) Formal training in supervision of other psychological practitioners.
* (Band 7) Knowledge of theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies for groups with difficult-to-treat conditions.
* (Band 7) High level knowledge of at least two specialised psychological or psychotherapeutic approaches.
* (Band 7) Specialist knowledge of psychological issues.
Skills and Knowledge
* (Band 7 & 8a) Complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
* (Band 8a) Ability to teach/train others using diverse materials for public, professional and academic settings.
* (Band 8a) Time management and prioritisation.
* (Band 7 & 8a) Ability to provide consultation to other professionals and groups.
* (Band 8a) Working with diversity and with interpreters.
* (Band 7 & 8a) Clinician governance to support practice in emotive conditions; knowledge of legislation and national policies relevant to patients and health.
* (Band 8a) Specialist knowledge of psychological and medical interventions relating acute physical health care.
* (Band 7 & 8a) Ability to establish professional credibility at all levels and work in multidisciplinary settings.
* (Band 8a) Experience of working within a multicultural framework and developing or transforming a service model.
Personal Qualities
* (Band 7 & 8a) Highly developed communication skills for complex/clinical information with patients, families, carers and colleagues.
* (Band 7 & 8a) Time management, prioritisation and a positive attitude toward patients with medical/physical health conditions.
* (Band 7 & 8a) Ability to cope with distressing or emotional circumstances and maintain concentration.
Please note that to comply with UK Government Skilled Worker sponsorship rules, applicants not meeting eligibility or salary concessions will not be eligible for sponsorship. Details on concessions are available in the attached guidance.
Candidates are advised to read the attached guidance on AI usage. By applying you declare the information in your application true and complete. The personal statement is a personal statement.
When applying via NHS Jobs you will be redirected to the Trac recruitment system. You will create and submit your application there; you will not be able to track progress on NHS Jobs.
If offered employment, your information may be transferred from Trac to the NHS Electronic Staff Records system. By submitting an application, you authorise the Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via ESR IAT if appointed.
All communications regarding your application will be via email through Trac; please check junk/spam folders as emails may be filtered.
The Trust is committed to Equality Act 2010 obligations and encourages applications from all sections of the community. For assistance, contact the General or Medical Human Resources Departments on the number listed on the NHS Jobs page.
Job Share applicants are welcome for all full-time posts unless indicated; internal secondments may be considered for fixed-term contracts, with line-manager approval.
All employment is subject to NHS checks including identity, eligibility to work, references, qualifications, professional registration, a disclosure and barring service check and occupational health check where required.
For more information about our organisation and opportunities, please visit our website and follow us on social media.
Employer certification / accreditation
You must have the appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020.
Name: Dr Gemma Kothari
Job title: Principal Clinical Psychologist
Email: gemma.kothari1@nhs.net
Telephone: 0114 2266929
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