Job Description

Main area

Clinical Psychologist

Grade

Band 8a

Contract

Permanent: The post holder will be required to cover all CMHTs within the locality

Hours

Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Job ref

373-SMH2315-A RR

Site

Upton Lea/ Vale House/ Cherry Bank

Town

Chester

Salary

47,810 - 62,682 per annum

Salary period

Yearly

Closing

22/10/2025 23:59

Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic individual to join our developing clinical psychology service embedded within our Adult Community Mental Health Service.



Psychological therapies for severe mental health problems are an integral part of community mental health transformation. The appointment of an additional Clinical Psychologist to join the community mental health psychology service is the next step in developing a psychological workforce that can offer timely access to evidence based psychological therapies and foster a psychologically informed environment.



Psychological input is highly valued by staff within the service. The teams within the locality are friendly and welcoming and there are many opportunities to support the workforce to develop a genuine trauma informed and approach.



The successful candidates will participate in the delivery of specialist evidenced based interventions, in-depth assessment, formulation, consultation and supervision for other practitioners and trainee Clinical Psychologists.



The post is offered as a permanent 8a position for an experienced Clinical Psychologist, and applications are also welcome from recently qualified individuals with HCPC registration, who have a keen desire to work in this area. For newly qualified applicants, the post will be offered as a development post, band 7-8a, in line with the trust's Preceptorship and Development post protocol.



Informal discussions and visits are encouraged.

Main duties of the job

To provide a high-quality specialist psychology service, including specialist psychological assessment, therapy and consultation to adults who are under the care of West Cheshire CMHTs.



In CWP, we have good links with Northwest doctoral training programmes and regularly offer trainee placements. The post holder would be expected to clinically supervise and manage the workloads of trainee clinical psychologists and assistant psychologists within the service as required.



Supervision will be from the locality lead (Principal Clinical Psychologist) and the postholder will be expected to work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service's policies and procedures.



You will work alongside the lead Clinical Psychologist to support ongoing service development.


You will be committed to your own continuing professional development and have a role in supporting the development and training of the multi-disciplinary team as well as a critical awareness of the importance of building and maintaining good relationships with other services. There will be opportunities to contribute to service evaluation, audit, and research.

Working for our organisation

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP) provides health and care services for a population of over one million people, including mental health, learning disability, community physical health and all-age disability care, as well as the provision of three GP surgeries in Cheshire.



We employ around 4,500 staff across 73 sites and have services across Wirral and Cheshire, as well as Trafford, Warrington, Bolton, Halton, Liverpool and Stockport.



Our aim is to help improve the lives of everyone in our communities, adopting a compassionate, person-centred approach to everything we do. We are rated as Outstanding for Caring by the Care Quality Commission, with a Good rating overall.



As a Disability Confident Employer, Rainbow Badge Scheme member, Veteran Aware organisation and proud holder of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, CWP is committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible and developing a culture that values differences, and welcome applications from people who have direct experience of accessing our services.

All new starters will commence in post on one fixed start date each month, in line with our Prepare to Care (P2C) induction programme date. P2C offers up to 3 weeks training to support you to meet the induction / initial training requirements of the role.



Whether you are just starting out in your career or looking to use your existing skills and experience in a new role, you'll find something to suit you at CWP.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please download a copy of the job description (see 'documents to download' section below) for full details of the main responsibilities for this role.



At CWP, our recruitment selection processes are based on both competence (see person specification for details) and values.



CWP recruits people that can demonstrate the Trust's Values in their everyday life and we use a values-based approach in our interviews, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.



Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust's Values and think about how these align with your own personal values. The supporting information section in your application should reflect your understanding of the Trust's Values and associated behaviours and you should provide examples from your work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviours.



An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page. Further help and support for completing your application can be accessed via our website. If you need any further guidance to help you complete your application, contact our recruitment team via email at: cwp.recruitment@nhs.net or by calling 01244 393100.



If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the 'essential' criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer 'YES' to the question: 'Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?'



Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.



The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post and encourages applications from armed forces reservists or cadet force adult volunteers.



Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of 16 per year applies.



New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.



Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.



Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team CWP very soon!

Person specification

#

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) HCPC registration

Desirable criteria

Additional Psychotherapy qualification relevant to working with clients with complex psychological and mental health difficulties #

Knowledge and Expertise

Essential criteria

Skills in conducting complex psychological assessment and intervention frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration Skills in completing neuropsychological assesssments, interpretation of results, and ability to communicate these sensitively as appropriate Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex and /or clinically sensitive information to clients and professional colleagues within and outside the NHS Evidence of continuing professional development. Skills in providing Consultation to other professionals and nonprofessional groups Evidence of supervision training/qualification Experience of supervising Assistant Psychologists, other psychological practitioners and/or MDT colleagues in psychological approaches Experience of research, audit/service evaluation #

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of working as a clinical psychologist therapeutically with adult clients with varied complex, psychological and mental health difficulties Experience of working within multi-professional teams Experience of engaging and sustaining work with ambivalent clients Experience of exercising clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care

Desirable criteria

Experience of liaison with other health professionals Experience of providing teaching and training
Applicant requirements


You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.



Further details / informal visits contact

Name

Dr Becky Stockley

Job title

Principal Clinical Psychologist / Locality Lead

Email address

rebecca.stockley@nhs.net

Telephone number

07586551370

Additional information

If you consider yourself Neurodivergent and need help to complete your application form, please contact

cwp.recruitment@nhs.net

or telephone 01244 393100.