Assistant Psychologist

Role overview

An opportunity has opened for an Assistant Psychologist to join the Mid and South Adult ADHD Service. This service works closely with the North East/West Essex Adult ADHD service and EPUT Autism services, and it sits within a wider plan to develop a neurodevelopmental pathway across Essex in the future.

You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team made up of nursing, psychiatry, psychology and pharmacy colleagues. The team supports people in community settings who may have ADHD, or have an ADHD diagnosis, and who are not eligible for secondary mental health services. Care includes both medication-related and psychological assessment and intervention.

The post involves psychological assessment, referral triage, screening, and clinically related administrative work under supervision. Most assessments are carried out remotely, although some are delivered in person from different bases across mid and south Essex. You will also take part in audit, service evaluation and/or research, along with teaching and project work under suitable supervision. Responsibilities may change from time to time depending on service priorities, operational needs, and your skills and experience. Travel to other Essex bases for meetings and assessments will sometimes be required.

Main duties

• Contribute to developing a psychologically informed model of understanding and care for service users.
• Carry out additional duties suitable for an Assistant Psychologist, as directed by the psychology manager.
• Attend weekly supervision within the service, in line with BPS guidance and Trust policy.
• Continue professional development in line with BPS recommendations to build the skills needed for the role.
• Maintain high standards of professional practice through a development plan agreed with the line manager.
• Follow the professional standards of the Health Professions Council, the British Psychological Society, and Trust procedures for report writing and clinical record keeping.
• Take part in regular appraisal and performance review with the line manager.

Working for the organisation

The Trust offers supervision and support to help staff reach their potential. It also promotes an inclusive working environment with opportunities to connect through engagement events and equality or champion networks. Staff can access mental health and wellbeing support, occupational health advice, and counselling when needed.

Benefits

• 27 days of annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing to 33 days after 10 years of service.
• Pension contributions of up to 14.5% of pensionable pay.
• Access to staff discounts such as Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and other employee benefits.
• Interest-free season ticket loans for travel by tram, rail, or bus.

Important information

Because of current allocation limits, Certificates of Sponsorship are being prioritised for registered roles at present.

Applicants must include professional references with business contact details covering the last three years of employment. Personal references or character references will not be accepted.

As a newly appointed employee, you will need to pay for your initial DBS check related to the role; this cost will be deducted from your first salary payment with the Trust.

The Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer and particularly welcomes applications from people with experience of using mental health services. It also holds the Disability Two Ticks symbol and has committed to employing more people with learning disabilities. Candidates who are disabled are encouraged to apply. If you need the application in an alternative format such as Braille or audio tape, you can contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email epunft.recruitment.adverts@nhs.net.

The Trust may close the vacancy before the advertised deadline if necessary. Applicants are encouraged to monitor the email address linked to their NHS Jobs account regularly. Due to the volume of applications, if you have not heard back within three weeks after the closing date, you should assume your application has not been successful on this occasion.

The organisation is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults, and all staff are expected to uphold that responsibility. Safer recruitment checks will be carried out on all applicants.

Due to current regulations, anyone directly employed to work in a care home, or deployed there as part of their role, must have received both COVID vaccinations unless medically exempt. This requirement will form part of the pre-employment checks for this position.

Employees who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority for suitable alternative employment. If the Trust later identifies this post as suitable alternative employment for someone at risk, the post may be withdrawn.

Applications must be written by the applicant. If AI tools are used, the application may be rejected because the written document is part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants from seeking appropriate support with applications where needed because of a declared disability.