Director of Health Psychology

This senior post leads physical health psychology across the Specialist Community Division and the wider Trust, with time split evenly between the two. The postholder line manages psychology service leads, embeds trauma-informed practice and oversees research, evaluation and clinical innovation. It gives psychology a voice at the most senior level of the Division and works alongside transformation programmes to shape Trust strategy. Fit depends on a BPS-accredited doctoral qualification and HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist.

What the job involves

• Provide leadership and oversight of physical health psychological services across the Division and wider Trust
• Line manage and clinically oversee psychology service leads in the Specialist Community Division
• Work with the Division triumvirate and senior leadership team to embed psychological thinking and give psychology senior representation
• Monitor the cumulative effect on staff in emotionally charged settings and build support systems, including psychologically informed debriefing
• Develop trauma-informed principles across physical health services
• Lead research and evaluation across Division psychological provision and oversee research development in the service area and Psychological Therapies Service
• Initiate and run projects, including complex audit and service evaluation, with partner agencies
• Develop clinical innovation, effectiveness and research in health psychology Trust-wide
• Work with CPPO and Division leadership to develop psychological provision across physical health services
• Work with Trust transformation programmes on strategic objectives
• Keep up to date with therapy research and follow evidence-based, scientist-practitioner practice

What’s required

Qualifications

• Doctoral-level applied psychology qualification accredited by the BPS, covering psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, neuropsychology, two or more psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology (or…)
• Additional leadership or management training

Registration & licences

• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist

Experience

• Extensive experience as a Consultant Psychologist, including post-qualification experience in physical health psychology and/or clinical neuropsychology
• Extensive experience across client groups, life stages, severities and care settings, including highly distressing situations, verbal abuse and threat of physical abuse
• Extensive clinical responsibility for psychological care, especially health psychology, within multidisciplinary teams
• Extensive teaching, training, supervision and professional management of clinical and pre-qualified psychologists
• Specialist delivery of evidence-based, high-intensity psychological interventions, with significant clinical supervision in a scientist-practitioner framework
• Audit and evaluation of clinical services, plus NHS management and negotiation with managers, professionals and agencies

Skills & knowledge

• Advanced knowledge of specialised therapies for complex groups and health psychology, and doctoral-level research design and multivariate analysis
• Highest-level interpersonal skills in emotive settings, conveying complex information to patients, families and professionals inside and outside the NHS
• Leadership, line management, consultation and facilitation across professional and non-professional groups
• Designing policy and long-term strategic service plans, including organisational development and change management, under uncertainty
• Knowledge of NHS strategy, regulation, workforce challenges and legislation, and representing the psychological professions in policy forums
• Trauma-informed practice, multicultural working and commitment to supporting diverse populations

Nice to have

• Qualification in supervision
• BPS registration
• Peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations or similar contributions
• Local or national roles, such as National Assessor or committee membership of a BPS or ACP special interest group
• Partnerships with higher education institutes
• Commitment to service evaluation and multi- and uni-professional audit
• Systemic or organisational consultancy skills, and advanced supervision or reflective practice facilitation
• Understanding of NHS legal and regulatory frameworks, and a proactive, innovative approach to problem solving

What’s offered

• Flexible working requests can be discussed as part of the interview process

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