Are you keenly interested in Autism and differential diagnosis? Do you want to work with children, young people and families? Do you want to be part of a supportive, reflective and developing multi-disciplinary service in Hertfordshire?

Additional funding allows us to recruit 2.4 wte permanent Band 8a Clinical Psychologists who bring strong skills and experience in Autism to the multidisciplinary Autism Assessment Service.

We have opportunities for dynamic and passionate individuals to provide support to Children and Young People (CYP) of all ages who may be autistic. HCT is working closely with system partners to implement a transformed diagnostic pathway for neurodivergent CYP. The vision in Hertfordshire is to ensure CYP and their families can access early support, advice, and information including timely provision of diagnostic assessments where clinically needed. We are an innovative and flexible team working to develop neuro-affirmative practices.

Main duties of the job

You will work closely with the MDT / other agencies to provide autism assessments and contribute to the psychology provision within the service.

The ideal candidate will:

• be experienced in autism assessments - both developmental and autism-specific history taking and ADOS-2 trained
• provide supervision to assistant psychologists or other members of the MDT
• be highly professional when working in settings that can be highly emotive
• be flexible in their approach and have resilience under pressure
• work both in a team environment and autonomously

We can offer you:

• regular clinical and professional supervision from a clinical psychologist
• personal development planning and opportunities for continuing professional development
• support and guidance in transitioning into your new post
• opportunities to work closely with a multi-disciplinary team, which includes other psychologists
• involvement in service development including undertaking clinical audits, project work and service forums

About us

• A big thank you for considering joining us at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
• You'll find it a great place to work with many benefits offered to you as a member of our staff
• We put our service users, their families and carers at the centre of our vision - Outstanding Services and Healthier Communities
• Our staff are proud to be Innovative, Caring and Agile in their work to help achieve the Trust vision
• We welcome diversity in our workforce and are interested in applicants from all backgrounds and ages
• We don't want you to miss out so we'd like you to know that if we have a high level of interest in this role, the vacancy may close prior to the advertised closing date, so please make your application as soon as possible - Apply now

You've made a great decision to apply to join to HCT - we're looking forward to taking the next steps of the journey with you.

Job description

Job responsibilities

These are permanent posts based across Hertfordshire. The base will be agreed to meet service needs and demand. There might also be an opportunity for a proportion of your time to be home working (to be discussed with your manager).

In addition to the basic salary, some of these posts will attract a High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of basic salary subject to a minimum and a maximum payment per annum, pro rata where applicable, depending on base.

For this role you will need to have a full valid driving licence and access to a car to use regularly for business purposes is essential (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010)

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for more specific information about this role.

Whilst it is not a legal requirement, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust encourages and supports all staff to be vaccinated as this remains the best line of defence against COVID-19.

Are you interested in developing your skills further? If so, apply now to be part of this friendly and forward-thinking trust.

Full time/part time working patterns/secondments will be considered.

Interviews to be held on 4th October 2023

For further details / informal visits contact:

Suzannah Gratton, Principal Clinical Psychologist, suzannah.gratton@nhs.netMob: 07920 751966

Irma Donaldson, Specialist Services Manager, Pathway Lead for Neurodivergent Children and Young People irma.donaldson@nhs.net, Mob: 07786 261829.

Person Specification

application form and interview

Essential

• Registered with the HCPC as a Practitioner Psychologist
• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996), including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology
• Formal training in supervision of trainee clinical psychologist
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatients, community, primary care and in-patient settings, including clinical experience working with autistic people and/or people with learning disabilities
• Experience and skills in psychological assessment and interventions with children & young people with learning disabilities and/or social communication difficulties
• Experience of multi-disciplinary team working and inter-agency collaboration
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan
• Experience of supervision of trainee and / or assistant clinical psychologists.
• Using the ADOS-2 for the assessment and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders or willingness to train.
• Experience of the use of the ADI- R or 3DI for the assessment and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders or willingness to train
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and /or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• A full valid driving licence and access to a car to use for business purposes is essential (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Desirable

• Experience of service quality monitoring i.e. clinical audit, evaluative research etc
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
• Experience of teaching and training

Employer details

Employer name

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

Address

Howard Court

14 Tewin Road

Welwyn Garden City

AL7 1BW



Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

812-23-ASDCP-ID-02