North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Principal Clinical or Health or Counselling Psychologist *Internal*

The closing date is 28 July 2025

Job summary

INTERNAL ONLY TO NORTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST (NCIC) EMPLOYEES ONLY

The post holder will work within the Department of Physical Health and Rehabilitation psychology, within this service we have a number of pathways of care including:

  • Locality posts for Long term conditions, working with the Wellbeing service
  • Persistent symptoms service for patients with Persistent pain , CFS
  • Neuropsychology and stroke rehabilitation
  • Familiar faces for patients who present frequently within the health care system

This post will work sessionally in to a variety of pathways, which require a Highly skilled Psychological practitioner and will give an ideal opportunity to work within the other pathways; we encourage joint working.

The service is considered locally and nationally as an exemplar service, offering new and innovative models of psychological care; we have good working relationships with commissioners.

To be an integral part of the Long term conditions pathways that are part of PHRP, working in to variety of pathways across North Cumbria, with particular focus on waiting times and waiting lists

Main duties of the job

Please see the full job description and person specification for a comprehensive list or roles and responsibilities.

About us

At NCIC, we have an ambition to deliver outstanding healthcare services to the population of North Cumbria. The Trust is committed to creating a centre of excellence in providing rural and remote healthcare and provides a wide range of community and acute services throughout our county.

Our 5 key principles demonstrate our belief in the delivery of 'safe, high quality care every time':

Being a clinically led organisation

Quality and safety at the heart of our Trust

A positive patient experience every time

A great place to work

Managing our money well

As an organisation we are serious about supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our local community and are very much focused on being an inclusive and compassionate place to work.

Across the North East and North Cumbria we are working together to deliver our ambition to be the greenest region in England by 2030. All staff are expected to support sustainability.

Details

Date posted

11 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£53,755 to £72,293 a year per annum pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

262-A-25-7276700

Job locations

North Cumbria (TBC)

North Cumbria

CA1 3SX


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.

Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment.Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed.

If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants moving to the region for certain posts. Please see our Policy for eligible vacancies.

  • Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information.
  • If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.

Important Information

Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date.

For candidates applying using a Hotmail account or have strict firewall settings please ensure the following:

  • Junk Mail is checked regularly

Disclosure and Barring Service:

On 28 November 2020, the new Disclosure and Barring Service filtering rules will come into effect.

The changes mean that:

  • youth cautions, reprimands and final warnings will no longer be subject to automatic disclosure
  • the multiple conviction rule has been removed, meaning that if an individual has more than one conviction, regardless of offence type or time passed, each conviction will be considered against the remaining rules individually, rather than being automatically disclosed.

If you are unsure about whether you need to disclose certain criminal record information, free confidential advice may be sought from one of the charity bodies listed below. These bodies can advise you on what you are legally required to declare and may also be able to advise you on how you can disclose criminal record information to a prospective employer and your legal rights when doing so.

Nacro Tel: 0300 123 1999, or email: helpline@nacro.org.uk

Unlock Tel: 01634 247350, email advice@unlock.org.uk or complete the online form on the Unlock website

The Trust is committed to safeguarding adults and children therefore if the post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended) the successful candidate(s) will be subject to a criminal records check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The cost of the DBS must be met by the successful candidate(s) through salary deduction. DBS charges are as follows if applicable to the post:

Standard Check: £18 + Administration cost of £3.85 = £21.85. Deducted at £6.85 from 1st month salary and £5 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

Enhanced Check: £38 + administration cost of £3.90 = £41.90. Deducted at £11.90 from 1st month salary and £10 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

As part of the one of the largest employers in the UK NCIC future employees will have also access to the following benefits.

A lease car may be available for this position; further details will be provided upon appointment if applicable.

27 day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years

Flexible working Scheme

Excellent opportunities for development

Competitive NHS Pension scheme

Access to NHS discounts with retailers and leisure companies

EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) a free, confidential counselling and information service to assist with personal or work-related problems

These schemes are subject to availability

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.

Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment.Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed.

If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants moving to the region for certain posts. Please see our Policy for eligible vacancies.

  • Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information.
  • If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.

Important Information

Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date.

For candidates applying using a Hotmail account or have strict firewall settings please ensure the following:

  • Junk Mail is checked regularly

Disclosure and Barring Service:

On 28 November 2020, the new Disclosure and Barring Service filtering rules will come into effect.

The changes mean that:

  • youth cautions, reprimands and final warnings will no longer be subject to automatic disclosure
  • the multiple conviction rule has been removed, meaning that if an individual has more than one conviction, regardless of offence type or time passed, each conviction will be considered against the remaining rules individually, rather than being automatically disclosed.

If you are unsure about whether you need to disclose certain criminal record information, free confidential advice may be sought from one of the charity bodies listed below. These bodies can advise you on what you are legally required to declare and may also be able to advise you on how you can disclose criminal record information to a prospective employer and your legal rights when doing so.

Nacro Tel: 0300 123 1999, or email: helpline@nacro.org.uk

Unlock Tel: 01634 247350, email advice@unlock.org.uk or complete the online form on the Unlock website

The Trust is committed to safeguarding adults and children therefore if the post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended) the successful candidate(s) will be subject to a criminal records check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The cost of the DBS must be met by the successful candidate(s) through salary deduction. DBS charges are as follows if applicable to the post:

Standard Check: £18 + Administration cost of £3.85 = £21.85. Deducted at £6.85 from 1st month salary and £5 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

Enhanced Check: £38 + administration cost of £3.90 = £41.90. Deducted at £11.90 from 1st month salary and £10 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

As part of the one of the largest employers in the UK NCIC future employees will have also access to the following benefits.

A lease car may be available for this position; further details will be provided upon appointment if applicable.

27 day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years

Flexible working Scheme

Excellent opportunities for development

Competitive NHS Pension scheme

Access to NHS discounts with retailers and leisure companies

EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) a free, confidential counselling and information service to assist with personal or work-related problems

These schemes are subject to availability

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS or Post graduate Diploma in CBT with additional training in: oEMDR oOther clinical models eg ACT oNeuropsychology
  • Additional post graduate training in relevant skills, eg EMDR or other relevant therapeutic models

Desirable

  • Post qualification in Neuropsychology

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, in-patient and residential care settings including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
  • Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
  • Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
  • Experience of working with patient groups
  • Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.

Desirable

  • Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings including in-patient
  • Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
  • Experience of working within a multicultural framework

Skills & Aptitudes

Essential

  • Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
  • Ability to integrate highly complex clinical information into a coherent formulation, and to apply this in treatment, management and rehabilitation
  • Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups
  • The ability to plan and organise in a manner consistent with a Service remit and the requirement of highly autonomous working
  • Willingness to develop leadership and management skills
  • Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS, including the ability to communicate effectively with people with severe communicative disabilities
  • Demonstrable ability to exercise full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment
  • Ability to articulate and interpret clearly the role of the profession of clinical psychology based upon a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy.
  • Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
  • Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.
  • Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group, mental health and mental capacity.
  • Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended.
  • Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.
  • Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours

Desirable

  • Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies.

Personal Circumstances

Desirable

  • Willingness to work flexibly
  • An awareness of own strengths and limitations

Other requirements

Essential

  • 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
  • Ability to contain and work with organisational stress and ability to 'hold' the stress of others.
  • Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office functions and a willingness to further develop these as required
  • Ability to travel independently of public transport
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS or Post graduate Diploma in CBT with additional training in: oEMDR oOther clinical models eg ACT oNeuropsychology
  • Additional post graduate training in relevant skills, eg EMDR or other relevant therapeutic models

Desirable

  • Post qualification in Neuropsychology

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, in-patient and residential care settings including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
  • Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
  • Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
  • Experience of working with patient groups
  • Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.

Desirable

  • Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings including in-patient
  • Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
  • Experience of working within a multicultural framework

Skills & Aptitudes

Essential

  • Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
  • Ability to integrate highly complex clinical information into a coherent formulation, and to apply this in treatment, management and rehabilitation
  • Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups
  • The ability to plan and organise in a manner consistent with a Service remit and the requirement of highly autonomous working
  • Willingness to develop leadership and management skills
  • Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS, including the ability to communicate effectively with people with severe communicative disabilities
  • Demonstrable ability to exercise full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment
  • Ability to articulate and interpret clearly the role of the profession of clinical psychology based upon a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy.
  • Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
  • Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.
  • Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group, mental health and mental capacity.
  • Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended.
  • Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.
  • Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours

Desirable

  • Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies.

Personal Circumstances

Desirable

  • Willingness to work flexibly
  • An awareness of own strengths and limitations

Other requirements

Essential

  • 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
  • Ability to contain and work with organisational stress and ability to 'hold' the stress of others.
  • Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office functions and a willingness to further develop these as required
  • Ability to travel independently of public transport

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

North Cumbria (TBC)

North Cumbria

CA1 3SX


Employer's website

https://www.ncic.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

North Cumbria (TBC)

North Cumbria

CA1 3SX


Employer's website

https://www.ncic.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Consultant Clinical Health Psychologist

Elspeth Desert

elspeth.desert@ncic.nhs.uk

01768245954

Details

Date posted

11 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£53,755 to £72,293 a year per annum pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

262-A-25-7276700

Job locations

North Cumbria (TBC)

North Cumbria

CA1 3SX


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)