Job summaryPLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS POST IS CURRENTLY ONLY OPEN TO EMPLOYEES OF CPFTPart time - hrs per week. Secondment until March 2027We have an exciting opportunity for a Consultant Clinical/Counselling Psychologist looking for a fixed term secondment to join our friendly, dynamic team in a job-sharing position with the current Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead of the service. We would also welcome applications from Band 8B Clinical/Counselling Psychologists, dependent on relevant experience, wishing to take on greater leadership responsibilities while the current Consultant Clinical Psychologist is released to undertake research.
The successful candidate will be based at the Chitra Sethia Autism Centre in Fulbourn, Cambridge. You will be part of a Multi-disciplinary Team led by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with whom you will be sharing responsibilities.
This is an exciting opportunity to become part of a dedicated team that makes a difference to service users, families and carers and wider services and partner organisations. The role is varied and will comprise clinical diagnostic assessments, report writing, oversight of post-diagnostic psychoeducation, clinical audit and patient and public involvement. There are excellent opportunities to play a key leadership role in service innovation and improvement, training, service evaluation, and to be involved in strategic discussions across the organisation and with external partner organisations.
Main duties of the jobAs a Consultant Practitioner Psychologist in the team, you will contribute to the clinical work of the Adult Autism diagnostic and post-diagnostic pathway. As a growing service we will support you with development opportunities in this exciting dynamic field. You will receive regular professional leadership support, clinical supervision and line management from within a friendly and innovative team and the opportunity to attend Trust CPD activities. There will be specific responsibilities and duties within the team (see more detailed job description).
CLASS is a research-based service that has contributed significantly to the development of screening and assessment tools in adult autism over the last 27 years and continues to offer research and service development opportunities, including work with researchers and clinical academics in several universities.
About usCambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead fulfilling lives.
Our clinical teams deliver a wide range of NHS services across inpatient, primary care and community settings, including children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, and research and development.
To achieve our goals, we recruit high calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities' employer, we welcome applications from all sections of the community, particularly under represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.
All appointments for new employees to CPFT are subject to the successful completion of a probationary period.Please note we reserve the right to close adverts early should we receive sufficient applications.Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all roles. If you apply for a post that does not attract sponsorship, your application will be withdrawn from the process.
For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at https://www.cpft.nhs.uk
DetailsDate posted07 September 2026
Pay schemeAgenda for change
BandBand 8c
Salary£79,504 to £91,609 a year
per annum pro rata
ContractSecondment
Working patternPart-time,
Job share
Reference number310-MASMH-8226074
Job locationsChitra Sethia Autism Centre
Fulbourn Hospital
Fulbourn
CB21 5EF
United Kingdom
Job descriptionJob responsibilitiesPlease refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.To provide clinical and strategic leadership at a time of increasing and ongoing clinical demand within the scope of commissioning targets and hence to evaluate new ways of working, testing innovation, leading and facilitating Quality Improvement projects to reduce waiting times and improve patient experience.
To lead in the development and provision of training to new clinical team members (usually trainee and qualified clinical psychologists or psychiatrists) in the specialist adult diagnostic assessment of autism in adults. To help lead a programme of capacity building and training across wider CPFT teams to reduce health inequalities often faced by autistic adults and to support adherence to Health and Social Care Act 2022.
To supervise and support the psychological assessment, formulation, post-diagnostic recommendations to address needs as provided by psychologists and other clinical members of the team.
To provide highly specialist assessment of possible autism in adults presenting for late assessment where co-occurring and complex conditions are present, relying on extensive clinical knowledge and skills with respect to autism and intersectionality with wider mental and physical health conditions and individual circumstances.
To provide specialist psychological assessment including neuropsychology assessment, to provide NICE compliant autism diagnostic assessment, to provide advice and consultation on service users diagnostic outcome and care to non-psychologist colleagues and to other non-professional carers.
To hold responsibility for all elements of the pathway, including referrals, screening, assessment and the time-limited post-diagnostic offer
To act as a highly specialised resource to the wider professional community, for example attending regional and national autism meetings, working with the local Integrated Care System and Autism Partnership Boards as appropriate. Implementing guidance from NICE and NHSE and ensuring that the service is informed by current research and evidence base and uses well validated methodologies and measures.
Being responsible for the training and on-going supervision of psychologists and non-psychologist staff across relevant services.
To lead on appropriate governance arrangements within the team.
To oversee the development, delivery and evaluation of post-diagnostic psychoeducation for autistic adults.
To work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the the services policies and procedures.
To provide advice on methods of evaluating the work of the team including advising on suitable outcome measures.
To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the teams.
Person SpecificationPhysical RequirementsEssential- Able to sit for long periods
Desirable- Ability to travel independently and in a timely manner across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to meet strict deadlines.
Education / QualificationsEssential- Doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996), or Counselling Psychology, as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan development psychology
- Evidence of post-doctoral training (e.g., ADOS-2, ADI-R, AAA or DISCO) or willingness to undertake
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a practitioner psychologist
Desirable- Undertaken post-doctoral training in one or more relevant additional specialist areas of psychological practice.
- Other relevant academic qualifications to Masters or Doctoral level.
- Undertaken training in the supervision of trainee practitioner psychologists.
- Evidence of further training in leadership and management
ExperienceEssential- Assessed experience of working as a qualified practitioner psychologist
- Experience of working 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 out-patient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological assessment and management.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
- Experience of developing pathways, protocols to support service development.
- Experience of co-production with autistic adults.
Desirable- Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- Experience assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
- Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Strong history of employing clinical diagnostic skills in highly specialist service.
- Experience of developing and facilitating group-based interventions with individuals and families attending neurodevelopmental services (including children and young people and adults)
- Experience of planning and implementing policy change within the area served by the service
Skills & AbilitiesEssential- Ability to make independent clinical judgements involving highly complex facts or situations, which require analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, highly technical and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and a wide range of lay and professional persons within and outside the NHS.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, enabling formation of networks with professionals within the Trust and from other agencies to promote effective teamworking with clients.
- Good organisational skills
Desirable- To provide and receive complex, sensitive or contentious information, where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome, using developed interpersonal and communication skills such as would be required when communicating in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere.
Knowledge & UnderstandingEssential- Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies and application to working with autistic adults.
- Evidence of CPD and formal supervision training
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
Desirable- Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g., personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities, etc.)
- Knowledge of highly specialised therapies and assessment methodologies
OtherEssential- Ability 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 and challenging behaviour.
- Able to contain and work with organisational stress.
- Able to tolerate ambiguity and to take decisions in situations of incomplete information.
- Ability to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
- Willingness to be flexible in approach and attitude
Desirable- To value the opportunity to work in a highly dynamic clinical and academic field where the post-holder will be at the forefront of developing specialist models of assessment of adults on the autism spectrum.
Disclosure and Barring Service CheckThis 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 SponsorshipApplications 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 RegistrationApplicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer detailsEmployer nameCambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
AddressChitra Sethia Autism Centre
Fulbourn Hospital
Fulbourn
CB21 5EF
United Kingdom
Employer's websitehttps://www.cpft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
Employer contact detailsFor questions about the job, contact:Service Manager
Caroline Nightingale
caroline.nightingale@cpft.nhs.uk
01223219673
DetailsDate posted07 September 2026
Pay schemeAgenda for change
BandBand 8c
Salary£79,504 to £91,609 a year
per annum pro rata
ContractSecondment
Working patternPart-time,
Job share
Reference number310-MASMH-8226074
Job locationsChitra Sethia Autism Centre
Fulbourn Hospital
Fulbourn
CB21 5EF
United Kingdom
Supporting documentsPrivacy noticeCambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)
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.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. 
