Psychological Professional LeadNHS
Job summary
We are keen to recruit an enthusiastic and committed Clinical or Counselling Psychologist who shares a passion for the needs of older people and those under the care of Memory Services. There is funding for 0.7 WTE if the postholder has expertise in both older adults mental health and a Qualification in Clinical Neuropsychology (QiCN) and is able to provide this specialist neuropsychology supervision to the staff in the Memory Service. We welcome candidates who have expertise in either domain but the post would be offered at 0.6 with the other session held back to fund supervision in the other area. NELFT offer excellent development opportunities including high quality supervision, and opportunities for research.
Main duties of the job
Main duties of the job The Psychological Professional Lead for Older Adults and Memory Services will provide clinical leadership to all psychological practitioners working in the care pathways. They will lead in consultation, supervision, teaching, and training of staff and play a key role in audit and evaluation. In close collaboration with the Deputy Director of Psychological Professions, the post holder will be actively involved in continuous improvement and development of these pathways across the Trust. Working closely with the neuropsychological lead, they will also be responsible for governance of the psychological and cognitive screens, treatments and systematic outcome measurements across the Memory Service and ensure that a high quality, timely, accessible and evidence-based psychological service is available to all service users who need it, in line with NICE guidelines, national targets and Trust policies.
Job description
Job overview
We are keen to recruit an enthusiastic and committed Clinical or Counselling Psychologist who shares a passion for the needs of older people and those under the care of Memory Services. There is funding for 0.7 WTE if the postholder has expertise in both older adults mental health and a Qualification in Clinical Neuropsychology (QiCN) and is able to provide this specialist neuropsychology supervision to the staff in the Memory Service. We welcome candidates who have expertise in either domain but the post would be offered at 0.6 with the other session held back to fund supervision in the other area.
NELFT offer excellent development opportunities including high quality supervision, and opportunities for research.
Main duties of the job
The Psychological Professional Lead for Older Adults and Memory Services will provide clinical leadership to all psychological practitioners working in the care pathways. They will lead in consultation, supervision, teaching, and training of staff and play a key role in audit and evaluation. In close collaboration with the Deputy Director of Psychological Professions, the post holder will be actively involved in continuous improvement and development of these pathways across the Trust.
Working closely with the neuropsychological lead, they will also be responsible for governance of the psychological and cognitive screens, treatments and systematic outcome measurements across the Memory Service and ensure that a high quality, timely, accessible and evidence-based psychological service is available to all service users who need it, in line with NICE guidelines, national targets and Trust policies.
The post holder will be expected to support their team, department, and organisation to achieve the Trust’s Mission of “helping you live the life you want”. The post holder will achieve this by:
- Providing operational and professional leadership and supervision of staff in all NELFT’s four London boroughs (Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest) to ensure excellence in clinical care and service delivery.
- Maintaining effective partnerships with other mental health services within the Trust, with adjacent statutory and voluntary services and with other local NHS Trusts.
- Delivering high quality specialist clinical interventions in line with national guidance.
- To engage with the process of service review and development as required in line with the Trust Change Management Processes.
Please refer to the Job Description & Person Specification attachment.
Working for Us Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award-winning equality and diversity initiatives, along with staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest significantly in your development because when you feel valued and supported, we can deliver the highest quality care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been recognised in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and hold a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Through our staff networks and training opportunities, we strive to foster a just and compassionate culture at NELFT.
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT. They are:
- We are kind.
- We are respectful.
- We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Starting with NELFT (delete for internal only)
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend a number of drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Goodmayes Hospital.
Probationary Period This post will be subject to a probationary period.
Select One:
High Cost Area Supplement – Outer London (B&D, Redbridge, Havering and Waltham Forest, CEME) This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,714 to a maximum of £5,941 p.a. pro rata for part time).
Certificates of Sponsorship Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.
Use of AI
We value applications that genuinely reflect each candidate’s own skills, experience and motivations. We therefore strongly discourage the use of AI-generated content in applications.
Applications should be written in your own words and accurately represent your knowledge, skills and experience.
We reserve the right to reject an application where we reasonably believe AI has been used to generate or materially contribute to its content.
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.
We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Please apply as soon as possible as some posts close early to limit the number of applications.
For an informal chat or to arrange a visit, please contact:
Name: Rachel Smith
Job title: Deputy Director for Psychological Professions
Contact Number: 07944 206 081
Email: [email protected]
About us
NELFT NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and community services for over 4.9 million people living in the London Boroughs of Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, and across Essex. We work to ensure our patients, their friends and family, feel confident that their health needs are well met. With an excellent reputation for research and development, our skilled health professionals are at the cutting edge of evidence-based innovation, opening up the possibilities for better ways of working and delivery of care.