Principal Clinical Psychologist
Job overview
Permanent | Full-time | Hybrid
We are looking for an experienced and dynamic Principal Clinical Psychologist to join and support the ongoing development of our Mental Health Support Teams (MHST). Working with the Healthy Minds MHST service lead, you will help deliver high-quality, trauma-informed mental health care to children and young people in educational settings across Sheffield.
This role offers the opportunity to be at the forefront of an early intervention and prevention initiative, applying psychological expertise within a school-based, multi-agency context.- HCPC-registered Clinical Psychologist with experience in CAMHS.
- Strong leadership and multi-agency collaboration skills.
- Expertise in clinical supervision, teaching, and working within school settings.
- Experience with early intervention and trauma-informed approaches.
Apply today to shape the future of child and adolescent mental health support in education!
Main duties of the job
You will report to the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist, and your responsibilities will include:
- Provide leadership and clinical oversight, delivering a specialist MHST service across Sheffield schools.
- Apply a range of psychological models to support evidence-based, theory-led interventions responsive to local needs.
- Lead on CPD, teaching, and clinical supervision for a multidisciplinary team.
- Contribute to local, regional, and national strategic development
- Ensure governance, audit, and policy development supports safe, effective, clinical practice.
Working for our organisation
At Sheffield Children’s, our purpose is clear: to provide healthier futures for children and young people. Our three strategic aims are Outstanding Patient Care, Brilliant Place to Work, and Leaders in Children’s Health.
We work with partners across local, regional, and national levels to deliver physical and mental healthcare in both acute and community settings. Many of our clinicians are nationally and internationally recognised for their expertise.
We’re proud that 73% of colleagues would recommend Sheffield Children’s as a place to work, placing us among the top five NHS trusts in England — and the top-ranked trust in the North East and Yorkshire — in the latest NHS Staff Survey.
Our nearly 4,000 colleagues bring our CARE values — Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence — to life every day, creating a kind, welcoming environment where patients and families feel safe and supported.
As we approach our 150th anniversary in 2026, we’re excited to keep building our leadership in children's health, improve experiences for patients and staff, and focus on our communities and population health.
We also offer excellent benefits to support your wellbeing, with generous annual leave and pension schemes, health and wellbeing programmes, and exclusive discounts — helping you thrive at work and beyond.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For more information on the main responsibilities for this post, please refer to the job description and person specification.
Please note that Sheffield Children's uplift pay to meet the Real Living Wage, which is £12.60 per hour.
Diversity Statement
At Sheffield Children’s, we are committed to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and supports everyone’s success. We prioritise Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in our recruitment practices, creating a welcoming space for people of all backgrounds, including ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ members.
Recognising that inclusivity is an ongoing effort, we review our processes and welcome feedback to enhance our practices. A diverse team strengthens our organisation and the quality of care we deliver. For ideas on how we can improve, please contact our Recruitment Manager at [email protected].Together, we’re building a workplace where everyone belongs.
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Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Registration as a Clinical Psychologist with Health Professions Council (or other domain title as agreed)
- Further specialist training & supervision in specific psychological approaches
- Further post-doctoral training, supervision and experience in the specific area of service
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- Further formal training, qualification or accreditation in specialised psychological approaches (eg BPS DECP, DNP, UKCP etc).
Experience
Essential criteria- Qualified clinical psychologist for a considerable time period as well as a highly specialist level and including significant experience in services for children with mental health, health and/or neurodevelopmental difficulties
- Experience of working and communicating with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course; in particular children of pre-school, primary school age and adolescents, as well as work with family groups and adults,
- Experience of delivering and/or supervising child and family presentations across a range of sectors
- Experience of representing a psychological perspective within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
- Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of children with specific health or developmental difficulties
- Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts
Knowledge and skills
Essential criteria- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to children of all ages, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Doctoral level knowledge and or equivalent of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practised within the field of clinical psychology.
- Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. eating disorder, dual diagnoses, child protection, chronic or terminal illness, severely challenging behaviours etc.) and how this can apply in educational settings.
- Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessment and intervention approaches in specific modalities (e.g. family therapy, cognitive therapy, psychotherapy etc.) or integrative approaches.
Personal attributes
Essential criteria- 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 identify, and employ as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- Commitment and competencies in multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working
- Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework.