Principal Practitioner Psychologist, Co-Lead for Staff Psychology

Principal Practitioner Psychologist, Co-Lead for Staff Psychology Band 8b

Main area Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology Grade Band 8b Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 213-CORP-7551

Employer King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site King's College Hospital Town London Salary £66,718 - £76,271 pa Salary period Yearly Closing 10/12/:59

Job overview

This is a fantastic opportunity for an enthusiastic, creative and flexible Principal Practitioner Psychologist to become part of and co-lead the Staff Psychology Service at King's College Hospital. The service was established following the COVID-19 pandemic and has been operational for two years now; offering individual, team and organisational support through a variety of formats and in partnership with a range of departments.

This unique opportunity requires someone with excellent communication and inter-personal skills and qualities. The post-holder will take a key role in co-leading the Staff Psychology Service (in conjunction with another Principal Practitioner Psychologist) with a core focus on further service development and implementation of new initiatives to meet the psychological needs of the wider staff group in the hospital.

The Staff Psychology Service routinely provides Critical Incident Staff Support sessions to teams following distressing incidents. They oversee and implement Schwartz Rounds and provide dedicated input to staff working in ICU and A&E. They also respond to regular requests for reflective practice, education and training.

Established support structures are in place including clinical and professional supervision, support from OH colleagues, close working relationships from numerous medical departments and peer support from a friendly and innovative group of psychologists, psychotherapists and other mental health professional colleagues.

Main duties of the job

Main duties of the job

• To plan, develop, coordinate and help to facilitate a comprehensive psychology resource as part of the broader staff health and wellbeing support offer across the five sites covered by King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
• In conjunction with senior colleagues, provide oversight and leadership to the staff psychology team.
• To consider and help to facilitate the most appropriate interventions (e.g., Reflective Practice, Team Consultation) to those teams experiencing distress and to develop and encourage participation in organisation-wide approaches that aim to support the psychological and emotional wellbeing of staff (e.g., Schwartz Rounds).
• To provide oversight and input to the staff psychology clinic including providing specialist screening, assessment, treatment, planning, implementation, monitoring of outcomes and evaluation.
• To ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical and professional supervision and support of other psychologists within KCH and to provide clinical supervision, consultation and leadership as appropriate
• To provide specialist support to the Emergency Department.
• To contribute to enabling other staff from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create psychologically safe environments.
• To undertake service evaluation, audit, research and policy development.
• To agree desired outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.

Working for our organisation

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description for a detailed description of the role description and main responsibilities.

Person specification Qualifications

• Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level additional training) that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration.
• Additional training in a specialised area of psychological practice through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma.
• Completed training course in clinical supervision
• Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC
• Competence and/or specialist training in models of psychology as applied to trauma (e.g., Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT

Experience

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in a relevant area (e.g., staff support, occupational health).
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature, particularly in a staff support or occupational health setting.
• Experience of supervising assistant and trainee psychologists having completed the relevant training
• Experience of providing teaching and training to psychologists or other professional groups.
• Post-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities
• Experience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects.
• Experience of proposing and implementing service development projects within own service area
• Record of publications in either peer reviewed, academic or professional journals/books
• Experience of providing specialist psychological interventions for people living with the consequences of psychological trauma (e.g., EMDR; Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT
• Interest and/or experience in implementing service improvements within a staff support/occupational health setting

Knowledge

• Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies for health and care staff, including those impacted by occupational distress and/or trauma.
• Advanced theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment.
• Advanced knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities
• Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis
• Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care
• Good working knowledge of the staff support and occupational health psychology literature

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

Name Stephen Taylor Job title Associate Director Workforce Email address Additional information

For questions about the role, please contact:

Dr Daniel O'Toole, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Head of Adult Clinical Health Psychology (e-mail: ) or Mr Steve Taylor, Associate Director of Workforce Projects (e-mail: )