Consultant Psychologist/Psychotherapist and Clinical Lead

Transformationunitgm; Ramsgate, Margate; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health service provider in Ramsgate is seeking a full-time Consultant Psychologist/Psychotherapist. You will be responsible for overseeing and improving psychological services for older adults across various wards in Kent and Medway. The ideal candidate should have at least six years of experience in the NHS, along with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or Psychotherapy. This role includes providing clinical leadership, strategic development, and mentorship in a supportive environment.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Comprehensive health and wellbeing program

Professional training opportunities

Qualifications

• Ability to effectively communicate sensitive information.
• Experience working as a psychologist/psychotherapist for at least six years.
• Experience providing supervision in a multi-disciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Lead psychological practice in inpatient mental health settings.
• Develop strategic responses to service needs and policies.
• Provide expert consultation and clinical guidance to staff.

Skills

Communication of complex information

Analysis of multi-factorial clinical information

Knowledge of mental health legislation

Organizational skills

Keyboard and IT proficiency

Knowledge of specialized psychological therapies

Education

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or Psychotherapy

Job description

Consultant Psychologist/Psychotherapist and Clinical Lead

NHS AfC: Band 8c

We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We offer a range of ongoing benefits to our valued workforce. From an active health and wellbeing programme to regular recognition events, we work hard to provide varied benefits that make a difference to your work-life balance.
Would you like to work flexibly? In the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you.

Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement.

Job overview

Please note, at this stage, the role is open only to internal staff (including NHSP and Agency staff currently on placement within our organisation) and staff substantively employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts and the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB). Any individual who is at risk of redundancy will be given priority, provided they meet the essential criteria.

We are excited to recruit to a full time Band 8c Consultant Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or Psychotherapist to take on the Clinical Lead for Older Adult Acute Psychological Therapies Services across Kent and Medway.

The role will be responsible for leading the safe and effective psychological practice across the older adult psychiatric wards, and leading an expert range of psychological practitioners.

These inpatient services consist of a team of psychological practitioners of different disciplines providing a comprehensive and multidisciplinary service to older adults across different wards in Kent and Medway.

This is an increasingly well established team of clinicians that has consistently attracted new, innovative and dedicated staff. As such the post holder will benefit from leading a highly regarded range of older adult experts.

We have strong links with the South Thames Clinical Psychology Training Centre, attached to Canterbury Christ Church University, and offer training placements to clinical trainees as well as other Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy training courses. These links also provide access to a variety of post-qualification training courses and events.

The post holder must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Main duties of the job

To provide professional and clinical leadership in the provision of Psychological Practice to older adults with severe and enduring mental health difficulties on inpatient psychiatric wards, within the localities served by Kent & Medway Mental Health Trust.

In particular:

• To ensure the planning and development of a strategic response to service need, interpreting professional policies and ensuring that the service operates at the highest level of quality and current best practice and taking a major role in the development and implementation of policy for the service system as a whole.
• To provide clinical services at a high level of expertise, supporting and advising colleagues on all issues concerned with psychological practice and providing expert clinical consultation and professional guidance to other psychological practitioners and MDT staff.
• To lead on psychological practice in the Service.
• The post holder will be expected to participate in the KMMH senior manager on call rota.

Working for our organisation

We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the 1.8 million people of Kent and Medway. We care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 in the community each year.

Our vision is simple: We are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It’s why we’re passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. And everything we do is guided by our values caring, inclusive, curious and confident.

Join us - if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's doing well together.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description for the full details on the responsibilities and person specification

We are serious about diversity and inclusion, and we are working hard to build this into our DNA. We warmly welcome applications for any of our roles from people from diverse backgrounds, and we are proactively encouraging applications from under-represented communities for our more senior roles, like this one.

Person specification

Knowledge and Skills

• Ability to comprehend and communicate verbally and in writing highly complex and sensitive information in a manner appropriate to a range of settings and audiences, including complex highly emotive situations and those with significantly impaired communication capacities.
• Ability to analyse and manage complex multi-factorial clinical information from a range of sources integrating it into a formulation utilising a variety of psychological perspectives.
• Knowledge of legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the client group and mental health.
• Ability to organise own workload effectively, prioritising a complex range of tasks and responsibilities to meet agreed deadlines.
• Adequate keyboard skills and sound understanding of I.T. packages
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies

Training, Qualifications and Registration

• Achieved grade will refer to JD depending if Psychologists or Psychotherapists
• Achieved grade

Experience

• Experience working as a qualified specialist psychologist / psychotherapist for a minimum of six years in the NHS, including substantial post-qualification experience within the speciality where the post is located.
• Experience of minimum of 100 hours specialist clinical supervision in this area of practice
• Experience of providing supervision on psychological work to MDT staff & psychological practitioners.
• Experience of working successfully in a multi-disciplinary team context, providing clinical leadership and promoting effective team working.
• Experience of managing applied/assistant psychologists and psychological therapists
• Experience of facilitating reflective practice, post incident debriefs and complex case discussions

In cases where we receive a high volume of applications for a post, it may be necessary to bring the closing date forward. Please submit your completed application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Due to the high volume of applications received, it is not possible to respond individually to your application. Should you not hear from us within six weeks of the vacancy closing, please assume that your application has not been successful.

Probation Period. New employees external to the trust are subject to a six-month probationary period.

To deliver an effective service it is essential in some of our roles that you are able to travel between work bases in a timely manner.

Production of false or forged documents/qualifications in order to obtain employment is a criminal offence and will be reported to the Police.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check.
Certain roles are subject to criminal record checks called Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. Therefore, you will be required to submit a completed Disclosure form to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust are signed up to NHS England's Sexual Safety in Health Care Organisational Charter

The trust takes a systematic zero-tolerance approach to tackle any unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviours within the workplace and in our care provision. We are committed to sexual safety which encompasses prevention, support and decisive action against perpetrators. We are committed to keeping you and our patients safe.

Use of AI when writing job applications

While AI tools can be helpful in generating ideas and drafting initial versions, they should never be the sole source for writing your job application.

AI cannot truly understand the specific job you're applying for or what makes you a good fit. Therefore, it's crucial to personalise any AI-generated content to accurately reflect your skills, experiences, and aspirations.

Relying solely on AI to write your application may result in generic, impersonal, and potentially inaccurate content. Always review and refine any AI-generated text to ensure it effectively communicates your experience, skills, accomplishments, and aspirations, and demonstrates your suitability for the position.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment