Band 8b Principal Practitioner Psychologist - Enhanced Support Service
Please note that this post may close earlier than the indicated closing date if a sufficient number of applications are received.
Job overview
A new and exciting opportunity has arisen within Secure Care and Offender Health division of BSMHFT to work within the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway Enhanced Support Services (ESS) across HMP Foston Hall (Derby) and HMP Drake Hall (Stafford).The ESS aims to reduce the negative impact of violent and disruptive behaviour in prisons using a small but dedicated multi-disciplinary staff team that works in partnership across prison, healthcare and psychology. The service targets the small minority of people in prison who demonstrate severe and persistent violent and disruptive behaviour, including harm to self that has not responded to existing strategies and interventions.
The team will work intensively with people in prison in a collaborative manner to develop motivation to facilitate better settlement, improved psychological wellbeing and in the long term, access to sentence planning services. The team will work indirectly with staff to increase understanding and appropriate management of these people from a psychologically informed perspective.
The successful candidate will be joining a large and diverse psychological therapies team within the division, consisting of clinical, forensic and counselling psychologists, arts therapists, specialist psychological practitioners and assistant psychologists.The division is committed to investing in staff and you will have opportunities for training, supervision and career development.
Main duties of the job
The postholder will work across HMP Foston Hall and Drake Hall, taking charge of the day-to-day management of the service. It will involve managing referrals into the service, undertaking clinical assessments and interventions as required and developing case formulations and support plans, in conjunction with other professionals involved.The successful candidate will need exceptional communication skills as well as an empathic and non-judgement attitude towards the individuals within the service and within the prison environment. You will also need to be resilient and be able to wok and make decisions in both an independent and collaborative manner.
The successful candidate will have extensive experience of working with adults with personality disorder and challenging behaviour, in addition to those with other psychological difficulties, neurodiversity and complex needs and risks. An interest and experience of developing services will be an advantage.
Leadership and service development experience is desirable, as well as managing and supervising a range of other professionals.
If you are ready for the next stage of your career progression, and able to compassionately challenge systems and staff to be better, hold integrity and also connect with the people around them, we hope that you speak to us and apply.
Working for our organisation
Welcome to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Our 4000 clinical and support staff help us to improve mental health wellbeing and meet the needs of the 70,000 people we serve each year. We provide a range of mental healthcare services across Birmingham and Solihull, as well as specialised services nationally.We also offer medical, nursing and psychology training and are proud of our international reputation for both research and innovation.
Our population is culturally diverse, characterised in places by high levels of deprivation which create an increasing demand for our services and a necessity for us to make sure everyone can access the help they need. We are a team of compassionate, inclusive and committed people working together to provide excellent care to support our community.If you are looking for a place to belong, where you can make a real difference to people’s lives, join our team where our warm welcome is waiting for you.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For further information about the main responsibilities please view the attached job description and person specification.
Please click on the link for a little insight into our services and our people
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Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Satisfactory completion of a British Psychological Society accredited Doctoral Level postgraduate professional training course in clinical psychology (the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996), the completion of which includes the study of models of psychopathology, psychometric and neuropsychological assessment, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Eligibility for entry onto the Register of Chartered Psychologists
- Post-doctoral training in one or more highly specialist areas of psychological practice / therapy
Experience
Essential criteria- Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical/forensic psychologist for a minimum of 4 years post qualification, with a minimum of at least 2 years at the Senior (highly specialist) level.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, with clients of all ages across the lifespan and of wide-ranging presenting problems that reflect the full spectrum of clinical complexity and severity
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Experience of working therapeutically with ‘difficult to treat’ and or ‘hard to reach’ groups and clients in community settings
- Experience of safeguarding and risk management across several agencies, including appropriately escalating concerns
Skills
Essential criteria- Highly developed theoretical and practical knowledge of the field of clinical psychology, consistent with doctoral level professional training and further post qualification study, training and supervised experience during a minimum of 4 years as a qualified psychologist
- Skills in providing consultation and advice from a psychological perspective to members of other professional and non-professional groups.
- Awareness and understanding of the differential needs of people from black and minority ethnic groups and of the service issues arising within a multicultural urban area.
- In depth knowledge of information governance legislation and information sharing practices across agencies
Personal
Essential criteria- Ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
- Capacity for tolerating frustration, change and high levels of demand with an ability to work effectively under pressure.
- Willing and eligible to apply for higher level security clearance
Our Trust is committed to treating individuals fairly and ensuring they have the same opportunities to fulfil their potential, even if this means doing things differently for different people sometimes. We are working hard to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity within Birmingham and Solihull and that our services meet the needs of all diverse service users and carers.
The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. As part of our safe recruitment practice pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed.As part of the selection process you may be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, however all cases of criminal record history are dealt with on a case by case basis.
Please note, if applicable for your role you will be required to cover the cost of your DBS certificate. This will be deducted from your salary over 3 months. You will also be required to sign up to the DBS Update Service before commencement with the Trust.
All successful applicants will be required to complete the Trust’s induction programme. The Fundamental (Statutory and Mandatory) training will be in an e-learning format. You will be required to complete training modules online (approx. 9-14 hours depending on post) by the end of your first week with us.
If you are successful at the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process we may contact you via email to advise you of the interview details. Please ensure you access your email account from which you applied regularly once the position has closed.
If applicable to your role, the Trust will require you to sign up for the DBS Update Service. The Trust will reimburse this. You will be contractually obliged to maintain your subscription.
Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the United Kingdom (UK) are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route.
Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply can self- assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here Browse: Work in the UK
- GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 1.
Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years.
Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants- GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Not everyone needs a ‘Skilled Worker’ visa. If you are applying for a vacancy in health or adult social care, check if you’re eligible to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa instead. It’s cheaper to apply for and you do not need to pay the annual immigration health surcharge.
Relocation expenses may be reimbursed subject to eligibility. The policy provides for reimbursement up to £8,000.
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.