Consultant Clinical Psychologist

This is a fixed-term post to cover maternity leave for a period of 12-14 months. The post will involve providing a high level of expertise in supporting the multi-disciplinary team in the delivery of effective clinical services through assessment, intervention and ongoing support to children, young people and families accessing the service.

You will provide expert guidance, advice and support to others, in the development and delivery of neurodevelopmental assessment and intervention pathways, post assessment recommendations, advice, and workshop programmes for children and young people, and the adults working with or caring for them such as teachers, health or social care workers and parents. You may directly participate in and undertake these tasks and act as an expert role model to others, whilst also providing specialist consultation and support to others undertaking these tasks.

You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team that includes Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, Learning Disability Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Paediatrician, Assistant Psychologists and Trainees, Clinical Assistants and charity volunteers.

About Caudwell Children

Established in 2000, Caudwell Children is a national charity that works to transform the lives of disabled children and their families, enabling them to challenge the barriers they face throughout childhood by providing practical and emotional support. The Charity is going through an exciting period of growth having recently opened a new state-of-the-art facility for multi-disciplinary therapy programmes for childhood disability and research of neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, within the grounds of Keele University. It provides a state-of-the-art base for the Charity’s therapies and an environment where ground-breaking research can be undertaken, potentially changing the way some disabilities are treated, and affecting millions of people around the world. This is a fantastic and exciting opportunity to join a dynamic and fast-moving Charity at a time when it will attract national and international attention.

Clinical Duties:

• Lead the development and implementation of autism and neurodevelopmental assessment and intervention pathways including diagnostic assessment, formulation, recommendations, guidance, advice and workshop programmes for children and young people and those around them (e.g. families, teachers, health/social care workers).
• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a specialist autism service for children and young people and their families – fostering strong collaborative relationships with colleagues to maximise effectiveness.
• Provide and advise on specialist psychological assessments of children referred to the service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, observations and interviews with family members and others involved in the child’s care.
• Provide specialist knowledge, expertise and skills in the assessment and diagnosis of autism, intellectual disability and other neurodevelopmental conditions where appropriate.
• Lead and contribute to MDT discussions, offering specialist consultation around psychological and diagnostic formulation, taking into account theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the child or family group.
• Develop appropriate recommendations for ongoing support and intervention plans that promote the child’s development, wellbeing and family functioning. Offering specialist advice and consultation to others developing recommendations and intervention plans.
• Provide specialist psychological advice, consultation, and training to other professionals contributing directly to formulation, diagnosis, intervention planning and ongoing support. In particular, supporting management of complex cases, including those with high levels of need and risk.
• Communicate complex and sensitive information, such as assessment outcomes, diagnosis and recommendations, in a skilled and compassionate manner. Offering advice and support to others where required.
• Prepare comprehensive psychological reports and communicate the findings to others as required, for example parents, children and team colleagues, adapting communication to the needs of others as appropriate. Offering specialist support and oversight of others professional reports as required.
• Oversee the implementation of a range of evidence-based interventions, both for individuals and groups, including children, young people, carers, families, and staff from other settings as required.
• Contribute to risk assessment and developing risk management plans, including providing specialist consultation to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
• Oversee the coordination of assessment and intervention plans for children and young people, supporting others to plan and review progress with children, their carers, referring agents and others involved in their network of care.
• Lead the development and contribute to delivery of workshops and group interventions for children, young people, families and staff from other settings. Offering specialist expertise and training to external providers and as part of external events as required.

Leadership and Management:

• Provide leadership to practitioner psychologists, trainees, assistant psychologists and other professionals in the team as required.
• Ensure appropriate systems are in place for the clinical and professional supervision of psychological staff.
• Oversee recruitment, induction and retention of psychology staff as appropriate including supporting the recruitment of other disciplines as required.
• Lead appraisals of, and personal development plans for psychology staff
• Be responsible for the management of psychology staff, including supporting and reviewing workloads, and implementing HR procedures as required.
• Provide professional, clinical and management supervision to less senior psychologists, assistant psychologists and trainee psychologists, and the psychological work of other professions as appropriate.
• Offer specialist advice to other senior and operational managers, including the board of directors, in relation to neurodevelopmental conditions, and psychological aspects of service provision where requested or otherwise required to do so.

Teaching and Training:

• Receive regular clinical supervision from a suitably qualified Registered Psychologist.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programs, as appropriate – applying and disseminating knowledge gained to improve practice.
• Contribute to professional post-graduate teaching and training of others as required.
• Provide clinical supervision, and where appropriate line management oversight, for Assistant Psychologists, Trainee Psychologists and other professionals as delegated.
• Provide specialist advice, consultation and training to staff across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.

Quality of Care:

• Ensure the effective delivery and quality of care standards for the service, in accordance with all relevant national, professional and local policies and regulatory requirements from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
• Advocate for the involvement of children and families, where appropriate, in decisions made about them including wider service development and future program planning and delivery.
• At all times to afford children, families and other stakeholders the dignity and respect to which they are entitled and, in particular, to recognise any communication needs and special requirements associated with an individual’s identity, race, culture or religion – with full regard to the organisations Equality and Diversity Policy and relevant statutory/regulatory guidelines.
• Ensure adherence to clinical governance requirements across the service, leading and supporting governance procedures as required to drive continuous service improvement.
• Confidentiality and data protection regarding all personal information and Caudwell Children activities must be maintained at all times (both in and out of working hours) in accordance with organisational policies, professional codes of conduct and relevant legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulations 2018.
• Support and contribute to any regulatory or organisational inspections/audits.
• To be responsible for your own health and safety and that of anyone else whom your acts and omissions may affect, ensuring that relevant health and safety requirements are adhered to and a professional and hygienic personal appearance is maintained at all times.
• Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including adherence to the organisations Safeguarding Policy and procedures. Offering specialist psychological advice and support to safeguarding cases as required.

Research and Development:

• To keep up to date on relevant psychological theory, research, and guidelines to ensure implementation of evidence-based practice across the service.
• Contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s policies, procedures and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit, working in conjunction with the Governance team and Research Department.
• To coordinate and lead service development projects as required, striving for continuous improvement in service provision.
• Lead and support ongoing service evaluation processes, including analysing feedback, monitoring outcomes and measuring impact to inform service improvement.

General:

• Maintain professional registration and ensure compliance with relevant professional standards required for your role (e.g. HCPC, BPS).
• Contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, overseeing the implementation of regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in relevant
  fields of psychology and related disciplines.
• Ensure maintenance and security of physical, financial and information resources, where applicable.
• Maintain the highest standards of record keeping including electronic data entry, recording and report writing.
• Take responsibility in the exercise of professional governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the HCPC and British Psychological Society and local policies and procedures. Ensure all record keeping is in line with local, professional, organisational and national guidelines.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to the specific client group.
• Adhere to all Caudwell Children’s policies and procedures.
• Demonstrate commitment to Caudwell Children’s mission, vision and values.

This Job Description indicates only the main duties and responsibilities of the post and is not intended as an exhaustive list. The post holder may be asked to carry out other duties from time to time. The Charity reserves the right to amend this Job Description from time to time, according to business needs.

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or suitable equivalent
• Registered with the HCPC as a Practitioner Psychologist, with evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC.
• Additional training in a specialised area of clinical practice relevant to the post (e.g. autism, neurodevelopmental conditions, child development etc.)
• Significant experience and advanced knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessment and intervention for children and young people with neurodevelopmental conditions, mental health difficulties and complex needs.
• Experience of assessment and diagnosis of autism and/or other neurodevelopmental conditions, including developing recommendations and interventions across a range of settings including families, schools and social care.
• Advanced knowledge of cognitive and neuropsychological assessments for children and young people
• Experience of working with a variety of client groups including children, young people and families, with a variety of different needs (e.g. autism, developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, complex needs) and reflecting a range of clinical need and risk.
• Expertise in the range of neurodevelopmental conditions, and the shift towards neuro-affirmative practice.
• Experience of having worked as a clinical specialist in a range of settings relevant to the role.
• Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Knowledge and experience of trauma-informed practice.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the children and young people, disability and neurodivergence, mental health, safeguarding, and equality and diversity.
• Experience of working in an MDT, supervising and supporting other professionals and managing conflict and different professional opinions.
• Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive situations
  sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
• Well-developed consultation skills to work with the multi-professional team or other professional groups
• Expertise in psychological formulation including providing consultation around formulation of complex cases.
• Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive situations
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of a range of specialised psychological therapies.
• Experience undertaking leadership roles, with good knowledge of the theory and practice of management and leadership.
• Experience of participation in recruitment
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and Completed training course in clinical supervision, and experience of offering professional clinical and management supervision to other qualified psychologists.
• Experience of providing teaching and training to psychologists or other professional groups, alongside skills in delivering training to a range of audiences
• Experience of proposing and implementing audits, service development projects, service evaluations or research projects.
• Knowledge and experience working in CQC/Ofsted regulated organisations.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation, operating frameworks and national guidance e. g. Children’s Act, Mental Capacity Act, NICE guidelines etc.
• High level knowledge and ability to manage risk and follow safeguarding procedures in the context of safeguarding and child protection legislation.
• Knowledge and commitment to standards in relation to other relevant legislation including Information Governance, Health & Safety etc.
• Experience following and implementing aspects of Clinical Governance
• Strong organisational and time management skills, with the ability to cope in pressured situations.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, observation and reporting skills. Ability to engage a wide range of children, families, staff and other stakeholders and foster good collaborative team relationships.
• Ability to work flexibly and adapt approaches as required, with an openness to learning and improving practice
• A commitment to the principles and practice of continual improvement and the provision of personalised services
• A commitment to respect and uphold the rights of others, while promoting quality of life for children and their families.
• Able to meet the physical requirements of the role after reasonable adjustments have been made for illness or disability
• Able to travel to meet the needs of the post
• A personal commitment to the organisation’s vision, values and principles.

Desirable Criteria:

• Additional qualifications in research, or teaching/training
• Experience of working in the Charity/Third Sector
• Experience of working in ISO regulated organisations
• Experience of working with volunteers

Disclosure and barring service checks

The Charity is committed to safeguarding children and young people and therefore adopts a safer recruitment approach through a robust recruitment and selection process. All posts within the Charity are subject to DBS checks, in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974). This role is eligible for an Enhanced DBS check.

Location:

Caudwell International Children’s Centre (CICC)

Hours:

37.5 hours per week

Job description:

Download full job description and specification here