Job summaryAn opportunity has arisen to recruit to our well established and supportive Primary Care Psychological Therapies Service, based in Chester. The role can be offered at band 8a for suitably qualified and experienced candidates, or as a band 7/8a development post for newly qualified psychologists. We would welcome candidates with an interest in working with adults of working age. There is the flexibility of either full or part-time hours. For those thinking of applying for the development post, we have a clear plan to support the successful applicants in meeting the competencies for 8a.
The Primary Care Psychology Team are part of a stepped care model and have close working relationships and links with the other steps in the service and teams within the trust. We provide assessment, consultation, and a range of therapeutic interventions (both individual and group) to clients referred to our service.
Main duties of the jobThe post holder will be responsible for providing assessments, formulations, and therapeutic interventions (both individually and in group format) to people with complex psychological and mental health difficulties. The post holder will also support the wider team to develop psychological understandings of people's difficulties through consultation, supervision, and training.
The post holder will be joining an established and growing team with clear job plans and continued opportunities for training and development across the service. Based near the historical Roman city of Chester, the service has good links with the three local universities (Liverpool, Lancaster and Manchester) providing ample opportunity to develop supervisory skills and to support trainees with research projects/audits and input into the teaching programmes. The service currently offers flexible working with a mixture of both remote and face to face encouraged.
About usCheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP) provides health and care services for a population of over one million people, including mental health, learning disability, community physical health and all-age disability care, as well as the provision of three GP surgeries in Cheshire.
We employ around 4,500 staff across 73 sites and have services across Wirral and Cheshire, as well as Trafford, Warrington, Bolton, Halton, Liverpool and Stockport.
Our aim is to help improve the lives of everyone in our communities, adopting a compassionate, person-centred approach to everything we do. We are rated as Outstanding for Caring by the Care Quality Commission, with a Good rating overall.
As a Disability Confident Employer, Rainbow Badge Scheme member, Veteran Aware organisation and proud holder of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, CWP is committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible and developing a culture that values differences, and welcome applications from people who have direct experience of accessing our services. All new starters will commence in post on one fixed start date each month, in line with our Prepare to Care (P2C) induction programme date. P2C offers up to 3 weeks training to support you to meet the induction / initial training requirements of the role.
Whether you are just starting out in your career or looking to use your existing skills and experience in a new role, you'll find something to suit you at CWP.
DetailsPay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £64,750 a year per annum pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working, Compressed hours
Reference number: 373-SMH2789
Closing date: 03 November 2026
Essential qualifications- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996)
- HCPC registration
Desirable qualifications- Additional Psychotherapy qualification relevant to working with clients with complex psychological and mental health difficulties
- Post graduate diploma in clinical neuropsychology
Essential knowledge and expertise- Skills in conducting complex psychological assessment and intervention frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Skills in completing neuropsychological assessments, interpretation of results, and ability to communicate these sensitively as appropriate.
- Skills in adapting assessment and intervention to meet the needs of older adult clients with cognitive difficulties.
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex and/or clinically sensitive information to clients and professional colleagues within and outside the NHS.
- Evidence of continuing professional development.
- Skills in providing Consultation to other professionals and non professional groups.
- Evidence of supervisor training/qualification
- Experience of supervising Assistant Psychologists, other psychological practitioners and/or MDT colleagues in psychological approaches
- Experience of research, audit/service evaluation.
- Experience of working as a clinical psychologist therapeutically with older adult clients with varied complex, psychological and mental health difficulties.
- Experience of working within multi-professional teams.
- Experience of engaging and sustaining work with ambivalent clients
- Experience of exercising clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care
Essential experience- Expertise in neuropsychological assessment
Desirable experience- Experience of liaison with other health professionals.
- Experience of providing teaching and training.
- Experience of contributing to policy and service development.
- Experience of working with adults with complex mental health difficulties.
- Experience with clients who are on the autistic spectrum
- Experience of working with groups
Trust values- Demonstrate alignment with Trust Values (6 C's: Commitment, Communication, Care, Courage, Compassion, Competency)
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.
ContactPrincipal Clinical Psychologist, Dr James Shillito, James.Shillito4@nhs.net, 01244397575
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