Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is growing and changing. We provide specialist mental health, learning disability and community services across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, and we’re hiring people who want to shape what comes next. Formed on 1 April 2020 through the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, we’re now focused on the future with a new Trust Strategy and our Best for the Black Country programme. What we do · Adult and older adult mental health · Children and young people’s mental health · Specialist learning disability services · Community healthcare for children, young people and families in Dudley Why join now · We’ve got real momentum right now. New strategy, clear priorities and our Best for the Black Country work mean things are moving in the right way, fast. · Our values aren’t just posters. People are genuinely compassionate, take responsibility, treat you with respect and help you feel confident and empowered. · You’ll be looked after. Flexible working, family-friendly policies, supportive teams, proper wellbeing support and chances to learn with coaching and development. · There’s room to grow. Loads of services to explore and real space to try ideas and be heard. · It’s a good place to live. Friendly diverse communities, easy transport, good schools and colleges, shopping, food, lots to do, plenty of green space and a lower cost of living than many other city regions. What it’s like to work here You’ll join friendly, skilled teams who look out for each other. We plan together, share caseload pressures, and celebrate wins. New starters get a warm welcome and clear induction; early careers colleagues have preceptorship and buddying; experienced staff can lead, teach and innovate. You’ll have space to do good work, speak up, and see the difference you make. Who we are We’re 4,000 colleagues from many backgrounds, committed to improving health and wellbeing for our communities and for each other. If you’re excited about the role but don’t tick every box, please apply. We value potential and transferable experience. Job overview As an Assistant Psychologist working within the newly established Hospital at Home Team (HaHT) you will be supervised and work closely with the Team's qualified psychologist. You will be a core member of the HaHT supporting the qualified psychologist to provide psychological assessments, formulations and interventions to older people who have complex needs of an organic and/or functional nature. Working with older people is a truly rewarding experience. We look forward to receiving applications from aspiring psychologists who are looking for a stimulating and enriching opportunity to work as an Assistant Psychologist in a team that will genuinely value their skills. Advert To support the Senior Psychologist in the delivery of specialist psychological assessments and interventions to patients with complex mental health conditions of an organic and/or functional nature. To support the Senior Psychologist in the provision of psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other direct care staff in MDT. Under the supervision of the Senior Psychologist to be involved in: ▪ Multi-disciplinary training and development ▪ Service audit and development ▪ Service evaluation and research ▪ Bringing an understanding of psychological change processes to the Team Working for our organisation The Older Adult Psychology Team is : A thriving and forward-thinking psychology team within an Older Adult Mental Health Division with a wide array of special interests and a commitment to growth through CPD A closely linked team of psychologists that work across all services within the Division including Community, In-Patients and Memory Assessment services across the 4 Black Country areas A core part of multi-disciplinary teams working closely with colleagues to improve access to psychological interventions across a variety of services A team that is actively involved in National research including an RCT into the use of CFT with older people living with dementia and/or anxiety and depression; Family Interventions in Dementia Mental Health Environments (FIND ME) A creative and innovative team that provide supervision, training, reflective practice to multi-disciplinary teams in addition to individual and group work with clients A friendly, talented and diverse team of psychologists who are committed to the values of person-centred multi-disciplinary and compassionate care Each committed to improving the quality of care via our full involvement in Quality Improvement Projects A valued team whose patients have access to state of the art, purpose-built en-suite inpatient accommodation at two new high-spec older adult hospital sites An aspiring team who want to ensure that Older Adult Psychology provision reaches the highest possible standards of excellence in client care Detailed job description and main responsibilities Assistant Psychologist – Band 4 Post Title: Assistant Psychologist Department: Older Adult Urgent Care Location: Pan Black Country Directorate: Older Adult Division To support the Senior Psychologist in the delivery of specialist psychological assessments and interventions to patients with complex mental health conditions and/or organic difficulties which may include challenging behaviours. To be compassionate in meeting the needs of clients, their carers and families. To support the Senior Psychologist in the provision of psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other direct care staff in MDT. To promote at all times a positive image of older people with mental health problems and/or cognitive impairment To promote at all times a positive image of the service and the wider Trust. In line with the banding of the post and its service context, and under the supervision of the Senior Psychologist to be involved in: ▪ Multi-disciplinary training and development ▪ Service audit and development ▪ Service evaluation and research ▪ Bring an understanding of psychological change processes to own role within MDT Main Duties/Responsibilities To administer standardised psychological assessment with clients and collect assessment data from a variety of sources. Responsible for recognising the potential for or signs of client harm, abuse or neglect, including poor clinical practice, reporting all such concerns and taking all reasonable steps to protect the client. Responsible for identifying and reporting concerns regarding the safeguarding of children who may be at risk. Under the supervision of the Senior Psychologist, support the development of psychological formulation and intervention plans for individual patients and/or their carers. Negotiates the implementation of such plans with clients and/or their carers. Under the supervision of the Senior Psychologist, implement psychological interventions for individual clients, carers, families and groups. Under the supervision of the Senior Psychologist, to develop resources and materials to support the delivery of the service. Multi-Disciplinary Training and Development Provides psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other direct care staff in MDT, under the guidance of the Senior psychologist. To share psychological knowledge and help MDT staff formulate and plan interventions. Provides training to other staff in MDT under the guidance of the Senior Psychologist, including the preparation of materials for training Service Development Participate in CQUIN and QIP projects, NICE benchmarking and compliance requirements as required within MDT, under the supervision of the Senior psychologist Service Redesign and Cultural Change Bring an understanding of psychological change processes to own role within MDT Service Evaluation and Research Participate in clinical audits as required within MDT Undertake service evaluations within MDT Participate in research in MDT, under the supervision of an applied psychologist To undertake any other duties of a similar nature consistent with the responsibilities of this post in order to provide a quality Hospital at Home Team service. Applying and timelines We may close this advert early if we receive a high volume of applications, so please apply soon. We shortlist after the closing date and will contact shortlisted candidates usually within two weeks. If you haven’t heard by then, you haven’t been shortlisted. Please check your email for updates and contact Recruitment for feedback. As part of our commitment to fairness, transparency, and personal integrity, we ask all applicants to ensure that their job applications reflect their own experiences, skills, and motivations. While AI tools can support spelling, grammar, or formatting, we expect that the content of your application—especially personal statements and responses to role-specific questions—is written by you. This helps us get to know the real you and ensures that our recruitment process remains equitable and meaningful for everyone. Pay and contracts Most NHS roles are paid under NHS Agenda for Change. With us - your starting point is set against the advertised band and your relevant NHS service, with progression through annual increments. Medical and Very Senior Manager roles follow separate national pay frameworks, not Agenda for Change. Details are provided in each advert and during recruitment. Standards and checks · Clinical posts up to and including Band 4 are expected to hold the Care Certificate. If you don’t have it yet, we’ll support you to complete it in post. · Some roles require a Standard or Enhanced DBS check under part V of the Police Act 1997. Having a criminal record won’t automatically prevent employment. We consider the role and individual circumstances. · We are an equal opportunities employer, offer flexible working, and are a smoke free Trust. Inclusion, equality and adjustments · We are an equal opportunities employer and offer flexible working. · We are an anti-racist, disability-inclusive and LGBTQ-inclusive Trust. · We welcome applications from under-represented groups and people with lived experience relevant to our services, including Black and Asian colleagues, Disabled people (including non-visible disabilities such as neurodiversity and mental health) and LGBTQ people. Members of the Armed Forces community are encouraged to consider applying and can access our Guaranteed Interview Scheme when meeting all of the essential criteria for the role. · Disabled applicants can request consideration under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme where essential criteria are met. You can ask for reasonable adjustments at every stage of the process. Our culture and values Best for the Black Country is our improvement journey. We share a clear vision and values, lead with compassion and visibility, listen to every voice, keep improving what we do and take ownership for delivery. You’ll feel it in how teams support each other and in the impact your work has on local people. If you want to contribute, learn and progress, this is a great time to join us.