Higher Assistant PsychologistNHS

Job summary

This post is based within the North East and Cumbria Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway. The OPD Pathway is a joint strategy and network of services commissioned and delivered by NHS England and His Majesty's Prison and Probation Services (HMPPS) for people who present a high risk of physical or sexual violence, and have risk factors and problematic behaviour associated with personality difficulties.

The post-holder will primarily support services in the North East region, however our delivery model operates across the North & South of Tyne, Durham/Tees Valley and North, West and South Cumbria, and is comprised of Psychologists, Psychological Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Specialist Probation Practitioners and Officers, and staff in support/assistant roles.

The main tasks within this post will include carrying out psychological assessment and intervention, assisting in delivery of staff training and consultation and participation in research, data collection, audits and service evaluation.

Main duties of the job

The post holder's main duties are to assist in the delivery of psychological services in the pathway; providing psychological assessment and specific interventions under the supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist, working independently within the limits agreed with the psychology supervisor.

The post holder will produce assessment and intervention professional reports.

The post holder will support the service in the delivery of training and workforce development initiatives.

The post holder will utilise research skills for audit, literature reviews, service development and other research initiatives within the pathway or wider service.

The post holder will receive direct weekly management and clinical supervision from a Senior, Principal or Consultant Clinical Psychologist.

The post holder will perform delegated tasks within guidelines provided by the supervisor, will receive regular clinical supervision and will seek additional supervision and guidance where required.

The post-holder will provide compassionate care that is based on empathy, kindness, respect and dignity.

Job description

The post-holder would contribute to two OPD community pathway services; a Psychologically Informed Consultation service (PICS) and Intervention service (Rebuilding Lives).

PICS is a service that provides formulation based support and consultation to HMPPS staff members, as well as workforce development activities aimed at enhancing staff confidence and knowledge around personality difficulties.

Rebuilding Lives is a psychologically and socio-occupationally informed intervention service. The overall aim of the OPD pathway is to help reduce risk of reoffending, by helping the individual to understand the factors that have contributed to their behaviour, and develop alternative life skills and coping strategies.

This Higher Assistant Psychologist post-holder will:

• Work independently under supervision within a range of settings, representing CNTW within the multi-disciplinary team and across the OPD partnership.
• Attend and contribute to multi-disciplinary referral and case discussion meetings, collaboratively identifying suitable service candidates, and using ongoing psychological formulation to identify needs and intervention plans.
• Complete referral assessments and providing suitability feedback to the MDT, alongside qualified / registered practitioners.
• Engage service users / people on probation in psychologically informed interventions, under supervision, to support community integration and risk reduction.
• Develop and deliver training across the partnership agencies to support workforce development initiatives and increase knowledge and confidence when working with personality difficulties.
• Work alongside qualified / registered practitioners to provide advice to Probation Practitioners (PP) on engagement and relational challenges linked to personality difficulties and risk, using psychological formulation approaches.
• Provide written reports and summaries following interventions and consultations, to communicate psychological needs and recommendations.
• Undertake and contribute to local research activities and OPD service evaluation.
• Receive weekly clinical supervision from a Clinical Psychologist and designated supervision as required.
• Maintain effective relationships with colleagues across different agencies and work to uphold the shared vision and values of OPD.

In addition to the essential qualifications and criteria described, due to the nature of the setting and client group, experience of direct community based clinical work with a forensic population is desirable, as well as experience in research and evaluation.

Given the geographical spread of the service, a current driving licence is desirable but not essential if the travel requirements can be met by the successful applicant.

Please find attached job description for full details.

Advertising date : 29th October 2026

Closing date : 12th November 2026

We welcome your application.

About us

We aim to attract and retain a diverse, talented and committed workforce, who are caring and compassionate, and therefore able to meet the demands of the modern NHS now and in the future. In return we can offer a dynamic working environment in which to build a career.

NHS Employees identified as at risk of compulsory redundancy and those eligible for the NENC Re-Deployment careers hub will receive prior consideration.

The post is primarily across Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland, with occasional work into Cumbria and can involve regular travel to probation offices and Approved Premises within the area, as well as within the local communities. As a wide geographical area this can present some challenges, but to assist with these demands, we support remote working and flexible working requests for example carrying out some duties (where appropriate) via TEAMS or other online platforms.

The post offers a number of CPD opportunities and we actively encourage personal and professional development via supervision, CPD and training activities.