Job summary

This is an excellent opportunity for a Psychologist or Specialist Psychological Therapist to join our team of diverse, talented healthcare professionals to deliver care that is not only efficient but deeply centred on the patient.

Our healthcare teams have a real impact on promoting health and well-being to those in prison and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patient's future resettlement back into the community. Our Psychological Therapies department is an unusually large, long established and nationally well regarded specialty. Psychologists are highly valued within the trust and occupy a variety of service-wide leadership roles. The Psychological Therapies team is warm and friendly, whilst also being dynamic and innovative.

Join us in a stimulating role where we are seeking a dynamic and passionate psychologist who has the skills required to work within a trauma-informed care service

We welcome applications from newly qualified; Clinical, Counselling or Forensic Psychologists, CBT Therapists, Systemic, Arts or Psychoanalytical Psychotherapists or those close to obtaining qualified status

Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.

Main duties of the job

This is a maternity cover position based at HMP Channings Wood, available from the end of January 2026, where you will work within the Mental Health team, consisting of psychological therapists and multi-professional mental health colleagues to embed psychologically informed care in the service. You will provide a specialist psychological therapies service to offenders in emotional distress in HMP Channings Wood, providing specialist psychological assessment and therapy at the same time as offering advice and consultation on clients' psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues and to other, non-professional carers, working autonomously with professional guidelines and the overall framework of the Trust's policies and procedures. You will promote an environment in which therapeutic relationships facilitate safety and change, by offering psychological perspectives and emotional support to nursing teams, and promoting psychological thinking in teams. You should have interests in working with personality difficulties and complex trauma, including providing direct psychological assessments and interventions, and working in mutli- disciplinary and multi-agency contexts.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

We're Kind
We're Fair
We Listen
We Care

Details

Date posted

01 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year pa inc

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

277-7439706-CHAN

Job locations

HMP Channings Wood

Greenhill Lane, Denbury

Newton Abbot

TQ12 6DW

Job description

Job responsibilities

To travel to clinical venues, training activities and meetings as appropriate and across the Trust when required.
To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow Trust policies relating to its management.
To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations of people in distress or in crisis and who may be abusive and to support others involved in such situations.
To work flexibly which may include offering some regular commitment to late clinics or weekend working, within the overall Job Plan.
To be proficient in the use of IT for purposes such as email, electronic calendar, intranet, video calls and electronic clinical records.
To be familiar with word processing, database and statistical packages, and to use such packages appropriately as necessary.
To maintain high standards of clinical record keeping, including electronic clinical records and report writing, in accordance with professional codes of practice and Trust policies and procedures.
To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues pertaining to the client group.

To provide clinical supervision to designated assistant psychologists.
Provide supervision to students and trainees and to multi-disciplinary colleagues delivering psychological interventions.
To support recruitment of assistant psychologists to the service.
For those line managing, to ensure local standards are implemented for the allocation and review of work, job planning, review of performance, sickness management and initial stages of grievance or disciplinary action.
To oversee quality line management and supervision within the team structure, ensuring that staff and trainees acquire the necessary skills, competencies and experience to contribute effectively to health care, and to contribute to the assessment and evaluation of such competencies.
To provide highly specialist advice, consultation and training of staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate. This may include work with the Criminal Justice System and Childrens Services.

Attend and contribute to directorate level meetings and forums, as directed.
Contribute to the delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse communities.
To be proactive in challenging discrimination.
To advise other colleagues on specialist psychological care of clients.
To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.
To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
To liaise with the service/s MDT and other professionals.
Implement relevant policies and procedures for the safe running of the service.

To provide direct psychological care (assessment and intervention) and support the delivery of psychologically informed care by all disciplines within the service.
To provide highly specialist psychological therapy assessments, formulations and interventions.
To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of community clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans, including taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans with input from clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.
To provide culturally appropriate psychological therapy interventions with service suers, carers or families of referred clients when required.
To communicate, in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, to clients, family carers and others as appropriate, information that may be contentious or highly distressing concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care.
To produce reports on clients, in a timely manner, that convey the key findings of psychological assessment and formulation and treatment outcome in a way that does justice to the complexity of the problems described, but that are understandable to the recipients of the reports, including clients and referrers.
To undertake risk assessment, risk monitoring and risk management for individual clients in line with Trust and inter-agency policies and procedures, and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
To work in partnership with other disciplines and to maintain links with statutory and non-statutory agencies as appropriate.

To engage in service improvements through audits and quality improvement initiatives.
To ensure the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
Advise professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
To participate in Trust and Directorate strategic development and implementation of new initiatives (e.g. national guidelines), including through membership of committees and/or working parties.
Apply clinical governance standards within the service and ensure that these are maintained and improved.
Provide high quality services that are managed efficiently, according to the overall requirements of the Trust, NHS and government guidance and standards.
Participate in service outcome monitoring.
To undertake the planning, initiation and completion of research, service evaluation and audits, and quality improvement projects relevant to the service and the directorate research agenda.
To oversee the planning, initiation and completion of research, service evaluation and audits by students and trainees.
To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

To provide and support specialist clinical placements for students and trainees in applied psychological practice.
To contribute to the delivery of teaching and training to junior psychological practitioners and specialist training to other professions.
To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the service by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychological therapy and risk assessment / management and to implement knowledge gained in practice.
To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.
To continue to gain wider post-qualification experience of psychological therapies and risk assessment / management, over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post-holder is employed.

To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a senior psychological practitioner according to professional and Trust guidelines and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.
To attend Reflective Practice reliably.
To maintain own Continuing Professional Development in line with registered body and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements.
To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.
To comply with the registered body Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics/Standards of Proficiency.
To ensure that all psychological practitioners for whom the post-holder has leadership or management responsibility maintain professional standards, adhere to all organisational HR policies and procedures.
To ensure that all psychological practitioners for whom the post-holder has management responsibility continue professional development, assessing and evaluating to ensure they acquire the necessary skills, competencies and experience to contribute effectively to health care.
Maintaining registration and standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating bodies eg the HCPC.
Ensuring all aspects of confidentiality relating to both the service and individuals are maintained at all times.

To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.
To ensure the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry, in those parts of the service for which the post-holder has management or leadership responsibility.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas&the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be soughtfrom:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-…

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en).

Job description

Job responsibilities

To travel to clinical venues, training activities and meetings as appropriate and across the Trust when required.
To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow Trust policies relating to its management.
To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations of people in distress or in crisis and who may be abusive and to support others involved in such situations.
To work flexibly which may include offering some regular commitment to late clinics or weekend working, within the overall Job Plan.
To be proficient in the use of IT for purposes such as email, electronic calendar, intranet, video calls and electronic clinical records.
To be familiar with word processing, database and statistical packages, and to use such packages appropriately as necessary.
To maintain high standards of clinical record keeping, including electronic clinical records and report writing, in accordance with professional codes of practice and Trust policies and procedures.
To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues pertaining to the client group.

To provide clinical supervision to designated assistant psychologists.
Provide supervision to students and trainees and to multi-disciplinary colleagues delivering psychological interventions.
To support recruitment of assistant psychologists to the service.
For those line managing, to ensure local standards are implemented for the allocation and review of work, job planning, review of performance, sickness management and initial stages of grievance or disciplinary action.
To oversee quality line management and supervision within the team structure, ensuring that staff and trainees acquire the necessary skills, competencies and experience to contribute effectively to health care, and to contribute to the assessment and evaluation of such competencies.
To provide highly specialist advice, consultation and training of staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate. This may include work with the Criminal Justice System and Childrens Services.

Attend and contribute to directorate level meetings and forums, as directed.
Contribute to the delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse communities.
To be proactive in challenging discrimination.
To advise other colleagues on specialist psychological care of clients.
To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.
To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
To liaise with the service/s MDT and other professionals.
Implement relevant policies and procedures for the safe running of the service.

To provide direct psychological care (assessment and intervention) and support the delivery of psychologically informed care by all disciplines within the service.
To provide highly specialist psychological therapy assessments, formulations and interventions.
To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of community clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans, including taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans with input from clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.
To provide culturally appropriate psychological therapy interventions with service suers, carers or families of referred clients when required.
To communicate, in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, to clients, family carers and others as appropriate, information that may be contentious or highly distressing concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care.
To produce reports on clients, in a timely manner, that convey the key findings of psychological assessment and formulation and treatment outcome in a way that does justice to the complexity of the problems described, but that are understandable to the recipients of the reports, including clients and referrers.
To undertake risk assessment, risk monitoring and risk management for individual clients in line with Trust and inter-agency policies and procedures, and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
To work in partnership with other disciplines and to maintain links with statutory and non-statutory agencies as appropriate.

To engage in service improvements through audits and quality improvement initiatives.
To ensure the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
Advise professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
To participate in Trust and Directorate strategic development and implementation of new initiatives (e.g. national guidelines), including through membership of committees and/or working parties.
Apply clinical governance standards within the service and ensure that these are maintained and improved.
Provide high quality services that are managed efficiently, according to the overall requirements of the Trust, NHS and government guidance and standards.
Participate in service outcome monitoring.
To undertake the planning, initiation and completion of research, service evaluation and audits, and quality improvement projects relevant to the service and the directorate research agenda.
To oversee the planning, initiation and completion of research, service evaluation and audits by students and trainees.
To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

To provide and support specialist clinical placements for students and trainees in applied psychological practice.
To contribute to the delivery of teaching and training to junior psychological practitioners and specialist training to other professions.
To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the service by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychological therapy and risk assessment / management and to implement knowledge gained in practice.
To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.
To continue to gain wider post-qualification experience of psychological therapies and risk assessment / management, over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post-holder is employed.

To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a senior psychological practitioner according to professional and Trust guidelines and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.
To attend Reflective Practice reliably.
To maintain own Continuing Professional Development in line with registered body and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements.
To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.
To comply with the registered body Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics/Standards of Proficiency.
To ensure that all psychological practitioners for whom the post-holder has leadership or management responsibility maintain professional standards, adhere to all organisational HR policies and procedures.
To ensure that all psychological practitioners for whom the post-holder has management responsibility continue professional development, assessing and evaluating to ensure they acquire the necessary skills, competencies and experience to contribute effectively to health care.
Maintaining registration and standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating bodies eg the HCPC.
Ensuring all aspects of confidentiality relating to both the service and individuals are maintained at all times.

To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.
To ensure the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry, in those parts of the service for which the post-holder has management or leadership responsibility.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be soughtfrom:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-…

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession or equivalent and demonstrable practice in this field (ie professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/supervised practice/additional training)
Additional training beyond entry-level qualification in a specialised area of psychological practice (through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses and/an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical psychological therapy practice, assessed by a registered body and/or an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma or higher.
Registered with professional body or regulatory body as appropriate to psychological therapy discipline ie HCPC.

Experience

Essential

Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of adult clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature under supervision
Experience working with and addressing issues of diversity, including experience of working within a multicultural framework.
Experience of maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.

Skills

Essential

Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
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.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession or equivalent and demonstrable practice in this field (ie professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/supervised practice/additional training)
Additional training beyond entry-level qualification in a specialised area of psychological practice (through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses and/an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical psychological therapy practice, assessed by a registered body and/or an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma or higher.
Registered with professional body or regulatory body as appropriate to psychological therapy discipline ie HCPC.

Experience

Essential

Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of adult clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature under supervision
Experience working with and addressing issues of diversity, including experience of working within a multicultural framework.
Experience of maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly

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