Principal Clinical Psychologist

Merseywestlancs; Sefton; On-site; GBP 64,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A major healthcare trust is seeking a Principal Clinical Psychologist/Deputy Service Lead to join the newly established team at the North West Regional Spinal Injuries Centre. This role involves providing specialist assessments and treatments for individuals with spinal injuries, leading service development initiatives, and supervising training programs. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in clinical psychology, particularly within trauma settings, and will play a key role in enhancing patient care and multidisciplinary collaboration. Join us in making a positive impact on patient lives.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

27 days annual leave

NHS discounts

Employee recognition programs

Qualifications

• Doctoral level knowledge in lifespan developmental psychology.
• Experience in conducting psychological assessments.
• Ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist assessment and treatment to individuals with spinal injuries.
• Supervise the delivery of psychological assessments and treatments.
• Lead training and teaching commitments.

Skills

Advanced communication skills

Clinical assessment expertise

Research methodology knowledge

Team leadership

Experience with spinal injuries

Education

Doctoral level training in clinical psychology

Professional registration with HCPC

Tools

Psychological assessment tools

Job description

We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL, with us you can learn, grow and develop yourself and your career, realising your true ambitions and aspirations.

Whatever you’re looking for in your career, you’ll find it here at MWL.

Site NW Regional Spinal Injuries Centre, Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust Town Southport Salary £64,455 - £74,896 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 08/02/2026 23:59 Interview date 17/02/2026

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to shape a brand-new formal leadership position as a Principal Clinical Psychologist / Deputy Service Lead at the North West Regional Spinal Injuries Centre located in Southport. You will be joining a whole new team that is being recruited into alongside the Consultant Clinical Psychologist / Service Lead, consisting of Senior Clinical Psychologists and a Counsellor.

All psychologists are trained in EMDR with new pathways being developed. There are ample service development opportunities to implement the standards and recommendations (BASCIS, 2023), to span from pre-admission outreach into the region’s Major Trauma Centres to inpatients, develop values-based discharge planning etc. There are varying levels of complexity and needs, both for individuals, their carers / significant others and groups, as well as opportunities for staff training and systemic culture change. The service is looking to recruit dynamic staff who are keen to identify projects for quality improvement, research, publications and present at conferences.

The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change

Main duties of the job

The Principal Clinical Psychologist will be responsible for further development and provision of the clinical psychology service within the NWRSIC at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The post holder will provide specialist assessment, treatment and consultancy services for individuals with spinal injuries and their families. The range of care provided embraces both that related to complex specialist care, as well as that related to generic care needs. The post holder will also provide a service in the areas of teaching and training, consultancy and staff support, and research and evaluation. Multidisciplinary care is achieved through liaising closely with other disciplines both within and outside the hospital.

Working for our organisation

The Secretary of State has approved the partnership between St Helens & Knowsley and Southport & Ormskirk Hospitals.

From 1 st July we have come together as a single organisation under the name Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Trust delivers acute hospital care, intermediate care, community, and primary care services to a population of over 600,000 people with a combined workforce of around 9000 dedicated and skilled staff from 17 locations including Whiston, Southport & Formby, St Helens, Ormskirk and Newton hospitals.

The Trust provides regional services for burns, plastic surgery and spinal injuries to more than 4 million people across Mersey and West Lancashire, Cheshire, the Isle of Man and North Wales.

Our Vision is to deliver 5 Star Patient Care:

• CAREthat is evidence based, high quality and compassionate
• SAFETY that is of the highest standards
• COMMUNICATION that is open, inclusive and respectful
• SYSTEMS that are efficient, patient centred and reliable
• PATHWAYS that are best practice and embedded, but also respect the individual needs of patients

Our achievements include:

• Trust rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• Awarded National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for our Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Please see our Wellbeing & Benefits booklet for more information on our staff benefits. Accessible version available upon request.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY DUTIES

· To provide a highly specialist clinical psychology service to inpatients within the NWRSIC, across the acute and rehabilitation wards with some outreach where clinically indicated.

· To deliver and supervise highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment to adult inpatients at the NWRSIC, on an individual and group basis.

· To provide advice and consultation regarding inpatients’ psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues.

· To provide consultation to the NWRSIC outreach service regarding admission of inpatients with complex psychological / psychiatric needs

· To contribute to the strategic planning of clinical psychology services within the NWRSIC, with the aim of maintain high levels of psychosocial care for patients

· To represent Clinical Psychology in the NWRSIC’s wider organisational and national forums.

· To lead the planning, development and delivery of the Department’s teaching and training commitments.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996, including specific models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS
• Professional registration as Practitioner Psychologist with HCPC
• Pre‑qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology
• Spinal Injuries and trauma CPD

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed specialist knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, particularly the literature pertaining to two or more distinct psychological therapies for use with adults, their families and carers
• Highly developed skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, neuropsychological assessment and intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Knowledge and skills relevant to the assessment and treatment of people who have suffered a spinal injury or physical health trauma
• A high level of ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers, and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• High level skills in providing consultation to other professional and non‑professional groups
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
• Knowledge of safeguarding, MHA and other key legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and supervision regarding work with children, young people adults and their families/carers
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists and professionals
• An interest in healthcare leadership, management and promotion of Clinical Health Psychology
• Advanced word processing skills. Advanced use of presentation software such as MS PowerPoint. Use of internet for searching documents and research. Use of email
• Extensive experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist including in a specialist area
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups across the lifespan, with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity, across a range of care settings including inpatients and outpatients
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for client’s psychological care and treatment both as a professionally qualified autonomous practitioner and also within the context of multidisciplinary care plan
• Experience of working across different presentations, including trauma, establishing the most effective methods of working with adults and their carers
• Substantial experience of contributing a psychological perspective within the context of multidisciplinary care
• Substantial experience of supervising others as well as teaching and training
• Demonstrable experience of conducting complex audit/research and service evaluation
• Experience of supporting teams through change and contributing to transformation of services
• Well‑developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups
• Well‑developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in spinal injuries
• Developed neuropsychological knowledge and/or training and qualification
• Well‑developed knowledge of theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies
• Accreditation in a therapeutic modality relevant to working with spinal/physical trauma, in accordance with NICE guidance
• Experience of working within the specialist field of spinal injuries with adults and their carers/families
• Experience of working within the specialist field of spinal injuries with adults and their carers/families
• Experience of working with trauma and clinical risk
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
• Experience of selection and recruitment of staff

Personal

• Ability to sustain intense levels of concentration, responding and participating as required
• Ability to self‑reflect and use clinical supervision appropriately
• Ability to cope and deal with highly distressing emotional circumstances
• Ability to cope with unpleasant working conditions

Other

• Ability to line manage psychology colleagues and have a deputised leadership role for the NWSIC psychology service
• Working to professional guidelines
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi‑media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour
• Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours
• Ability to articulate and clearly interpret the role of the profession of clinical psychology based upon a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy
• Ability to travel between Trust sites in a timely way in order to meet clinical and service need
• Experience of working within a multi‑cultural framework
• Record of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journal and/or books

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward‑thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under‑represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [e-mail]

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision‑making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.
Certificate of Sponsorship

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.

eVisa Update
For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK.
Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account.
Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to:

• Understand how to generate an eVisa share code

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 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.

Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.

If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

Flexible Working

We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:

• All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
• There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
• Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.

Working for Team MWL

Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

The Trust is a non‑smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website.

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated and will check all applications against AI detection software.

Additional Information

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here .

An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.

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.