Band 8b

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) is the largest community healthcare provider in Sussex.

• Over 8,400 full time, part time and bank staff members
• Medical, nursing and therapeutic care provided to over 10,000 children and adults a day
• July 2018 Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating of 'Good' with 'Outstanding' features
• Flexible working patterns offered across all services
• Thriving BAME, Disability and Wellbeing, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks
• Accredited Level 3 Disability Confident Leader

SCFT is an inclusive employer that promotes equality and challenges discrimination, and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds. Applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, disabled candidates and LGBT+ candidates are particularly encouraged, to ensure the Trust's workforce reflects the diverse communities it serves.

Job overview

We're looking to recruit a Deputy Clinical Lead for our specialist IAPT long term conditions (LTC) service in West Sussex, where you're never far from the sea or the South Downs.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our expanding team as the service delivers on the NHS Long Term Plan (2019) and where we're committed towards parity of esteem between mental and physical health. If you're looking to support a clinical leadership team, deputising when appropriate for our Clinical Lead as one of three Deputies across the wider Time to Talk service, then we'd like to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

As a new role, you'll be instrumental in developing the service through consultation with the senior team involving audit, research and service evaluation projects. Working closely with the Clinical Lead, responsible for the clinical quality and performance of our step 2 and step 3 interventions, you'll oversee the delivery of NICE evidence-based psychological therapies and clinical supervision, ensuring staff achieve competencies as described in the IAPT Manual.

As a BABCP accredited psychological therapist, you'll have a comprehensive IAPT background including familiarity with LTCs, enhanced communication skills and supervisory/managerial experience. In return we offer a blended way of working and opportunities to work in partnership with physical healthcare teams making for a really varied week. You'll have access to the Trust's Allied Psychology Forum network, which offers professional support and CPD events networking with a range of psychological practitioners across the Trust.

Working for our organisation

We particularly welcome applications from disabled, LGBT+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as we would like our TTTH team to reflect the diverse communities we serve. As a Trust, we recognise the positive value of diversity in providing high quality and culturally competent care; we are a Disability Confident Employer, and benefit from thriving and supportive BAME, Disability, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks. We're commissioned to provide services Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm and all staff are required to contribute towards this. We may also be able to help you with a relocation package if you are considering moving to West Sussex. Travel across the county is required.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Working closely with the Clinical Lead the post holder will provide oversight of the clinical provision of Time to Talk Health, the IAPT-LTC service operating within the wider Time to Talk (TTT) service providing IAPT interventions across West Sussex. This will include the clinical supervision and oversight of assessment, formulation and interventions based on extensive experience of mental health services and IAPT interventions. The post holder will provide leadership to staff delivering interventions, offer advice and consultation on patient's psychological care with secondary care and other relevant partners including non-clinical colleagues.
• The post holder will work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures and deputise for the Clinical Lead when necessary. Utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development. Implement teaching and training within the service at introductory,
  intermediate and highly specialist levels in order to deliver the most effective interventions.
• Together with the Clinical Lead the post holder will be responsible for the clinical quality and performance of Time to Talk Health with a particular focus on clinical supervision and case management. Provide support for the Senior Psychological Therapists and other modality leads. A key responsibility will be to ensure governance structures and leadership processes are in place and effective for practice within the service including safety and risk assessment when identifying, assessing and treating clients suitable for IAPT.

Please contact us for further information regarding this interesting and innovative position.

For more information and an informal chat, please contact Debbie Barnett, Clinical Lead for Time to Talk Health - sc-tr.ltcreferrals@nhs.net

Person specification

Qualifications and/or Professional Registration
Essential criteria

• Accreditation/registration with a core profession (as listed by the BABCP) with additional accreditation as a CBT practitioner with the BABCP.
• Doctoral or post graduate level training in the field of counselling/clinical psychology or equivalent
• Post qualification training and accreditation in NICE recommended treatments
• Training and /or significant experience in supervision of other psychological practitioners.
• Qualification or significant experience in the delivery of training in the context of psychological therapies

Desirable criteria

• Training/experiencing in leadership and change management skills
• Experience in QI and /or audit methodology

Experience
Essential criteria

• Significant post qualifying clinical work in NHS or similar settings.
• Experience of undertaking assessment and treatment with wide a variety of presenting problems with knowledge and understanding of secondary care mental health services
• Extensive experience of working with patients with LTC and /or attended LTC top up training
• Experience of professional leadership of clinicians and managing services or projects
• Experience of providing time limited and longer term psychotherapeutic interventions.
• Experience of providing group interventions
• Extensive experience in a specialist area of psychological practice
• Experience in working with complex cases, and skill in liaison with other key stakeholders , including secondary care mental health services
• Experience in working in an IAPT service in primary care
• Experience of teaching and training others in IAPT therapies and/or within contexts of psychological therapy services
• Extensive experience of supervising others in IAPT therapies in the context of patients with Long Term Conditions
• Experience in deploying skills in research, service evaluation, audit whilst ensuring incorporation of psychological frameworks for understanding and provision of high quality care

Skills and Knowledge
Essential criteria

• Highly specialist clinical and psychological therapy skills in the context of IAPT therapies
• Autonomous and reflective practitioner
• Ability to manage with highly complex referrals and assessments and guide others with complex clinical decision making.
• Excellent teaching and supervision skills.
• Clinical practice in a broad range of mental health diagnoses.
• Critical appraisal skills.
• Ability to work flexibly.
• Updated extensive knowledge of IAPT therapies.
• Clinical application of IAPT therapies within the IAPT framework.
• Working knowledge of the theory and practice of other psychological therapies.
• Specialist theoretical and practical understanding of the therapeutic relationship
• Ability to lead others and establish healthy team cultures which promote excellent patient care support and develop team members.
• Ability to model an inclusive approach to leadership which fosters leadership in others.
• Ability to undertake audit cycles in order to improve patient care
• Ability to develop effective communication skills and utilise interpersonal skills to manage complex/sensitive situations

Other requirements
Essential criteria

• Willingness and ability to work in the evenings/weekends or at home if necessary, for example if constraints on office space become critical
• Travel between sites.

This post may close earlier than the published closing date if sufficient applications are received.

Correspondence relating to this vacancy will be conducted electronically. If you have not heard from us within two weeks please assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Please ensure that you check your emails, including your junk folder, on a regular basis. References will be requested electronically as well; please ensure you provide correct contact details for referees.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• Deputy Clinical Lead - Time to Talk Health ( PDF , 743.2 KB )
• Deputy Clinical Lead - Time to Talk Health ( PDF , 743.2 KB )
• Time to Talk Health Leaflet ( PDF , 131.8 KB )
• Staff Benefits Brochure ( PDF , 484.5 KB )