Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Psychology Assistant (Aspiring Clinical Psychologist Scheme)

The closing date is 17 December 2025

Job summary

Full or Part time Fixed Term contract opportunities for up to 4 months (pro rata for part time)

The Aspiring Clinical Psychologists Access Scheme is a nationally funded programme which aims to improve equity of access to training in the psychological professions. By offering opportunities for paid clinical experience we hope to be able to support local people to overcome the barriers that may reduce the chance of accessing further training and a career in psychology.

We welcome applications from people who may be at particular disadvantage in terms of access to training and career opportunities due to factors associated with their backgrounds. These factors may include being:

from family on a low income or supported by benefits
in receipt of bursaries, awards or government maintenance grants
a care leaver or student not supported by their family or parents
from a socio-economic or ethnic group significantly under-represented in psychological professions.

To be eligible for the programme, candidates shouldnot:

hold or be studying for a master's degree (with exception of a master's conversion degree for applicants with a non-psychology undergraduate degree OR a combined undergraduate MSc degree)
be a salaried or post graduate trainee in a university programme
have held any substantial prior paid assistant psychology/research assistant post or or similar employment.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated graduates with at least a 2:2 undergraduate degree in psychology and an interest in pursuing a career in the psychological professions.

A variety of roles are available across various specialities (see attached additional information) and all posts will involve working under the supervision of a qualified psychologist to promote the psychological health and well-being of service users.

Specific duties may include:

supporting psychological assessment and intervention with individuals or groups of service users
assisting in clinically related administration, audits, collection of statistics, research and quality improvement.
teaching and project work

Service delivery will vary across placements but is likely to involve a mixture of office based and community working alongside some work from home depending on service need.

There will be access to a wider community of aspiring psychologists and other CPD opportunities.

* Please read the additional information provided before applying*

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

About us

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Date posted

01 December 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year per annum (pro rata)

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

4 months

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

327-25-1001

Job locations

Various GHC sites

Gloucestershire

GL1 3NF

Job description

Job responsibilities

Full or Part time Fixed Term contract opportunities for up to 4 months (pro rata for part time)

Internal applicants who wish to be considered for a secondment opportunity should discuss with their line manager the suitability of a possible secondment

Please note that this advert will close as soon as sufficient applications have been received, this can sometimes be within days. Please submit your application at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.

Candidates for any staff appointment shall, when making application, disclose in writing to the Trust whether they are related to any governor. Failure to disclose such a relationship may disqualify a candidate and, if appointed, may render them liable to dismissal.

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, we are supportive of the people we care for in the community and aim to provide a fully responsive service to everyone who needs it. This is the same approach we take for our employees. We look to value the skills and experiences of those we work with, whether they are service users, carers, families or those looking to work with us.

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust is part of the NHS. We treat NHS patients according to NHS principles and standards. The difference is the Trust is accountable to local people, rather than to Government, and so we are able to work closely with our community to develop services in the way that best suits the needs of local people.

This role is not eligible for sponsorship as per the Governments UK VISA and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information please visit https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

Job description

Job responsibilities

Full or Part time Fixed Term contract opportunities for up to 4 months (pro rata for part time)

Internal applicants who wish to be considered for a secondment opportunity should discuss with their line manager the suitability of a possible secondment

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Second-class honours degree or higher in psychology.
Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Length and/or nature of experience

Essential

Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues, both within and outside the NHS.
Willingness to work in the face of emotive and distressing problems, and possible verbal abuse / threat of physical abuse. Experience preferred

Desirable

Additional knowledge/ experience of research methodology

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Second-class honours degree or higher in psychology.
Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Length and/or nature of experience

Essential

Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues, both within and outside the NHS.
Willingness to work in the face of emotive and distressing problems, and possible verbal abuse / threat of physical abuse. Experience preferred

Desirable

Additional knowledge/ experience of research methodology

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Various GHC sites

Gloucestershire

GL1 3NF

Employer's website

https://www.ghc.nhs.uk/who-we-are/jobs/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Various GHC sites

Gloucestershire

GL1 3NF

Employer's website

https://www.ghc.nhs.uk/who-we-are/jobs/ (Opens in a new tab)