Job summary
We are excited to advertise a permanent 0.9WTE Principal Practitioner Psychologist post (Clinical, Counselling, Forensic) to work in Walkerwood Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), based at Tameside General Hospital.

We are looking for a highly skilled and compassionate Practitioner Psychologist who is passionate about providing high-quality psychological care within our PICU and working with people experiencing significant levels of distress and complexity.

Walkerwood is a 10-bedded PICU providing specialist assessment, care and treatment to men aged 18 years and over who are experiencing a psychiatric crisis and often present with a variety of complex mental health needs and heightened levels of risk.

Walkerwood is a friendly, dynamic multidisciplinary team committed to delivering the highest standards of care. The team works in a trauma-informed way and utilises the RAID model of care to support recovery, engagement and therapeutic relationships. Our aim is to provide care in the least restrictive way possible whilst maintaining safety and promoting positive outcomes for service users.

The successful applicant will join an Acute Care Pathway Psychology Team with a strong network of colleagues around them, including supervision from a Consultant Clinical Psychologist.

Main duties of the job
As outlined in the job description, the main duties include:

• To provide clinical leadership and direction in the continual development and provision of excellence in applied psychology for the PICU.
• To provide a high quality clinical psychology service to adults presenting with complex mental health problems.
• To provide highly specialised psychological assessment and therapy while also offering advice and consultation on service users' psychological care to other colleagues and different professional groups.
• To work as part of the wider MDT, bringing a psychological perspective and understanding to presenting distress. This will include to formulation driven care, risk assessments and formulations and contributions within team meetings.
• To support inpatient colleagues through the provision of supervision, reflective practice and post-incident reflective spaces where appropriate.
• To contribute to audit, policy/service development, and research. To propose and implement policy changes within the areas served.
• To work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the Trust's policies and procedures.
• To provide clinical supervision to individuals and groups of staff working across the inpatient services, including psychology staff.

About us
Our acute pathway provides an evidence-based, high quality service across adult acute wards, PICUs, Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams and Mental Health Liaison Teams covering half of Greater Manchester. The Trustwide acute psychology team meets regularly for team meetings, CPD and facilitated reflective group and has leadership from a Clinical Lead.

We are passionate about staff well-being and compassionate leadership. Our staff survey results support this. In the latest national NHS Staff Survey (2024) Pennine Care was ranked as the best mental health and learning disability trust in the North.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the top of our agenda. We know a diverse, inclusive and engaged culture is vital; that everyone's value should be recognised and respected.

We support staff to work flexibly and recognise and respect the roles our colleagues hold outside of working hours. This focus helps us to retain staff and ensure people are happy in their place of work.

If you come and work for us we offer a range of benefits and opportunities, including:

• Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change staff.
• Involvement in improvement and research activities
• Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service
• Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel

Details
Date posted: 05 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8b
Salary: £66,582 to £77,368 a year per annum, pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time, Flexible working, Compressed hours
Reference number: 311-T760-26
Job locations: Tameside General Hospital, Fountain St, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 9RW, United Kingdom

Person Specification
Education/ Qualifications
Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical/counselling/forensic psychology, (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS. or post-graduate doctoral level training in Forensic Psychology or Counselling Psychology
• Current registration as a Clinical, Forensic or Counselling psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council.

Desirable

• Completion of further post qualification training within psychological therapies (e.g. DBT, CBT, CAT, CFT, MBT etc.).
• Completion of further post qualification training in supervision

Experience
Essential

• Demonstrable post-qualification experience of specialist assessment and treatment of adult clients and those with psychological difficulties in an inpatient setting.
• Demonstrable post-qualification experience of working with complex mental health problems, including distressing psychosis, problems associated with complex relational and emotional needs, and severe depression, anxiety and trauma.
• Demonstrable experience of working with people experiencing a suicidal crisis.
• Demonstrable experience of working within inpatient adult multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience of clinical leadership within a previous role.
• Demonstrable experience of providing clinical supervision to psychologists, psychological therapists or other core health professions.
• Demonstrable experience of providing teaching/ training upon clinical interventions
• Demonstrable experience of managing demand for psychological services within a form of stepped-care framework (i.e. an approach based upon the provision of direct care, and supporting other professionals in their provision of direct psychosocial work

Desirable

• Experience of clinical leadership
• Experience of working within an inpatient setting
• Ability to demonstrate further specialist clinical experience and training
• Experience of audit and service evaluation within psychological therapy services
• Research experience within an area relevant to work within an adult service
• Demonstratable experience of the application of psychological therapy in diverse cultural and ethnic contexts

Knowledge
Essential

• Understanding of the national and regional legislation, guidance and policy directives in relation to the development and delivery of psychological therapies within inpatient services.
• Evidence of post-qualification CPD as recommended by the HCPC and, or BPS, or other professional body.
• Up to date knowledge of the needs of people with complex mental health problems, and of psychological approaches to recovery.
• Awareness of the principles of a trauma informed care approach.
• Familiarity with computing technology, including keyboard skills and use of word-processing, e-mail and internet software.

Desirable

• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies and approaches for adults with complex mental health problems.
• Publication of training, service evaluation, clinical audit and research material

Skills and abilities
Essential

• Ability to work with service users, carers and families to engage with their needs and provide them with appropriate psychological support and intervention
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non professional groups
• Skills in working within an MDT to bring and share a psychological understanding of distress
• Well developed, effective communication skills, both oral and in writing, enabling complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to be shared with service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues within the NMHS and other agencies
• Ability to prioritise work, operate a waiting list, meet short deadlines and an unpredictable work pattern that requires regular revision of plans
• Ability to sit in a constrained position for service user assessment, formulation and individual and group therapy sessions and for computer work
• Ability to work at a high level of professional autonomy and responsibility, in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment and also as a lone worker in circumstances where there may be exposure to verbal and sometimes physical aggression.
• Able to sustain the intense concentration necessary for service user assessment and formulation, individual and group therapy sessions
• Ability to work and communicate highly sensitive, contentious information effectively in a highly emotive or hostile atmosphere, and to overcome barriers to acceptance/ psychological resistance to potentially threatening information
• Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to staff and carers exposed to highly distressing situations
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.

Desirable

• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials, suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings
• Ability to demonstrate an area of special interest/ skill in therapeutic intervention

Work related circumstances
Essential

• Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
• Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust's Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
• Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.

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. Applicants must have current UK professional registration.