236232 R1 Director of Psychology (EGPP) role at NHS Ayrshire & Arran
NHS Lothian continues to grow and develop its workforce; alongside wider ongoing whole system working and service evolution. Our organisation is dynamic, inclusive, values based and multi‑disciplinary; with an ethos that promotes safe, effective, patient‑centred care; and a culture that values, empowers, supports and develops our staff.
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join NHS Lothian’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital and Associated Services Senior Leadership Team in a key innovative role as the substantive Director of Psychology. This post has the option of blended remote and onsite working to suit the preferred candidate’s needs.
Within Lothian, Psychological Therapies are provided and delivered by the Health and Social Care Partnership. The service has 16 core specialties and some sub‑specialties. The core services include Adult Mental Health, CAMHS, Older People’s Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, Clinical Health, Addictions, Forensic, Maternity and Neonatal, Perinatal, Physical Rehabilitation, Trauma, Veterans, Staff Support and Wellbeing and Digital Therapies.
The post holder will lead and operationally manage a workforce of 241 staff including clinical and counselling Psychologists, Clinical Associates, Accredited Therapists, EPPs, Assistant Psychologists, Peer Support Workers, Clinical Trainees and business enabling staff.
We are looking for a candidate who has significant experience of working in senior leadership roles and is able to evidence excellence in leading others in delivering safe and effective clinical care within Applied Psychology services. The successful candidate will be dynamic and share core values of innovation, creativity, compassion, caring and kindness in all aspects of leadership and patient care and embody these in their day to day work.
This post will take forward and lead the ongoing and collaborative organisational redesign of Applied Psychology Services to manage demand and re‑shape the delivery of Psychological Therapies across Lothian; with the aim to have accessible, flexible and adaptive services from digital delivery through Primary Care to Specialist Mental Health and Acute Psychology Services; with a focus on excellence, innovation and high‑quality care. Services will be developed in keeping with the wider objectives of NHS Lothian and the 4 Health and Social Care Partnerships and will embed service user outcomes and feedback in continuous service improvement.
To be successful, the applicant will need to have a Doctorate level (or equivalent) qualification in Clinical or Applied Psychology and be registered with the HCPC. Evidence of leading and developing large services and teams, competency in complex Demand, Capacity, Activity, Queue (DCAQ) and trajectory modelling, and experience of service redesign and organisational change is desirable. In addition, the successful applicant will need to demonstrate considerable experience as a Senior Consultant Psychologist with Head of Specialty managerial and leadership responsibilities as a significant and core part of current or past roles.
We look forward to the successful applicant developing further our culture of trust, respect, openness, collaboration, encouragement and integrity; and inspiring cohesion, motivation and high performance across all levels of Psychology staff, and improving the impact of Psychology in our organisation, with partner agencies, in our communities and across our population. We will support the successful applicant to create an environment to improve recruitment and retention, through the development of varied career pathways, including management, teaching, research, improvement and innovation.
There are excellent opportunities for a wide range of both research, academic and clinical experience (1:1 work, family work, group work, specialist workstreams and consultation), in early intervention through to Secondary Care; taking part in local and national teaching / training; and being part of dynamic service developments at a challenging time nationally. We are an active teaching Board working alongside NES and the University of Edinburgh and we host D.Clin.Psych, Adult MSc, Children & Young People MSc, and Enhanced Psychological Practice (EPP) trainees across services.
NHS Lothian provides a comprehensive range of primary, community based and acute hospital services for the populations of Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian and West Lothian. We also provide selected services for patients in the Borders and in Fife and are a national centre of expertise for various specialities provided to people across Scotland.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to make contact with Jillian Torrens, Service Director for REAS at jillian.torrens@nhs.scot
We will fully support disabled candidates, and candidates with long‑term conditions or who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service. Further information on what NHS Scotland Boards are required to check this as well as what your responsibilities include can be found in the further information for this vacancy.
Due to legislative changes from 1 April 2025, this post may require a different level of criminal records check done than is currently the case. If the post is assessed as a "regulated role", your appointment will be subject to joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. If there is any change to what is currently required, this will be confirmed by either the Hiring Manager or the Recruitment Team. For more details on these changes please visit: Disclosure Scotland Changes
As from 1/4/26, the Agenda for Change full‑time working week will be reducing from 37 to 36 hours per week. Part time hours will be reduced pro‑rata. Please note that the pay scale in this advert will not be changing as a result.
NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.
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