Job Description
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience.
By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust. Our ValuesWe take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do.
When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.Job overviewNational and Specialist CAMHS present an exciting opportunity to recruit a highly motivated and experienced clinician to a part-time (0.6 wte) band 8b Principal Clinical Psychologist post within the multi-disciplinary Service for Complex Autism and Associated Neurodevelopmental Disorders (SCAAND) based at the Michael Rutter Centre. SCAAND provides an all ability service for young people with neurodevelopmental conditions and intellectual disability. SCAAND provides highly specialist assessments and interventions for young people, focusing on mental health support for this population.
This role focuses on psychological provision for young people without an intellectual disability, but the successful applicant would work clinically across all ability levels.SCAAND has excellent links with KCL and Clinical Psychology training courses, and staff benefit from excellent team support and professional development opportunities. Clinical work in the team is diverse, collaborative, evidence-based and truly multi-disciplinary, and includes an interesting mix of direct and indirect intervention and consultation to clinicians in local teams. The role offers a range of service development, supervision, teaching, clinical leadership and research opportunities, and SCAAND clinicians have access to a range of CPD and training both within and outside of SLAM NHS Trust.Main duties of the jobThe postholder will work as a Principal Clinical Psychologist in the SCAAND multi-disciplinary team.
Clinical Psychology work in the team includes contributing to comprehensive MDT assessments, providing specialist psychological and cognitive assessment, formulation and interventions for children, young people and parents/carers, and providing consultation, training and support to local CAMHs clinicians and multi-agency networks.The role also includes providing supervision, line management and support within the team. Supporting the psychological aspects of case formulation and planning within the multi-disciplinary team is also a key component of the role, and highly valued within the team in both regular meetings and joint working. There are also opportunities for developing and delivering teaching and training internally within the service, to local training programmes, including KCL DClinPsy, and to external services and other agencies.
The post holder will work closely with other clinical psychologists in SCAAND and MDT colleagues. They will work with service and pathway leads in SCAAND to support the clinical governance and service development work of the team, including audits, research, service evaluation and quality improvement projects. There will be opportunities to lead on aspects of service development, relevant to the post-holder’s specialisms, within the team and the wider SCAAND service.
Working for our organisationFlexible working:As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. (This may include working early mornings, later evenings or Saturdays as part of the core working hours/working pattern for this post)About our locations:SCAAND is based at the Michael Rutter Centre for Children and Young People, Denmark Hill in South London. The role will require travel to clients in the community e.g.
home visits, schools or community bases as appropriate and across the Trust and nationally when required. (Due to move to the Pears Maudsley Children and Young People (PMCYP) at the Maudsley Hospital in early 2026)Maudsley Hospital (headquarters) Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2) and is within walking distance from the beautiful green spaces of Ruskin park and the vibrant high-street that offers great shopping opportunities and with a wide range of restaurants. Detailed job description and main responsibilities• To develop, co-ordinate and ensure the systematic provision of a psychological assessment and therapy service to young people with neurodevelopmental conditions (particularly autistic young people) and those with intellectual disability seen in National Specialist CAMHS SCAAND and personally provide highly specialist clinical input.• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.• To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate, functioning as a lead specialist in mental health in neurodevelopmental conditions and intellectual disability more generally.
• To ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical and professional supervision and support of other psychological practitioners particularly in relation to neurodevelopmental conditions• To promote service evaluation, audit, research and policy development.• To work as an autonomous professional within registration body guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.• To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.• To support the coordination of staff support within their area, working closely with Corporate Psychology and Psychotherapy to support colleagues and ensure all staff in SLaM have access to evidence based support. To participate, as a recipient, in staff support work when appropriate.Person specificationQualificationsEssential criteria- Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology (Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent) that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration. (A/I)Desirable criteria- Training and/ or expertise in autism specific assessments (eg ADOS-2, ADI-R) (A/I)- Additional post graduate training in one or more relevant psychological models (Positive Behaviour Support, DBT, etc) (A/I)- Management qualification, management training course completion or line management experience (A/I)ExperienceEssential criteria- Substantial experience of having worked as a clinical specialist in a CAMHS setting with young people with neurodevelopmental conditions (including autism and intellectual disability) with significant complexity (A/I)- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in children and adolescence with neurodevelopmental conditions or intellectual disabilities.
(A/I)- Experience of proposing and implementing service development projects within own service area. (A/I)KnowledgeEssential criteria- Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment for young people with neurodevelopmental presentations including autism and intellectual disability (A/I/R)- Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care. (A/I/R)- To select and administer specialist psychological assessments including standardised cognitive assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources.
(A/I/R)Desirable criteria- Demonstrated understanding of consultation and clinical supervision of psychologists and non-psychologists related to neurodevelopmental conditions, mental health and safeguarding (A/I)SkillsEssential criteria- Advanced selection and administration of psychometric and neuropsychological tests, including those that require complex manipulation of test materials). (A/I/R)- Consultation skills to work with the multi-professional team or other professional groups and sensitively managing, a number of people’s needs simultaneously within the context of therapeutic work/consultation. (A/I/R)- Advanced skills in working with a number of clients and systems together, managing the highly complex emotional relationships within and between the component parts of the systems in ways, which maximise the potential for therapeutic outcomes (A/I/R)Desirable criteria- Specialist practitioner skills in working with emotion dysregulation such as DBT skills (A/I/R/E)- Specialist practitioner skills in working with individuals with behaviour that challenges (A/I/R/E)AbilitiesEssential criteria- Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
(A/I/R)The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights.
We aim to put this commitment into practice by:- Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice- Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment- We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignityPlease note:- That all applications for this post will need to be made online- That you read and understand the Job Description and Person Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria- That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible- That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system.
All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs- That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not been successful- That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees- That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process- That we are a smoke-free TrustSLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion, Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe’Helpful Resource: How to Use TRAC for Job ApplicationsIf you're preparing to apply for a role, this guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to use TRAC effectively throughout the application process: Using TRAC to apply