Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services)

Band 8a Principal Clinical Psychologist

The closing date is 29 September 2025

Job summary

Here at Defence Primary Healthcare (DPHC), we are an inclusive and dedicated organisation working to provide excellent care to our entitled personnel!

We are looking to recruit a dynamic, organised and enthusiastic Band 8a Principal Clinical Psychologist who will be working here at Woolwich Medical Centre, providing a service to military personnel.

This role is part time working 15hrs per week.

Does this sound like the role for you?

Benefits include:

  • Free parking.
  • NHS pension scheme.
  • Inclusive working environment.
  • Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA).

Main duties of the job

Providing a specialised clinical psychology service to client's (military personnel) under the care of the DCMH, across all sectors of care; providing highly specialist psychological assessment and therapy at the same time as offering advice and consultation on clients psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues and to other, non-professional line management and carers, working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the teams policies and procedures.

Utilising research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the team/service.

Providing clinical and professional supervision to trainees undertaking Doctoral training.

About us

Our success depends on our people, our Whole Force regular and reservist military, civil servants and contractors, all working as one, working together seamlessly to deliver for us.

Our civil servants are a central part of this Whole Force, developing strategy, making policy, supporting ministerial decision-making and Parliamentary processes. In fact, with over 2,000 different roles working across 650 sites around the world, now really is an excellent time to join one of the largest, most exciting departments in government.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to attracting and retaining people from across the full range of backgrounds and enabling flexible ways of working as the norm. We offer maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks full pay followed by 13 weeks of statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid, and paternity leave of 2 weeks full pay.

If you want to make a difference to the lives of serving personnel with mental health difficulites, within the confines of an occupational mental health service; this exciting position is the job for you.

Details

Date posted

03 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£53,755 to £60,504 a year per annum (pro rata if part-time)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Job share

Reference number

K0003-25-0393

Job locations

Woolwich Medical Centre

Woolwich Garrison Green Hill

Woolwich

SE18 4BW


Job description

Job responsibilities

Responsibilities include and are not limited to:

  • Providing specialist psychological assessments of client's referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi structured interviews with client's, family members and others involved in the clients care.
  • Implementing a range of evidence-based interventions for individuals and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations and drawing upon different models whilst maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
  • Developing skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT) staffs psychological work as appropriate.
  • Communicating in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification document for additional duties.

Selection Process

At application stage you will be assessed against the following:

CV:

  • Please ensure you demonstrate that you have the required skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications and memberships in your CV and that you have saved it, making sure that any reference to your personal details have been removed from your CV prior to submitting your application.
  • Please provide information of how you meet the criteria set out in the Job Description. You may wish to further include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlined in the job advert.
  • Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our link https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

At interview you will be assessed against the following Behaviours:

  • Changing and Improving
  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Leadership
  • Making Effective Decisions
  • Delivering at Pace
  • Working Together

The sift will be completed within 10 working days of the vacancy closing date. Interviews will be held on a date to be confirmed.

There will be no reimbursement for any travel expenses for the interview.

Requests to work flexibly and/or part time will be considered, taking into account business needs.

Please note the salary will be pro-rata where part time hours are undertaken.

All employees joining Ministry of Defence who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a 6-month probation period (unless otherwise advised) effective from the employment start date.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

If found successful for this position, you will be required to provide evidence of your immunity to Hepatitis B. Please note that evidence of your vaccination is not a proof of your immunity, but your serology levels will be required. Failure to provide sufficient evidence may result in the offer of employment being withdrawn.

To be considered for this role, qualifications and memberships detailed must be held in full, prior to submitting your application.

There is no requirement to deploy as this is met by our uniformed personnel, but you will form the continuity of care required by our patients when based at home.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

This vacancy is part of the A Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative, <a href=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans/>Making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans</a>

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact dbscivpers-sgdmsresourcing@mod.gov.uk.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Responsibilities include and are not limited to:

  • Providing specialist psychological assessments of client's referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi structured interviews with client's, family members and others involved in the clients care.
  • Implementing a range of evidence-based interventions for individuals and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations and drawing upon different models whilst maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
  • Developing skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT) staffs psychological work as appropriate.
  • Communicating in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification document for additional duties.

Selection Process

At application stage you will be assessed against the following:

CV:

  • Please ensure you demonstrate that you have the required skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications and memberships in your CV and that you have saved it, making sure that any reference to your personal details have been removed from your CV prior to submitting your application.
  • Please provide information of how you meet the criteria set out in the Job Description. You may wish to further include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlined in the job advert.
  • Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our link https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

At interview you will be assessed against the following Behaviours:

  • Changing and Improving
  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Leadership
  • Making Effective Decisions
  • Delivering at Pace
  • Working Together

The sift will be completed within 10 working days of the vacancy closing date. Interviews will be held on a date to be confirmed.

There will be no reimbursement for any travel expenses for the interview.

Requests to work flexibly and/or part time will be considered, taking into account business needs.

Please note the salary will be pro-rata where part time hours are undertaken.

All employees joining Ministry of Defence who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a 6-month probation period (unless otherwise advised) effective from the employment start date.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

If found successful for this position, you will be required to provide evidence of your immunity to Hepatitis B. Please note that evidence of your vaccination is not a proof of your immunity, but your serology levels will be required. Failure to provide sufficient evidence may result in the offer of employment being withdrawn.

To be considered for this role, qualifications and memberships detailed must be held in full, prior to submitting your application.

There is no requirement to deploy as this is met by our uniformed personnel, but you will form the continuity of care required by our patients when based at home.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

This vacancy is part of the A Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative, <a href=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans/>Making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans</a>

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact dbscivpers-sgdmsresourcing@mod.gov.uk.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

Person Specification

Registration Details

Essential

  • Please provide your membership registration number.
  • You are required to be registered with the relevant professional body, as detailed in the advert, prior to submitting your application.
  • Your application will not progress should you fail to provide a valid membership registration number.

Qualifications

Essential

  • Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent as accredited by The British Psychological Society (BPS) conferring eligibility for Chartership & full membership of Division of Clinical or Counselling Psychology).
  • Training must have included models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
  • Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist under protected title.
  • Demonstrable experience of working as a qualified clinical or counselling psychologist (at Band 7 or above) and ability to evidence completion of relevant training/preceptorship in order to be able to carry out the full range of supervisory activities as appropriate to an NHS Band 8a grade post.

Provide a CV

Essential

  • Please copy and paste your full CV as your response to this question - you will not be able to upload your CV as an attachment.
  • Please ensure to refer to the essential criteria where applicable as your application may be rejected should insufficient information to shortlist be included.
  • Please use double spacing where possible.

Behaviour Statement

Essential

  • Have you been dismissed for gross misconduct relating to bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation from any role in the past five years, or resigned or otherwise left a role but would have been dismissed for such gross misconduct because of an adverse decision, had you continued in that employment?
  • Please respond with Yes or No as appropriate.
Person Specification

Registration Details

Essential

  • Please provide your membership registration number.
  • You are required to be registered with the relevant professional body, as detailed in the advert, prior to submitting your application.
  • Your application will not progress should you fail to provide a valid membership registration number.

Qualifications

Essential

  • Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent as accredited by The British Psychological Society (BPS) conferring eligibility for Chartership & full membership of Division of Clinical or Counselling Psychology).
  • Training must have included models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
  • Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist under protected title.
  • Demonstrable experience of working as a qualified clinical or counselling psychologist (at Band 7 or above) and ability to evidence completion of relevant training/preceptorship in order to be able to carry out the full range of supervisory activities as appropriate to an NHS Band 8a grade post.

Provide a CV

Essential

  • Please copy and paste your full CV as your response to this question - you will not be able to upload your CV as an attachment.
  • Please ensure to refer to the essential criteria where applicable as your application may be rejected should insufficient information to shortlist be included.
  • Please use double spacing where possible.

Behaviour Statement

Essential

  • Have you been dismissed for gross misconduct relating to bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation from any role in the past five years, or resigned or otherwise left a role but would have been dismissed for such gross misconduct because of an adverse decision, had you continued in that employment?
  • Please respond with Yes or No as appropriate.

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services)

Address

Woolwich Medical Centre

Woolwich Garrison Green Hill

Woolwich

SE18 4BW


Employer's website

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services)

Address

Woolwich Medical Centre

Woolwich Garrison Green Hill

Woolwich

SE18 4BW


Employer's website

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Details

Date posted

03 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£53,755 to £60,504 a year per annum (pro rata if part-time)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Job share

Reference number

K0003-25-0393

Job locations

Woolwich Medical Centre

Woolwich Garrison Green Hill

Woolwich

SE18 4BW


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services)'s privacy notice (opens in a new tab)