Job summary
Closing Date:16.07.25
Shortlisting to take place after closing date: commencing 17.07.25
Interview expected to take place 04.08.25
We are looking for an experienced psychological professional with considerable adult health psychology and service leadership experience. The post is to oversee the delivery of psychological therapy in Specialist Palliative Care and be embedded as part of a well-respected and valued clinical multi-disciplinary team. Alongside direct clinical work, a key component of the role is to provide leadership, case-consultation, supervision, and training to the wider team. Psychological approaches are highly valued by the multi-disciplinary team and the role provides many opportunities to make a difference to the lives of people who live in Bradford, where significant health and social challenges present.
The successful applicant will also have a strong interest in contributing to the strategic development of palliative care psychology for Bradford but also regionally and nationally, at a time when a great deal of change of innovation is taking place. In Clinical Health Psychology we currently have 36 clinical staff including Clinical and Health Psychologists, Counsellors and Social Workers working across a variety of specialties in our supportive and friendly department. The role will involve some line management and supervision of clinicians who work in the adult service as well a contributing to the leadership activities of the department.
Main duties of the job
To provide professional psychology leadership and management and strategic development for the Clinical Health Psychology Service in Specialist Palliative Care for Bradford and surrounding areas.
To provide highly specialist clinical care to patients and carers receiving Specialist Palliative Care and to lead a team of psychological therapists in the service. To supervise other psychological and non-psychology staff as required. To work closely with Bradford and District Specialist Palliative Care agencies through attending service and multi disciplinary meetings and through providing teaching, training and consultation to wider teams. To liaise with the relevant regional and national organisations in the strategic development of high quality psychological services for palliative care.
To work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team's policy and procedures; also utilising research skills to inform practice, and contributing to audit and for research.
To contribute to the strategic leadership and operational management of the broader Clinical Health Psychology service at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. In collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team, to carry and out and contribute audit, policy and service developments and research activities. The ensure department-wide Clinical Governance compliance as agreed with the Head of Department.
About us
Our People Charter outlines the behaviours we can expect from one another and what you can expect from Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust:
- We value people
- We are one team
- We care
We're keen to meet people who share these values and are passionate about delivering the highest quality of care to our patients.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see attached Job description and person specification for more detail.
The post-holder will be a member of the Clinical Health Psychology Department within BTHFT and will be expected to work within the philosophy and ethos of the department which is to work psychologically in a client-centred, flexible and innovative way to improve healthcare.
The post-holder will lead and line manage a team of qualified and training psychological therapists in the delivery of high quality psychological healthcare.
The postholder will be expected to work in a variety of settings throughout BTHFT (both acute and community settings) and will work autonomously within professional guidelines and frameworks and will be required to work with teams under a high degree of stress. Specifically, the post holder will be based at St Luke's Hospital alongside Clinical Health Psychology colleagues whilst working out to other locations in Bradford and surrounding areas. The postholder will deliver the clinical service in Palliative Care in a variety of locations; outpatient clinics at St Lukes Hospital, at the Bradford Marie Curie Hospice, on inpatient wards at the hospitals within BTHFT and in patient's homes. A range of psychological support will be provided including direct psychological assessments and interventions; face to face and remotely, consultation, education, teaching, and training.
The postholder will be expected to provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to individuals, managers and teams, to promote the understanding of psychological approaches, both theoretically and practically, to support high quality psychological care across the service across the healthcare system.
To offer teaching, training and supervision of Clinical Psychologists and other Psychological Therapy professionals.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see attached Job description and person specification for more detail.
The post-holder will be a member of the Clinical Health Psychology Department within BTHFT and will be expected to work within the philosophy and ethos of the department which is to work psychologically in a client-centred, flexible and innovative way to improve healthcare.
The post-holder will lead and line manage a team of qualified and training psychological therapists in the delivery of high quality psychological healthcare.
The postholder will be expected to work in a variety of settings throughout BTHFT (both acute and community settings) and will work autonomously within professional guidelines and frameworks and will be required to work with teams under a high degree of stress. Specifically, the post holder will be based at St Luke's Hospital alongside Clinical Health Psychology colleagues whilst working out to other locations in Bradford and surrounding areas. The postholder will deliver the clinical service in Palliative Care in a variety of locations; outpatient clinics at St Lukes Hospital, at the Bradford Marie Curie Hospice, on inpatient wards at the hospitals within BTHFT and in patient's homes. A range of psychological support will be provided including direct psychological assessments and interventions; face to face and remotely, consultation, education, teaching, and training.
The postholder will be expected to provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to individuals, managers and teams, to promote the understanding of psychological approaches, both theoretically and practically, to support high quality psychological care across the service across the healthcare system.
To offer teaching, training and supervision of Clinical Psychologists and other Psychological Therapy professionals.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Substantial experience of working as a Practitioner Psychologist with a wide variety of client groups across the lifespan and the full range of care settings including outpatient, inpatient, community, primary care and residential including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Assessed substantial experience of working with physical health conditions across the full range of clinical severity and assessment of risk in this context
- Experience of supervising pre-qualified psychologists/qualified psychologists
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for patients' psychological care and treatment, within the context of an MDT
- Experience of teaching and training health professionals in psychological concepts
- Experience of applying psychology within a multicultural framework
- Experience of providing leadership on service delivery and development
Desirable
- Experience of leadership and professional/managerial supervision
- Experience in managing resources and flow of capacity and demand
- Experience of working with life limiting conditions and/or in a palliative care context
Skills
Essential
- Advanced 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 clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- High level of analytical and judgement skills with ability to understand complex facts or situations requiring analysis, interpretation, comparison.
- Ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- High level ability to form and maintain collaborative professional relationships with colleagues across all levels and in working in teams.
- Well-developed skills in working independently in managing own workload and in planning and organising work activities in a timely way
- Skills in providing consultation and supervision to other professional and non-professional groups
- Ability to work in a complex and changing environment; demonstrable ability to work under pressure and according to changing priorities and service needs.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and distressing clinical experiences
- Skilled in working with clients in groups and managing group dynamics in the face of highly emotive and distressing issues.
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised assessments and psychological therapies used to intervene psychologically with people with physical health conditions
- Doctorate level of knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex multivariate data analysis
- Knowledge and application of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Understanding of legal and ethical issues relating to clinical practice.
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two evidence-based specialised psychological therapies.
- Comprehensive understanding of current NHS issues and context, organisational structures, policy, strategic planning and clinical governance.
- Knowledge of the culture and demographics of the local community.
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate Doctoral Training in Clinical/Counselling Psychology as acredited by the BPS
- Registeration with Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the HCPC
- Completion of formal clinical supervisor training sufficient to be able to supervise doctoral trainees
Desirable
- Post-doctorate completion of training in one of more specialised areas of psychological practice
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Substantial experience of working as a Practitioner Psychologist with a wide variety of client groups across the lifespan and the full range of care settings including outpatient, inpatient, community, primary care and residential including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Assessed substantial experience of working with physical health conditions across the full range of clinical severity and assessment of risk in this context
- Experience of supervising pre-qualified psychologists/qualified psychologists
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for patients' psychological care and treatment, within the context of an MDT
- Experience of teaching and training health professionals in psychological concepts
- Experience of applying psychology within a multicultural framework
- Experience of providing leadership on service delivery and development
Desirable
- Experience of leadership and professional/managerial supervision
- Experience in managing resources and flow of capacity and demand
- Experience of working with life limiting conditions and/or in a palliative care context
Skills
Essential
- Advanced 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 clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- High level of analytical and judgement skills with ability to understand complex facts or situations requiring analysis, interpretation, comparison.
- Ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- High level ability to form and maintain collaborative professional relationships with colleagues across all levels and in working in teams.
- Well-developed skills in working independently in managing own workload and in planning and organising work activities in a timely way
- Skills in providing consultation and supervision to other professional and non-professional groups
- Ability to work in a complex and changing environment; demonstrable ability to work under pressure and according to changing priorities and service needs.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and distressing clinical experiences
- Skilled in working with clients in groups and managing group dynamics in the face of highly emotive and distressing issues.
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised assessments and psychological therapies used to intervene psychologically with people with physical health conditions
- Doctorate level of knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex multivariate data analysis
- Knowledge and application of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Understanding of legal and ethical issues relating to clinical practice.
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two evidence-based specialised psychological therapies.
- Comprehensive understanding of current NHS issues and context, organisational structures, policy, strategic planning and clinical governance.
- Knowledge of the culture and demographics of the local community.
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate Doctoral Training in Clinical/Counselling Psychology as acredited by the BPS
- Registeration with Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the HCPC
- Completion of formal clinical supervisor training sufficient to be able to supervise doctoral trainees
Desirable
- Post-doctorate completion of training in one of more specialised areas of psychological practice
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).
