Job summary
Are you a compassionate and experienced Clinical, forensic or Counselling Psychologist looking for a leadership role? Do you believe in the power of trauma-informed care and the difference it can make in the lives of individuals? We are looking for a Consultant Psychologist to help shape and lead our Forensic and Criminal Justice Psychology Services.
As a Consultant Psychologist, you will play a key role in supporting teams and individuals with complex mental health needs, ensuring that our services are grounded in compassion, understanding, and evidence-based care. You will oversee psychological services across our Forensic and Criminal Justice Pathway, including a low secure inpatient unit, the Community Forensic Team, Mental Health Treatment Requirements within Liaison & Diversion Services, and the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway. Your leadership will create a safe and supportive environment.
We would love to hear from HCPC-registered Clinical or Counselling Psychologists who have experience working in forensic or secure mental health settings. If you have advanced skills in risk assessment, neuropsychological assessment, and managing complex cases, along with a passion for service development and leadership, we encourage you to apply. Experience in multi-agency working, supervision, and research would be an advantage, but most importantly, we are looking for someone who is committed to making a positive impact in people's lives.
Main duties of the job
You will provide clinical leadership to our dedicated psychology team, ensuring high standards of care and professional development. Your work will involve offering specialist psychological assessments, including neuropsychological and structured risk assessments, as well as delivering interventions that align with NICE guidelines. A key aspect of this role is helping to develop services that are person-centred and responsive to the needs of those we support.
Collaboration will be central to your work. You will engage closely with service users, multidisciplinary teams, and external agencies, ensuring joined-up care that truly meets the needs of individuals. By supporting supervision, training, and consultation across our teams, you will help to foster a culture of learning, reflection, and continuous improvement.
The post-holder will work with clients in a range of settings, including team bases, a secure unit, community environments, and within clients' homes. At times, there will be a requirement for lone working. The role involves engaging with clients and carers who may be experiencing high levels of distress, some of whom may present challenging behaviour. The position requires sustained periods of concentration, as well as the ability to manage detailed clinical report writing, service-related documentation, and the use of relevant IT systems to support practice.
About us
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting andempowering them to lead a fulfilling life.
Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.
To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.
Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.
Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.
For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at www.cpft.nhs.uk
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities
- Work with senior operational managers & Lead Psychologists to ensure the operational delivery and strategic development of the psychology service across the Forensic and Criminal Justice Pathway.
- Exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice, ensuring high standards across inpatient, outpatient, and community services.
- Ensure systems are in place and effectively implemented for the clinical and professional supervision of psychological staff within the service.
- Lead on developing and embedding risk assessment practices within the service, ensuring alignment with best practices and NICE guidelines.
- Support a trauma-informed approach to working with this client group.
Service Delivery & Development
- Ensure the provision of a high-quality psychology service to clients across the Forensic and Criminal Justice Pathway.
- Lead on service development initiatives in collaboration with senior management and aligning services with current needs.
- Provide expertise in managing complex cases, with a focus on risk management, offending-based therapies and psychological therapies.
- Contribute to the development of business cases for new services and support funding allocation discussions to ensure sustainable service provision.
- Collaborate with partner agencies to enhance multi-agency working and ensure continuity of care.
Specialist Clinical Duties
- Provide highly specialist psychological assessments, including neuropsychology and structured risk assessments.
- Deliver NICE-compliant specialist psychological therapy to adults referred to the service and be an expert in psychological interventions targeted towards mentally disordered offenders.
- Ensure continuity between inpatient and outpatient psychological services to provide seamless patient transitions from Low Secure to Community Forensic Teams.
- Provide consultation and support to other clinicians and teams within the service, ensuring a psychologically informed approach to care.
- Liaise with external units, to enable the accelerated transition to LSU or Community Forensic team.
Supervision & Training
- Provide clinical supervision and leadership to other psychologists delivering specialist interventions; to include Senior Psychologists (Band 8 and above).
- Offer training, consultation, and supervision to multidisciplinary staff regarding psychological aspects of care.
- Support the doctoral programme of local universities by supervising trainees on placement, contributing to workforce development.
- Develop and maintain a supervision structure that ensures professional psychological management across multiple teams.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities
- Work with senior operational managers & Lead Psychologists to ensure the operational delivery and strategic development of the psychology service across the Forensic and Criminal Justice Pathway.
- Exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice, ensuring high standards across inpatient, outpatient, and community services.
- Ensure systems are in place and effectively implemented for the clinical and professional supervision of psychological staff within the service.
- Lead on developing and embedding risk assessment practices within the service, ensuring alignment with best practices and NICE guidelines.
- Support a trauma-informed approach to working with this client group.
Service Delivery & Development
- Ensure the provision of a high-quality psychology service to clients across the Forensic and Criminal Justice Pathway.
- Lead on service development initiatives in collaboration with senior management and aligning services with current needs.
- Provide expertise in managing complex cases, with a focus on risk management, offending-based therapies and psychological therapies.
- Contribute to the development of business cases for new services and support funding allocation discussions to ensure sustainable service provision.
- Collaborate with partner agencies to enhance multi-agency working and ensure continuity of care.
Specialist Clinical Duties
- Provide highly specialist psychological assessments, including neuropsychology and structured risk assessments.
- Deliver NICE-compliant specialist psychological therapy to adults referred to the service and be an expert in psychological interventions targeted towards mentally disordered offenders.
- Ensure continuity between inpatient and outpatient psychological services to provide seamless patient transitions from Low Secure to Community Forensic Teams.
- Provide consultation and support to other clinicians and teams within the service, ensuring a psychologically informed approach to care.
- Liaise with external units, to enable the accelerated transition to LSU or Community Forensic team.
Supervision & Training
- Provide clinical supervision and leadership to other psychologists delivering specialist interventions; to include Senior Psychologists (Band 8 and above).
- Offer training, consultation, and supervision to multidisciplinary staff regarding psychological aspects of care.
- Support the doctoral programme of local universities by supervising trainees on placement, contributing to workforce development.
- Develop and maintain a supervision structure that ensures professional psychological management across multiple teams.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- oEither doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS,
- oUndertaken training in the supervision of Trainee Clinical/ Forensic/Counselling Psychologists
- oHCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist
Desirable
- Undertaken relevant post-doctoral training in working with clients with offending and complex psychological needs.
- Undertaken post-doctoral training in a forensic setting
Experience
Essential
- oSubstantial assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical/counselling/forensic psychologist at post-qualification and specialist level with adults experiencing significant mental health difficulties.
- oExperience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of clients across the forensic and criminal justice pathway
- oExperience in the appropriate use of standard risk assessment instruments such as HCR20, SAPROF, RSVP & ability to involve non-psychologists in initial and ongoing risk assessments.
- oExperience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- oExperience of working with a multi-disciplinary team in an NHS context, or equivalent
- oExperience of managing qualified and unqualified psychologists/other professional therapists including recruitment and retention, professional management procedures, appraisals, sickness absence, maternity leave/paternity leave, annual leave.
- oExperience in neuropsychological assessment and complex case management
- oExperience of teaching and delivering complex risk assessments and formulation.
Desirable
- oExperience of delivering supervision to non-psychology MDT staff.
- oExperience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- oExperience of developing and implementing new services including business case development.
- oExperience of working with external agencies such as HMPPS, social care and commissioners.
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- oAbility to demonstrate leadership skills in a psychology role
- oSkills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, psychological formulation, intervention and management requiring sustained and intense concentration. This requires the use of highly developed analytical and judgement skills.
- oAbility to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance, including regular supervision, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- oHigh standard of report writing for communication with professionals from NHS, HMPPS, Local Authority and other agencies, parents/ carers and clients.
- oSkills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
Desirable
- oHigh-level knowledge and skills in specialist neuropsychological assessment of adults.
Knowledge and Understanding
Essential
- oDoctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, psychological aspects of physical health difficulties, and two or more distinct psychological therapies such as CBT, CFT, ACT, EMDR.
- oKnowledge & experience in working with offenders with mental health problems, including offending-behaviour programmes (e.g., Life Minus Violence, FIP-MO).
- oKnowledge concerning the management of qualified psychologists, including recruitment and retention, appraisals, and other HR policies and processes.
- oKnowledge of legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the patient group and mental health.
- oEvidence of continuing professional development as recommended by BPS.
Desirable
- oHighly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups
- oHigh-level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
- oAn interest in models of service delivery, and an ability to articulate the value added by psychology services within the context of multi-disciplinary services
Other
Essential
- oAbility to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours
- oDemonstrates enthusiasm for service initiatives. Has a commitment to the evaluation of services, enthusiasm for both multi-professional and uni-professional audit, and a wish to continue to develop expertise in the service area
- oAbility to exercise appropriate levels of self care and monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
Desirable
- oRecord of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- oEither doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS,
- oUndertaken training in the supervision of Trainee Clinical/ Forensic/Counselling Psychologists
- oHCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist
Desirable
- Undertaken relevant post-doctoral training in working with clients with offending and complex psychological needs.
- Undertaken post-doctoral training in a forensic setting
Experience
Essential
- oSubstantial assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical/counselling/forensic psychologist at post-qualification and specialist level with adults experiencing significant mental health difficulties.
- oExperience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of clients across the forensic and criminal justice pathway
- oExperience in the appropriate use of standard risk assessment instruments such as HCR20, SAPROF, RSVP & ability to involve non-psychologists in initial and ongoing risk assessments.
- oExperience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- oExperience of working with a multi-disciplinary team in an NHS context, or equivalent
- oExperience of managing qualified and unqualified psychologists/other professional therapists including recruitment and retention, professional management procedures, appraisals, sickness absence, maternity leave/paternity leave, annual leave.
- oExperience in neuropsychological assessment and complex case management
- oExperience of teaching and delivering complex risk assessments and formulation.
Desirable
- oExperience of delivering supervision to non-psychology MDT staff.
- oExperience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- oExperience of developing and implementing new services including business case development.
- oExperience of working with external agencies such as HMPPS, social care and commissioners.
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- oAbility to demonstrate leadership skills in a psychology role
- oSkills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, psychological formulation, intervention and management requiring sustained and intense concentration. This requires the use of highly developed analytical and judgement skills.
- oAbility to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance, including regular supervision, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- oHigh standard of report writing for communication with professionals from NHS, HMPPS, Local Authority and other agencies, parents/ carers and clients.
- oSkills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
Desirable
- oHigh-level knowledge and skills in specialist neuropsychological assessment of adults.
Knowledge and Understanding
Essential
- oDoctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, psychological aspects of physical health difficulties, and two or more distinct psychological therapies such as CBT, CFT, ACT, EMDR.
- oKnowledge & experience in working with offenders with mental health problems, including offending-behaviour programmes (e.g., Life Minus Violence, FIP-MO).
- oKnowledge concerning the management of qualified psychologists, including recruitment and retention, appraisals, and other HR policies and processes.
- oKnowledge of legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the patient group and mental health.
- oEvidence of continuing professional development as recommended by BPS.
Desirable
- oHighly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups
- oHigh-level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
- oAn interest in models of service delivery, and an ability to articulate the value added by psychology services within the context of multi-disciplinary services
Other
Essential
- oAbility to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours
- oDemonstrates enthusiasm for service initiatives. Has a commitment to the evaluation of services, enthusiasm for both multi-professional and uni-professional audit, and a wish to continue to develop expertise in the service area
- oAbility to exercise appropriate levels of self care and monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
Desirable
- oRecord of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books
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.
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.
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).
