239517 R2 Clinical Psychologist (AP)

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.

Location

Clinical Psychology (Learning Disabilities Specialist Inpatient Services)

Based at The Islay Centre, Royal Edinburgh Hospital

Job Details

Contract: Permanent
Job type: Part Time
Grade: Band 8B
Hours: 21.09 (0.57 WTE)
Please note: As this post is part-time, the salary will be pro rated.

Role Overview

We have an exciting new opportunity for a Senior Principal Clinical Psychologist, Band 8B, in the Department of Psychology's Learning Disabilities Service. You will play a key clinical leadership role in our specialist learning disability inpatient services at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Your clinical input will focus on the Islay Centre, our specialist service for people with learning disabilities who present with significantly distressed behaviours that cannot be safely managed in the community. You will provide direct assessment, formulation and intervention around complex casework requiring a multi disciplinary approach, and provide psychological consultation to the MDT. You will also work closely with colleagues in other leadership roles to embed high quality psychological care across our inpatient learning disability services, with a particular focus on implementation of Positive Behaviour Support and trauma informed care. This is a newly created post, in recognition of the key clinical leadership role that psychology plays within the inpatient learning disability service.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct assessment, formulation and intervention around complex casework requiring a multi disciplinary approach.
• Provide psychological consultation to the MDT.
• Work closely with colleagues in other leadership roles to embed high quality psychological care across inpatient learning disability services.
• Implement Positive Behaviour Support and trauma informed care.
• Supervise and lead qualified psychologists, multi disciplinary colleagues, and pre qualified team members.

Qualifications

• Substantial post qualification experience of working with people with learning disabilities who present with significant behaviours of distress.
• Demonstrable aptitude for systemic, multi disciplinary working.
• Strong leadership, supervisory and communication skills.
• PVG Scheme membership/record or ability to obtain.
• Valid UK work permission and eligibility to work in the UK.

Benefits and Support

NHS Lothian's Learning Disability Psychology Service provides a friendly, supportive and stimulating environment in which to work. Staff within our service have a range of clinical interests reflecting a variety of theoretical and therapeutic orientations, and an emphasis is placed on good clinical supervision and support.

Employees may need to change their place of residence as a result of taking up a post; we will reimburse appropriately.

As from 1/4/26, the Agenda for Change full time working week will be reducing from 37 to 36 hours per week. Part time hours will be reduced pro rata. However, there will be a corresponding increase in the hourly rate so that pay will not be affected.

We will fully support disabled candidates, and candidates with long term conditions or who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.

Contact Information

For more information, or an informal conversation, please contact:

Dr Reed Cappleman, Consultant Clinical Psychologist / Professional Lead for Learning Disabilities
Email:
Tel: .

Additional Information

Please note: we anticipate a high level of interest in this position and may close the vacancy early once a sufficient amount of applications are received. Therefore, please make sure you complete and submit your application at an early stage.

To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigration Service. Further information on what NHS Scotland Boards are required to do to check this as well as what your responsibilities include can be found in the further information for this vacancy.

This post requires the post holder to have a PVG Scheme membership/record. If the post holder is not a current PVG member for the required regulatory group (i.e. child and/or adult) then an application will need to be made to Disclosure Scotland and deemed satisfactory before they can begin in post.