Lead Cons Practitioner Psychologist, Professional Lead for PP

Come and join us

We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.

At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.

We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.

We recognise that tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We welcome this, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isn’t based on your real experience.

Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we’ll explore your examples further at interview, so it’s important your application genuinely represents what you bring. You can read more about using AI in applications and interviews on our recruitment process page.

We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.

Job overview

We are looking for an experienced and compassionate senior psychological professional to join us as Professional Lead for the Psychological Professions in our Forensic Health Services. This is a significant leadership role within the Specialist Division, offering the chance to shape a pathway, a culture and a system, while working alongside committed colleagues who are ambitious about the contribution of psychological professions to forensic care. The role will provide strategic leadership across low and medium secure inpatient services, Forensic Outreach Services, the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway and Mental Health Treatment Requirement services. The majority of services are in Sussex, with some extending into Surrey, and all are part of the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Provider Collaborative. The post may also be asked to consult and advise on Forensic CAMHS services.

The role is open to practitioner psychologists, psychological therapists and psychotherapists who meet the requirements of the relevant attached job description and person specification. We would warmly welcome applications from candidates who can bring senior clinical credibility, professional leadership experience and a strong commitment to developing psychologically informed services for people with forensic histories or at risk of offending.

Advert

Working as a core member of the Forensic Health Services leadership team, and in close collaboration with the Director of Psychological Professions and senior operational and clinical colleagues, you will bring a distinctive psychological voice to service development, risk governance, culture change and partnership working. You will help ensure that formulation-driven practice, evidence-based interventions and compassionate, trauma-informed approaches are embedded across forensic pathways, in line with the Trust strategy and the Psychological Professions strategic priorities for 2025–2030.

You will provide professional leadership, and where appropriate line management, to registered and unregistered psychological professionals across forensic inpatient, community, outreach and specialist pathway services. A central focus will be strengthening supervision, professional development, workforce planning, recruitment, clinical governance, service improvement, research, audit and evaluation so that psychological professions are supported to improve access, outcomes and quality of care for service users, carers and families.

Working for our organisation

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health, learning disability and neurodevelopmental services across diverse coastal, rural and urban communities, with strong links to partners across health, social care, probation and criminal justice. Within Forensic Health Services, you will be joining committed multidisciplinary teams and senior leaders who want the psychological professions to be visible, valued and influential in improving care. Together, we are working to strengthen reflective, compassionate and inclusive approaches for people who may present with complex mental health needs, offending histories, trauma and risk.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

· Provide strategic and professional leadership for psychological professions across Forensic Health Services, with a Trust-wide focus on forensic psychological practice and contribution to the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Provider Collaborative where appropriate.

· Work as part of the divisional leadership team and with senior professional leads for nursing, allied health professions and medicine to support safe, effective and sustainable services, bringing a clear psychological voice to business planning, transformation, service development and partnership working.

· Lead systems for professional governance, supervision, appraisal, continuing professional development, job planning and standards of professional practice for psychological professionals across forensic pathways.

· Provide senior professional advice on psychological professions governance and professional standards where required.

· Support robust supervision, reflective practice and psychologically safe systems that promote compassionate, trauma-informed and inclusive care for both service users and staff.

· Shape service and policy developments that strengthen psychologically informed forensic care across secure, community, outreach and specialist pathways, including partnership with probation, criminal justice, social care, commissioning and voluntary sector colleagues.

· Lead inclusive recruitment, workforce planning and professional development approaches that support a skilled, sustainable and diverse psychological professions workforce, aligned to transformation programmes and future service needs.

· Champion inclusive and culturally sensitive psychological practice, ensuring that equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded through supervision, CPD, recruitment, service development and divisional action planning.

· Foster staff and team wellbeing through supportive supervision, wellbeing conversations, clear role expectations, access to CPD and opportunities for psychological professionals to connect through communities of practice and peer networks.

· Provide expert consultation and advice on complex forensic psychological care, formulation, risk, service design and professional practice.

· Lead and contribute to audit, research, teaching, training, service evaluation and routine outcome measurement, using evidence, psychological theory and high-quality data to inform continuous improvement and innovation.

· Hold a specialist clinical caseload and maintain advanced clinical credibility within your area of psychological practice.

SPFT is committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We particularly welcome applications from people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and from disabled candidates, as these groups are currently underrepresented.

Successful candidates are normally appointed to the bottom of the pay scale unless previous NHS experience in a similar role can be evidenced.

SPFT takes its responsibilities for safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk very seriously. We expect all staff and bank workers to share this commitment and complete the relevant safeguarding training for their role.

If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful. However, we’ll always do our best to keep you informed as we know how much time and care goes into applying for a role.

In the event of a high number of applications, we may close this vacancy early.

Protect Yourself from Recruitment Fraud

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust does not charge any fees for job applications, recruitment processes, sponsorship arrangements or employment offers.

All vacancies, applications and recruitment communications are managed through the Trust's official careers website and published contact details.

These are the only authorised channels for applying for roles, receiving recruitment communications and verifying job offers.

Further information relating to our vacancies and recruitment process can be found at - https://careers.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/.