Principal Clinical Psychologist / Clinical Training Lead

We are delighted to be inviting applications from enthusiastic and experienced senior Clinical Psychologists who have an interest in training, to join the Training & Partnerships Team in Psychological Services. This is an exciting opportunity to build your career in training in Clinical Psychology and the Psychological professions and to develop your management and leadership skills. The post holder will work alongside the Associate Clinical Director for Training & Partnerships in overseeing, supporting and managing the trainee Clinical Psychologists employed in our Trust. The post holder will also have the opportunity to lead specific projects within the Training & Partnerships Team, supervising and supporting other staff and contributing to innovation, service improvement and workforce development. For the appropriately qualified applicant, there is an opportunity to lead our ACT for You training team.

The role will include responsibility for management support for Trainee Clinical Psychologists, working in conjunction with the Associate Clinical Director for Training & Partnerships and our administrative assistant. With expanding numbers of Clinical Psychology trainees this post has been created to support in the management of the trainees, as well as to lead in expanding the resources needed to support the training provision, including building placement capacity and research opportunities. In addition, the post holder will contribute to leading projects within the Training & Partnerships Team. The specifics will be guided by the successful candidate’s areas of expertise but there are opportunities to lead on developing our CBT training offer and/or on the operational delivery and clinical leadership of our expanding ACT for You staff training programme. There will also be opportunities to contribute to teaching delivery on the CAP MSc programme, and for the appropriately experienced candidate, to take a key role in building our research infrastructure. The successful candidate will work with the Associate Clinical Director in developing policy and procedures relating to our training provision, offering excellent opportunities for building management and leadership experience and skills.

The Training & Partnerships Team has excellent links to national networks as well as to the British Psychological Society, with staff involved in several committees at regional and national level. We work closely with other training providers (universities) and with partner employers. We have strong links with several regional universities that include research collaborations as well as contribution to teaching and placement experience. We have an institutional partnership with the University of Essex, and we are host employers for their DClin trainees.

Post holders will have the opportunity to build their engagement with these wider networks, offering excellent opportunities for gaining leadership experience and an understanding of the wider systems.

The Trust offers excellent support for staff CPD, and post holders will be supported to gain qualifications in learning and teaching; other opportunities, for example training in a specialist area of psychological therapy, leadership training and development, or to developing an area of research, are also available supported by the appraisal process.

While this post will have strong links to the University of Essex, the specific base will be at a Trust locality and the post holder will be able to do a significant proportion of their work remotely with opportunities for flexible working arrangements and job shares available.

EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower.

We are particularly interested to hear from those who bring experience of supervision and teaching, and who have a good understanding of Clinical Psychology training, either as a training provider/tutor or as a placement supervisor. We are looking for a candidate who is enthusiastic and innovative, while also bringing excellent skills in managing projects and overseeing delivery, with attention to the details of procedure. Experience in a specific approach (e.g. CBT, ACT) would be welcomed as would an interest in research and experience in research delivery.

This post offers an opportunity to join a Psychology-led team who are responsible for a range of training delivery within and beyond the Psychological Services Clinical Care Unit. The Training & Partnerships Team host the Trainee Clinical Psychologists studying on the University of Essex Doctoral Programme; the team are responsible for the delivery of training for the Clinical Associate in Psychology (CAP) masters programme; they oversee the undergraduate psychology placements in the Trust, and lead the Widening Access programme, which offers paid work experience to aspiring psychologists from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Team also deliver ACT for You, an Acceptance and Commitment Training for staff as well as other projects including CPD training for the wider clinical staff group, and a growing contribution to training for our junior doctors and others.

If you are committed to the development and expansion of the psychological workforce, if you’d like to contribute to innovative projects, and if you are keen to build your skills in management, training and leadership we’d love to hear from you.

This post is offered on a fractional basis so that it can easily fit alongside a clinical role, or another training role. For those who are interested in a full-time post, we have a range of opportunities in clinical specialisms that could be combined with this post, as well as possibilities to combine this role with a training role in our partner university, or within the MSc CAP programme. It is possible for the post to be offered as a job share between suitably qualified candidates.

As a part of our commitment to ensuring that the training workforce is reflective of those who we train, and those who use our services, we would particularly encourage applications from those who identify as being part of a minoritised group.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for the details of the job role and the applicant requirements.

For further information about these opportunities please contact Dr Barbara Mason, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Associate Clinical Director Training, Partnership & Staff Support in Psychological Services. Email: barbara.mason2@nhs.net