Closing date: 20 August 2026

Job summary
We are seeking an enthusiastic Practitioner Psychologist to join the Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP) Inpatient Service. The successful candidate will be joining a well-established and highly motivated Older Adult Psychology Specialty, working alongside a supportive group of Practitioner Psychologists.

The specialty sits within a large and progressive Directorate of Psychology and Psychological Therapies, offering excellent access to supervision, consultation and continuing professional development. We welcome staff from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, holding principles of equity, diversity and inclusion central in our approach.

This inpatient settings offers a context for a curious and creative psychologist to develop and extend their psychological therapy skills, including CBT, CAT and third wave approaches. There is a desire for the candidate to offer specialist cognitive assessments and to be able to work with complexity including trauma, risk and neurodiversity. This service supports individuals with dementia presenting with complex behaviours and psychologists keen to develop indirect approaches such as positive behaviour support are welcomed. We value MDT practice, compassionate cultures and teamworking.

Applications for this position are invited from psychologists with experience who meet the essential criteria for the Band 8a role, or from psychologists who meet the Band 7 criteria as a development opportunity.

Main duties of the job

• Provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for older adults with complex mental health needs (mental health and dementia)
• Undertake cognitive and neuropsychological assessments where appropriate
• Work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams to support psychologically informed care
• Provide consultation, advice and supervision to staff and teams in line with level of experience and banding
• Contribute to team formulation, care planning and risk management
• Support service development, innovation and systems improvement work
• Deliver training and skills development to staff as appropriate
• Participate in audit, research, service evaluation and quality improvement activities
• Maintain professional standards in line with HCPC, BPS and Health Board policies

About us
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of the largest Integrated Health Boards in the UK, employing over 17,000 staff, providing over 100 specialist services. Working across 6 hospital sites, we have a diverse range of career opportunities to offer. Serving over 500,000 people living in Cardiff and the Vale, we are focussed on the health and care needs of our local population whilst working with our partners to develop regional services. Together we are committed to improving health outcomes for everyone, delivering excellent care and support.

Our mission is "Living Well, Caring Well, Working Together", and our vision is that every person's chance of leading a healthy life should be equal. Our 10-year transformation and improvement strategy, Shaping Our Future Wellbeing, is our chance to work collaboratively with the public and our workforce to make our health board more sustainable for the future.

Details
Date posted: 24 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: Depending on experience
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 001-PST060-0726
Job locations: University Hospital Llandough, Penlan Road, Llandough, CF64 2XX, United Kingdom

Person specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Good Honours degree in Psychology with eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the BPS.
• Post-graduate Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology accredited by the HCPC (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 as accredited by the BPS) OR (for trainees) doctorate to be completed by end of 2024
• HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist OR (for trainees) eligible by October 2024

Desirable

• 8a Practitioner Psychologist: Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialist areas of psychological practice.

Experience
Essential

• Experience in applying clinical/counselling psychology in the NHS, including cognitive and structured assessment, formulation, intervention, research and service development.
• Experience of effective multi-disciplinary team working in NHS or equivalent.
• for band 8a: Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.

Desirable

• Experience of working with people with mental health/psychological problems in a medical setting; problems presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings and maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
• Experience of teaching/training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
• for band 7: Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.

Skills
Essential

• Ability to make clinical and service-related judgments involving complex facts requiring analysis, interpretation and comparison of several options.
• Ability to contribute to the development of, and to implement, agreed policies and strategic long-term service developments.
• Ability to use the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills to convey and receive highly complex/sensitive information effectively, requiring empathy and reassurance, in a highly emotive atmosphere and the ability to overcome psychological resistance to potentially threatening information, whilst maintaining a high degree of professionalism at all times.

Desirable

• Experience of the development and implementation of policies and strategic long-term service developments.

Special knowledge
Essential

• Practitioner Psychologist: Doctoral level knowledge of clinical/counselling psychology theory and practice, assessment, psychological therapies and their application.
• Practitioner Psychologist: Participation with CPD as recommended by the BPS.

Desirable

• 8a Practitioner Psychologist: Post-doctoral training in relevant specialist areas of psychological practice (e.g. assessment of autism; working with psychosis; specific psychosocial approaches).

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. 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).

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