Senior Clinical Psychologist

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity for a part time senior Clinical Psychologist to join a well regarded and highly valued multi disciplinary team working in the Adoption Psychology Service (APS) which is part of the Manchester CAMHS service for Looked After and Adopted Children. The APS offers a psychological service to Adoption Counts (Regional Adoption Agency) who provide the post adoption support to adoptive families within 5 local authorities. The post holder will contribute to the continued development of a psychologically informed service for adopted children/families within Adoption Counts, providing consultation, assessment and intervention with children and young people with complex needs (12 years and under).

Main duties of the job

The main duties of the job include:

In conjunction with the Adoption managers and the CAMHS adoption clinical lead, to contribute to the continued development of a psychologically informed service for adopted children/families within Adoption Counts.

Provide specialist psychological assessment and intervention with children and young people with complex needs (12 years and under).

Provide specialist consultation on mental health issues within adopted children

Contribute to the development of a formulation clinic for Adoption Counts

Co-ordinate and provide training to adoption staff, parents and other professionals

Contribute to evaluating outcomes and monitoring quality of interventions and promote the introduction of evidence based practice in child care.

Contribute to the quarterly and annual reporting systems

Develop and maintain links between adoption services and APS including looking at innovative ways of developing psychological services

About us

Join Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and become part of a 30,000 plus strong team, delivering exceptional care to over 1 million people every year. As the largest provider of specialist services, and our Oxford Road Campus in Manchester, the largest health academic campus in Europe, we are forward-thinking, committed to clinical excellence and driven to deliver innovation, and continuous improvement.Whether you're beginning your career or taking the next step, MFT offers a stimulating and supportive environment where your contribution truly matters. Our Hive Electronic Patient Record system enables safer, smarter, and more efficient ways of working - empowering you to deliver the best possible outcomes for our patients.

You'll be part of a collaborative, multi-disciplinary community, working alongside professionals from a wide range of clinical backgrounds. Together, we push boundaries, share knowledge, and deliver care that transforms lives.

At MFT, you'll find a workplace where everyone is respected, supported, and encouraged to thrive. We offer clear clinical pathways for professional development, helping you grow your skills and achieve your ambitions.

Your journey at MFT is more than a job - it's an opportunity to make a lasting impact. We'll support you as you shape the future of healthcare, one patient at a time.

Job responsibilities

To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience youll need for this role, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading.

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To access Inside MFT Your Candidate Place, simply click on the relevant PDF document under the Supporting Documents section and once opened, you can where either scan QR code or click on the link provided.

Closing vacancy listings early

We welcome applications from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.To help us manage applications fairly and give each one the time it deserves, our adverts may close early if we receive a high level of interest. Early applications are therefore encouraged.

Diversity MattersMFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, please contact the manager named below.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in your application

Here at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, were proud to be ALL HERE FOR YOUfor our patients, our communities, and each other.As part of our commitment to fairness, transparency, and personal integrity, we ask all applicants to ensure that their job applications reflect their own experiences, skills, and motivations. While AI tools can support spelling, grammar, or formatting, we expect that the content of your applicationespecially personal statements and responses to role-specific questionsis written by you. This helps us get to know the real you and ensures that our recruitment process remains equitable and meaningful for everyone.

Thank you for helping us uphold the values that make our Trust a place where people belong, grow, and thrive. We look forward to receiving your application.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• You must be registered/accredited with a professional body. e.g. HCPC
• You must have a recognised qualification. Recognised qualifications are: Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology (or equivalent) as accredited by the BPS

Experience

Essential

• Extensive proven experience of working as a Clinical Psychologist/Equivalent Psychological Professional qualification), including working with looked after children or adopted children.
• Experience of joint working with other statutory, voluntary or private sector organisation particularly in relation to complex case work.
• Extensive experience in assessment, formulation and therapeutic work with children and families across the age range with a full range of presenting problems and across settings including community, outpatient and clinic settings.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for the psychological care and treatment of clients independently and within a multidisciplinary and multiagency context.
• Experience of consulting with health care and other professionals.
• Experience of innovative service development in CAMHS
• Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
• Good level knowledge of legislation and national guidance in relation to the mental health needs of children and young people

Desirable

• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
• Experience of development of policy within a multi-agency context.

Knowledge

Essential

• Substantial skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management in work with children and families who are looked after.
• Highly developed skills in the management of complex cases and young people presenting with risk.
• A high level of ability to communicate effectively at both a written and oral level complex, highly technical and clinically sensitive information to children and young people, their carers and families and a wide range of lay and professional persons within and outside the NHS
• High level ability to integrate psychological theories and outcome data with clinical practice and service provision.
• High level ability to work with diversity, across cultures, age range and socio-economic background.
• Ability to cope with stressful interpersonal situations including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Ability to contain and work with organisational stress and ability to "hold" the stress of others.

Desirable

• Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessment and therapies in client groups with complex needs where multiagency/multidisciplinary responses require integration
• Further training in relevant post graduate therapeutic modality eg dyadic developmental psychotherapy