Senior Improvement Advisor

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, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for three consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.

Job overview

If you are an enthusiastic and motivated HCPC registered Clinical / Counselling Psychologist interested in working with adults with learning disabilities, we look forward to hearing from you. A full-time permanent Band 7 position has arisen in NELFT Learning Disabilities Psychological Services, based in the multi-disciplinary Havering Community Learning Disability Team (CLDT) who work in an integrated approach with our client group. The post holder will be supported by the Senior Psychologist, Principal Psychologist and Professional Lead of the service.

Our well-established service comprises clinical psychologists, behaviour specialists, art therapists, systemic therapists, assistant psychologists, clinical associates in psychology (CAP) and trainees from the Doctorate in Clinical or Counselling training courses based in London. The post-holder will work closely with the local Talking Therapies service to support access to mainstream services for our clients. We focus on trauma informed and culturally sensitive care for people with learning disabilities and their families.

We have excellent opportunities for enhancing clinical skills through CPD, peer support and service development and have Trust wide forums, including specialist systemic and EMDR supervision. We have a vibrant and active R&D department.

Main duties of the job

1. To provide a qualified, high-quality specialist Learning Disability Psychology Professional service to individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across the Community Learning Disability Team (CLDT) and support the Talking Therapies (TT) service towards the needs of people with learning disabilities referred to the service in line with best, evidence-based practice and trust care pathways.
2. To be responsible for holding and managing a clinical caseload to clients referred to the Community Learning Disability Teams and utilising planning and organisational skills, to exercise autonomous assessment, treatment and discharge of clients, within the parameters of the service operational policy and professional responsibility for the planning and prioritising of own workload.
3. To employ analytical and judgment skills and be responsible for taking clinical management decisions in complex clinical issues.
4. To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a senior clinical/counselling psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues specialising in specific disorders or therapeutic modalities.

Working for our organisation

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

Starting with NELFT

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 focussing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,313 to a maximum of £5,436 pro rata for part time).

High Cost Area Supplement - Fringe

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £1,192 to a maximum of £2,011 pro rata for part time).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. To provide specialist clinical/counselling psychology service to clients referred to the Community Learning Disability Teams.
2. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
3. Under supervision, to employ analytical and judgment skills and be responsible for taking clinical management decisions in complex clinical issues.
4. To manage assistant psychologists and allocated Trainee Psychologists working in Learning Disabilities Psychological Professions when appropriate.
5. To utilise research skills to undertake service evaluation and clinically relevant research as agreed under the supervision of the professional lead and to disseminate the results across the Learning Disabilities service, NELFT and where appropriate, nationally.
6. To plan, organise and provide teaching, training, consultation and as appropriate, clinical supervision to other professionals and disciplines within the CLDT in the psychological aspects of their work.
7. To provide teaching and training for TT practitioners, developing reasonable adjustments to enable access for people with learning disabilities to TT, providing consultation and advice to TT practitioners working with people with learning disabilities to assist assessment and treatment within TT services.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Doctoral level training or equivalent in clinical /counselling psychology
• HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologist

Experience

• Experience of working with people with learning disabilities and / or mental health

Knowledge

• Skills in using complex methods of psychological assessments and interventions

We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:

• A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
• A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our efforts to support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
• Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.