Job summary
Note: Please apply directly through the West Sussex County Council website. Link below in "Supporting Links"
Salary: Pro-rata for 22.2 hours £35,994 to £38,046 per annum/Pro-rata for 29.6 hours £47,992 to £50,728 per annum
FTE Equivalent Salary: Hay B £59,991 to £63,411 per annum
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Pattern: Part-time, Monday to Friday. Hybrid working will be considered. Days are flexible except Tuesdays as this is the team meeting day.
Two part-time roles available:
- 1 x 22.2 hrs per week
- 1 x 29.6 hrs per week
Location: Based at Glebelands, Shoreham-by-Sea but will be required to provide countywide coverage.
Interviews: Scheduled for 06 and 08 October 2025
Make a Real Difference to the Lives of Children in Care
- Are you a trauma-informed practitioner, passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people in care?
- Are you looking for an opportunity to develop in a growing, evidence-informed therapeutic service?
- Do you thrive in providing training, consultation and reflective practice to staff groups within Childrens Services?
- Do you have experience of providing a range of therapeutic interventions including DDP-informed therapeutic interventions with carers and children in care?
Main duties of the job
As Specialist Senior Clinical Psychologists for our services, you will:
- Deliver evidence-informed, integrative, and systemic interventions.
- Work closely within a multi-disciplinary/multiagency environment to design
and implement innovative service models.
- Champion a compassionate, trauma-aware, relational approach at all levels
of the system.
- Help shape the future of our Psychological Services Hub, contributing to its
growth and impact.
About us
The Attach Service delivers psychological support into our Children We Care For, Care Leavers, Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking and Special Guardianship teams and includes support to our Residential and Fostering services and into our two specialist projects.
The Attach team delivers a range of evidence-informed support to children in care and the professionals and carers around them, helping them understand and respond to the impact of developmental trauma, disrupted attachment, and hidden emotional needs. Within West Sussex Fostering, there is a drive and vision to deliver therapeutic parenting within foster care and kinship, underpinned by DDP principles and an attitude of PACE. Please see the West Sussex Fostering Vision Statement document for further details of the PACE culture ambition in the Information Pack.
Note: Please apply directly through the West Sussex County Council website. Link below in "Supporting Links"
Job description
Job responsibilities
Following the successful TUPE transfer of our specialist psychological services
into the local authority last year, we are embarking on an exciting journey to
realign and integrate a range of specialist social care and psychological
interventions under one roof in our Psychological Hub. This transformation offers
a unique opportunity to innovate and deliver creative, impactful services whilst
building on established, collaborative relationships between psychological
services and the social care workforce. We have a wide range and depth of
expertise and experience within the services and a strong ethos of working
together to meet the needs of these vulnerable groups of children and families.
The Psychological Hub is led by two consultant clinical psychologists each leading
in one of the two service areas: The Community Psychological Service (Restore)
and the Children We Care for Therapeutic Service (ATTACH).
The ATTACH service provides psychological support for our Children We Care
For, Care Leavers, Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking young people, and Special
Guardianship teams and the support extends to our Residential and Fostering
services. We are looking to recruit four senior clinical psychologists to join the
team to expand our reach.
As a therapeutic team, ATTACH offers a reflective space for social workers to
consider the impact of developmental trauma on children and young peoples
emotional well-being. We focus upon co-constructing a shared understanding
(formulation) with colleagues and carers to understand complex presentations
and hidden emotional needs, supporting children in recovering from
developmental trauma and forming meaningful attachments.
Our service assists carers in implementing therapeutic parenting and supports
social workers in delivering relationship-based social work, while appreciating
the personal impact of this work on both carers and professionals themselves.
Additionally, we provide direct assessments and therapeutic interventions for
foster care and special guardianship families, as well as for young people living
in West Sussex residential care homes.
The team will develop and deliver bespoke trainings to colleagues across the
childrens social care workforce also.
As Specialist Senior Clinical Psychologists for our services, you will:
- Deliver evidence-informed, integrative, and systemic interventions.
- Work closely within a multi-disciplinary/multiagency environment to design
and implement innovative service models.
- Champion a compassionate, trauma-aware, relational approach at all levels
of the system.
- Help shape the future of our Psychological Services Hub, contributing to its
growth and impact.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Following the successful TUPE transfer of our specialist psychological services
into the local authority last year, we are embarking on an exciting journey to
realign and integrate a range of specialist social care and psychological
interventions under one roof in our Psychological Hub. This transformation offers
a unique opportunity to innovate and deliver creative, impactful services whilst
building on established, collaborative relationships between psychological
services and the social care workforce. We have a wide range and depth of
expertise and experience within the services and a strong ethos of working
together to meet the needs of these vulnerable groups of children and families.
The Psychological Hub is led by two consultant clinical psychologists each leading
in one of the two service areas: The Community Psychological Service (Restore)
and the Children We Care for Therapeutic Service (ATTACH).
The ATTACH service provides psychological support for our Children We Care
For, Care Leavers, Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking young people, and Special
Guardianship teams and the support extends to our Residential and Fostering
services. We are looking to recruit four senior clinical psychologists to join the
team to expand our reach.
As a therapeutic team, ATTACH offers a reflective space for social workers to
consider the impact of developmental trauma on children and young peoples
emotional well-being. We focus upon co-constructing a shared understanding
(formulation) with colleagues and carers to understand complex presentations
and hidden emotional needs, supporting children in recovering from
developmental trauma and forming meaningful attachments.
Our service assists carers in implementing therapeutic parenting and supports
social workers in delivering relationship-based social work, while appreciating
the personal impact of this work on both carers and professionals themselves.
Additionally, we provide direct assessments and therapeutic interventions for
foster care and special guardianship families, as well as for young people living
in West Sussex residential care homes.
The team will develop and deliver bespoke trainings to colleagues across the
childrens social care workforce also.
As Specialist Senior Clinical Psychologists for our services, you will:
- Deliver evidence-informed, integrative, and systemic interventions.
- Work closely within a multi-disciplinary/multiagency environment to design
and implement innovative service models.
- Champion a compassionate, trauma-aware, relational approach at all levels
of the system.
- Help shape the future of our Psychological Services Hub, contributing to its
growth and impact.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist taking full clinical responsibility for your own practice, including post qualification experience working with Children and families with complex needs using complex methods of psychological assessment, psychological formulation, and delivering psychological therapy to children and young people.
- Evidence of continuing professional development.
- Experience of identifying and addressing barriers to inclusion and of
- challenging oppressive or disrespectful practices.
Qualifications
Essential
- Professional Doctorate level training in Clinical Psychology, including highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological practice, lifespan developmental psychology, clinical psychometrics, and neuropsychology.
Experience
Essential
- 1. You will have post qualification experience in undertaking assessments and therapeutic interventions with children and their families. Ideally, you will also have good experience of working with children who are placed in the care of the local authority, and/or those placed with special guardians. This will include a detailed understanding of the needs of children who present with issues arising from developmental trauma and the support needs of those who care for them in foster, special guardianship, and residential placements.
-
- 2. Specific expertise in delivering Dyadic Developmental Informed
- Psychotherapy, PACE-based interventions and delivering PACE-based
- training, would be an advantage. Opportunities to receive further training in this area will be provided.
- 3. Detailed understanding of the intersections of developmental trauma with neurodiversity and other psychological/emotional needs will be essential.
- 4. Candidates will also have a passion for working with care experienced
- children and young people, and a drive to play a key role in developing
- therapeutic offers for the wider social care workforce, to enhance the lives of these young people.
- 5. Having extensive experience of providing consultations to professionals and working with multi-agency networks is essential.
- 6. Good working knowledge of the population within the service or similar.
- 7. Clinical expertise in delivering psychological assessment and therapy with children and young people presenting with a range of complex psychological problems and who may be mistrustful of services, alongside support to their families and other care providers.
- 8. Skills in clinical supervision.
- 9. Ability to communicate effectively presenting information that is accessible, engaging, and accurate.
- 10. Skills in providing consultation to other professionals.
- 11. Skills in designing and delivering accessible and engaging psychological training to different audiences, to inform and improve the practice across services.
- 12. Ability to provide appropriate support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
- 13. An interest and ability to present a wide range of data and information about the service in accessible formats.
- 14. Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group.
- 15. Skills in self-management including time management.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist taking full clinical responsibility for your own practice, including post qualification experience working with Children and families with complex needs using complex methods of psychological assessment, psychological formulation, and delivering psychological therapy to children and young people.
- Evidence of continuing professional development.
- Experience of identifying and addressing barriers to inclusion and of
- challenging oppressive or disrespectful practices.
Qualifications
Essential
- Professional Doctorate level training in Clinical Psychology, including highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological practice, lifespan developmental psychology, clinical psychometrics, and neuropsychology.
Experience
Essential
- 1. You will have post qualification experience in undertaking assessments and therapeutic interventions with children and their families. Ideally, you will also have good experience of working with children who are placed in the care of the local authority, and/or those placed with special guardians. This will include a detailed understanding of the needs of children who present with issues arising from developmental trauma and the support needs of those who care for them in foster, special guardianship, and residential placements.
-
- 2. Specific expertise in delivering Dyadic Developmental Informed
- Psychotherapy, PACE-based interventions and delivering PACE-based
- training, would be an advantage. Opportunities to receive further training in this area will be provided.
- 3. Detailed understanding of the intersections of developmental trauma with neurodiversity and other psychological/emotional needs will be essential.
- 4. Candidates will also have a passion for working with care experienced
- children and young people, and a drive to play a key role in developing
- therapeutic offers for the wider social care workforce, to enhance the lives of these young people.
- 5. Having extensive experience of providing consultations to professionals and working with multi-agency networks is essential.
- 6. Good working knowledge of the population within the service or similar.
- 7. Clinical expertise in delivering psychological assessment and therapy with children and young people presenting with a range of complex psychological problems and who may be mistrustful of services, alongside support to their families and other care providers.
- 8. Skills in clinical supervision.
- 9. Ability to communicate effectively presenting information that is accessible, engaging, and accurate.
- 10. Skills in providing consultation to other professionals.
- 11. Skills in designing and delivering accessible and engaging psychological training to different audiences, to inform and improve the practice across services.
- 12. Ability to provide appropriate support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
- 13. An interest and ability to present a wide range of data and information about the service in accessible formats.
- 14. Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group.
- 15. Skills in self-management including time management.
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
