Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust
Assistant Psychologist
The closing date is 20 November 2026
Job summary
The post holder will be a member of the Maidstone Children and Young People's Mental Health Service. The post holder will be required to identify, assess and manage young people who present with a range of presenting issues pertinent to the service. The post holder will be a member of the team and have support of other team members in the management of these cases. The post holder will be expected to attend and participate in team meetings.

The post holder will support people and enhance the professional psychological care within the service, providing psychological assessment and psychological interventions of a routine nature, under the direct supervision of a qualified professional psychologist drawing on their supervisor's expertise. To work according to a plan agreed with a qualified psychologist or multi disciplinary clinician, and within the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures. To assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, and development of audit and/or research projects, teaching and project work.

The post holder will support their peers and team manager and be an effective team member whilst working on their own initiative.
Main duties of the job

• To undertake, under the direct supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, protocol based psychological assessments of clients, including the use of self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care.
• To assist in the formulation and delivery of routine care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a client's problems, under the direct supervision of a qualified professional psychologist.
• To assist, under the direct supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, in the coordination and running of therapeutic groups.
• To manage an ongoing programme of audit of outcomes from treatment involving measures administered to clients and families at multiple stages during their care journey.
• To analyse this data and contribute to the production of reports of outcomes for the team and for commissioners.
• To support the multi-disciplinary team at all stages of the research process including writing grant applications, data collection, data analysis and write up of results.
• To attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings.
• To be responsible for organising and prioritising own and others workload in the day-to-day allocation of work.

About us
We are Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support children, young people and adults with a wide range of mental health needs. We also provide specialist services, including all-age eating disorder services and neurodevelopmental assessments for children and young people, such as autism and ADHD. Because we work across the whole county and across hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the people we serve.

Our vision is simple: we are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It's why we're passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. Everything we do is guided by our values: caring, inclusive, curious and confident.

Join us if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's working well together.
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT. They are: We are kind. We are respectful. We work together with our communities. These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period.
Details
Date posted: 06 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 4
Salary: £28,392 to £31,157 a year
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 380-CED085
Job locations: The Courtyard, Pudding Lane, Maidstone, ME14 1PA, United Kingdom
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role. We encourage you to refer closely to this when completing your application.

We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Any development needs to help you succeed in the role, can be discussed at the interview stage.

Certificates of Sponsorship: Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust. Use of AI: Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.
Person Specification
Training, Qualifications and Registration
Essential

• NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy
• An upper second-class honours degree or Interview higher in psychology.
• Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
• Further postgraduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis

Experience
Essential

• Work with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities
• Experience of paid work in direct care provision.

Knowledge and Skills
Essential

• High level communication skills (written and verbal). Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance.
• An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities. An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
• Basic awareness of IT and IT skills
• To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
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.

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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.
Employer details
Employer name: Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust
Address: The Courtyard, Pudding Lane, Maidstone, ME14 1PA, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.kentmedwaymentalhealth.nhs.uk
Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Integrated Team Manager, Lisa Nolan, lisa.nolan18@nhs.net, 07740539727
Supporting documents
Privacy notice: Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust's privacy notice