Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Principal Psychological Professional - Community CAMHS and C&IST
The closing date is 19 April 2026
Please note this role is pending matching by Agenda for Change Panel.
Were seeking an ambitious, values-driven Clinical or Counselling Psychologist / Systemic Family Therapist / Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist---to work across our Community CAMHS and CAMHS Crisis and Intensive Support teams as a Principal Psychological Professional.
This is a chance to lead and shape how psychological thinking informs care planning, culture, and outcomes for children and young people. If youre ready to grow your leadership, supervision and service development skills in a supportive but grounded environment, we want to hear from you.
Appropriate professional registration in line with Job Description / Person Specification.
Experience in CAMHS or a related CYP mental health setting.
Strong leadership, supervision, and team-building skills.
Commitment to anti-oppressive, trauma-informed, and quality-improvement practices.
Ambition to step into strategic roles within a changing NHS.
We would like to see:
* Developing leadership and supervision skills.
* Readiness and motivation to step up to a leadership role.
What we offer:
* Protected time for leadership and supervision.
* Opportunities to influence service development, governance, and training.
* Access to peer networks, CPD and professional forums.
* Supervision from a Consultant Psychological Professional plus model-specific support (e.g. CBT, DDP, EMDR).
Main duties of the job
To learn more about our South Staffs CAMHS teams: NHS MPFT - Cannock | NHS MPFT - Psychology
* Clinical Leadership & Strategic Influence Provide senior psychological leadership within Community CAMHS, embedding psychological thinking across care delivery. Influence service strategy, model development, and quality improvement. Act as a psychological lead in MDT decision-making, risk formulation, and complex case planning.
* Supervision, Consultation & Development Deliver clinical supervision to qualified/pre-qualified psychological staff and offer consultation across the MDT. Promote psychologically informed practice through training, coaching and reflective spaces. Support recruitment, induction and career planning for junior colleagues.
* Clinical Work & Case Formulation Hold a focused caseload involving complex assessments, formulations and interventions. Contribute to multi-agency planning where psychological risk and systemic thinking are key. Ensure documentation and outcome measures meet governance standards.
* Service Improvement & Governance Lead or support audit, evaluation, and innovation. Develop trauma-informed, anti-oppressive care pathways. Uphold clinical governance, safeguarding, and professional standards.
* Systemic & Partnership Working Work with partners across education, social care and the voluntary sector. Represent psychology in local and Trust-wide forums, shaping professional strategy and improving access for CYP.
About us
Come and work with us at our award-winning NHS Trust, leading the way for trying new and better ways of working to help improve life for our local communities.
We have around 9,000 staff who provide physical and mental healthcare, support for people with learning disabilities, and adult social care across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Shropshire, and Telford & Wrekin. We also run regional and national services, including help for new parents (perinatal care), eating disorders, forensic services, sexual health, and support for people in prison with mental health, drug, or alcohol problems.
We offer great career development for both clinical and non-clinical roles, with ongoing training and support to help you learn and grow.
We are United in our Uniqueness and committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels welcome and can be themselves, no matter their background or identity. We want our staff to feel supported and valued, and we aim to build a team that reflects the communities we serve. Together, we can make sure every voice is heard, and every difference is respected.
Please note, we may be required to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.
Please be aware that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in completing application forms will be monitored to ensure fairness and transparency. If you have used AI you must state this in your application.
Job responsibilities
Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification to gain a detailed understanding of this post.
The post is full-time (37.5 hours) working 4 days with Community CAMHS and 1 day with CAMHS Crisis & Intensive Support. All staff can request flexible working opportunities through their Team Leader; please note that the current working hours for CAMHS clinics are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
* Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (or equivalent qualification recognised by HCPC) / Doctorate in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy / Doctoral level training in Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist (ACP Accredited only) / Post-graduate qualification in relevant core CAMHS mental health/social welfare professional training recognised by AFT followed by post-qualification CAMHS experience and then completion of a Masters level qualification in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy as accredited by AFT
* Registration with an appropriate professional body (HCPC/ACP) as a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist / Systemic Family Therapist / Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist
* Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to CAMHS
* Additional specialist training in therapeutic models relevant to CAMHS (e.g. CBT, systemic therapy, DBT-informed approaches)
Experience
* Significant experience working with children and young people with complex mental health difficulties
* Experience delivering evidence-based psychological interventions with children, young people and families
* Experience working within multidisciplinary mental health teams
* Experience undertaking complex psychological assessment and formulation
* Experience providing supervision or consultation to other professionalsExperience managing clinical risk and safeguarding concerns
* Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of psychological professionals in training such as Doctorate-level Trainee Psychologists or MSc-level Family Therapy Trainees
* Experience working within CAMHS crisis or urgent care services
* Experience contributing to service development or transformation
* Experience providing teaching or training to professionals
* Experience supervising trainee psychologists
Skills, Knowledge and Abilities
* Advanced knowledge of psychological models and evidence-based treatments relevant to CAMHS
* Highly developed psychological assessment and formulation skills
* Ability to provide psychological consultation to multidisciplinary teams
* Ability to work effectively with complex and high-risk clinical presentations
* Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively
* Ability to prioritise workload and manage competing clinical demands
Personal Attributes
* Commitment to delivering child-centred and trauma-informed care
* Ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams
* Reflective and compassionate clinical approach
* Commitment to service development and improving clinical practice
* Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
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