Practitioner Psychologist - Gender Service

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.

For NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough based roles, all applicants from NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who have identified that they are at risk of redundancy will be prioritised over those not at risk. However, interviews cannot be guaranteed.

This vacancy will close at midnight on 20-Jan-2026

Interviews are due to be held on 30-Jan-2026

Benefits to you

At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.

On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only caf, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.

CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.

Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.

Qualifications

Essential

• oIt is a condition of employment that the post-holder is registered with the Health & Care Professions Council and is eligible for registration as a Chartered Psychologist.
• oPost-graduate doctoral level training in clinical, counselling or educational psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS including two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
• oGood undergraduate degree (preferably relevant to psychological practice).
• oCurrent registration/accreditation with appropriate body with current practising certificate. (e.g. HCPC)
• oEvidence of continuing professional development as recommended by relevant professional body.
• oEligible for BPS Chartered Status. Eligible for full membership of the Division of Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology or Educational Psychology.
• oPost qualification training and/or supervised practice in one or more specialised areas of clinical work.
• oTraining in clinical supervision of psychological professionals, including trainees.
• oWillingness to undertake further leadership development both formal and informal.

Desirable

• oPost-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• oBACP accreditation
• oFurther training in a specific psychological assessment, model or intervention specific to the role remit/area of work. Qualification or training in one or more recognised and standardised diagnostic assessment/s for Autistic Spectrum Conditions e.g. ADOS2 and ADI-R.
• oLeadership development qualification / training.
• oMember of British Psychological Society.

Experience

Essential

• oAdditional training in a specialised area of psychological practice relevant to working with complex CYP through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma.
• oExperience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in an area of relevant clinical practice.
• oEvidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in an area of relevant clinical practice.
• oExperience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in an area of clinical practice relevant to the client group
• oSubstantial experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist with a wide variety of client groups across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient/residential care settings, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• oSubstantial experience of representing psychology within multi-disciplinary settings.
• oExperience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and intervention, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
• oAbility to work effectively within safeguarding procedures in the context of a therapeutic service.
• oExperience of teaching, training and providing professional/clinical supervision to others (including qualified psychologists and other professionals) including use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings
• oExperience of planning and implementing service developments in accordance with local and national policy objectives.
• oExperience of employing a range of assessment methods.
• oExperience of working clinically with people who present with challenging behaviours, and/or people who have communication and/or learning difficulties.
• oExperience of leading and contributing to the development of services.

Desirable

• oExperience of professional leadership and/or management of qualified and pre-qualified psychologists and psychological therapists and/or multi-professional management health / social care services.
• oExperience working therapeutically with children and young people with significant behavioural, emotional or mental health difficulties, and their families/carers.
• oExperience of work in neurodevelopmental or learning disability services.
• oExperience of group work, particularly of relevance for Children, Young people and their families / carers.
• oExperience of working in the NHS.
• oExperience of working with third sector providers

Knowledge

Essential

• oUp to date knowledge of: 1)the psychological needs of people with gender incongruence and a range of co-presenting difficulties. 2)current best practice when working with this client group, wider clinical issues as evidenced by CPD log as
• oKnowledge and skills in the assessment and treatment of neuro-developmental difficulties and the usual range of co-presenting problems.
• oSkills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
• oHighly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological interventions.
• oHighly developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.

Desirable

• oExperience of working within a multicultural framework

Skills

Essential

• oAbility to exercise highly advanced and complex negotiating skills in planning, developing and establishing services, in particular where services interface with different areas within and outside of the organisation.
• oDemonstrated skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• oDoctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.
• oKnowledge of relevant health and social care legislation.
• oAbility and knowledge relating to self -harm and safeguarding related risk assessment and care -planning.
• oAbility to meet the travelling requirements of the post.
• oSkills in the management of verbal abuse and physical aggression.
• oAbility to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours.
• oAbility to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material.
• oAbility to develop and use complex multi - media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.

Additional Requirements

Essential

• oA passion and enthusiasm for developing psychologically informed services for children and young people and their families and carers.
• oAbility to contain and work with organisational stress and hold the stress of others.
• oAbility to demonstrate leadership and management skills with the ability to create a culture where staff are valued and supported.
• oTo support and maintain high quality clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive behaviour and challenging behaviour.
• oAbility to contain the emotional stress of working with clients who are extremely distressed.
• oAbility to provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly challenging situations and challenging behaviours.
• oA desire to champion and enable children and young people and their parents / carers.
• oAble to demonstrate a positive and nonjudgemental attitude towards service users and their family and carers.
• oWilling to reflect on own practice and to learn from this.
• oAbility to work constructively in a multidisciplinary environment, respect others and to contain the complex demands and conflicts that this can engender.
• oAbility to develop productive therapeutic relationships with a range of service users.
• oAbility to deliver sustained effort and concentration to produce demanding pieces of work.
• oAbility to sit and to concentrate for prolonged periods in order to deliver sessions of client based work.
• oAbility to Travel.
• oThe ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of Together-safe, kind, excellent.
• oActively promote and value equality, diversity and inclusion, treating others with dignity and respect.
• oCompliance with all Trust policies and procedures.
• oEvidence of working as an effective team member.
• oDemonstration of confidentiality.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).