Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Lead Perinatal Psychologist
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Job Overview
We are seeking an exceptional Psychology Lead to provide professional leadership for psychology across our specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service. This unique one-day-per-week role offers the opportunity to influence psychological practice across five London boroughs, ensuring high-quality, evidence-based care for women, birthing people, babies and families.
You will be the senior professional lead for psychology within the perinatal service, providing strategic direction, professional governance and expert consultation across borough teams.
Key Responsibilities
- Providing professional leadership for psychologists and psychological therapists across the service.
- Ensuring robust supervision, governance and quality assurance arrangements are in place for psychological practice.
- Supporting service transformation, integration and development of place-based models of care.
- Advising senior leaders on psychological care, workforce development and service improvement.
- Leading and supporting audit, research, quality improvement and innovation.
- Promoting equitable access to psychological interventions and reducing health inequalities.
Main Duties of the Job
- Provide visible, expert leadership for clinical and counselling psychology and related psychological professions within the perinatal service.
- Establish and maintain proportionate supervision, consultation, professional governance and escalation arrangements across borough teams.
- Promote equitable, trauma-informed, culturally responsive and family-inclusive psychological care throughout the perinatal pathway.
- Provide expert advice on complex clinical, professional and organisational issues while maintaining a strategic focus appropriate to a 0.2 WTE role.
- Lead or sponsor agreed priorities in service evaluation, audit, research, workforce development and quality improvement.
- Contribute to recruitment, retention, professional development and succession planning for the psychology workforce.
Working for our organisation
At CNWL, partnerships are at the heart of everything we do. We work closely with service users, families, carers, local authorities, GPs, universities, voluntary sector organisations and healthcare partners to design and deliver high-quality services that meet the needs of our diverse communities. We are committed to involving local people in shaping and improving our services.
As an employer, CNWL is committed to creating an inclusive and supportive working environment where staff can thrive. We offer flexible working opportunities, professional development, leadership programmes, career coaching, apprenticeship pathways and a range of wellbeing initiatives to support career progression and personal growth.
Joining CNWL means becoming part of an innovative organisation dedicated to improving health outcomes, reducing inequalities and delivering outstanding care to the communities we serve.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
Professional Leadership and Governance
- Provide professional leadership and advice on the delivery of psychological services across the perinatal pathway.
- Ensure that arrangements for professional and clinical supervision are clearly defined, safe and consistent with professional standards.
- Provide oversight of standards for psychological assessment, formulation, intervention, outcome monitoring, record keeping and clinical risk management.
- Identify professional or clinical governance concerns and ensure that these are escalated through the appropriate Trust route.
- Promote reflective practice, staff wellbeing and psychologically informed team cultures.
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Clinical Leadership and Consultation
- Provide expert consultation on highly complex perinatal presentations, risk, safeguarding and parent-infant or family needs where senior psychological input is required.
- Advise multidisciplinary colleagues on psychologically informed care planning and the appropriate use of evidence-based interventions.
- Support consistent access to psychological expertise across boroughs while recognising local population needs and service configurations.
- Maintain an appropriate level of clinical practice or case consultation to retain professional credibility and specialist expertise, as agreed within the job plan.
Service Development, Quality and Performance
- Contribute to the strategic planning, redesign and integration of perinatal psychological services within borough and place-based arrangements.
- Advise service leaders on psychology workforce requirements, skill mix, capacity, productivity and priorities for improvement.
- Lead agreed audits, quality improvement initiatives and service evaluations, ensuring that learning is translated into practice.
- Promote the routine use of meaningful clinical outcomes, service-user experience and equality information to assess quality and impact.
- Contribute to the development, implementation and review of relevant operational policies, pathways and clinical standards.
Workforce, Supervision and Education
- Provide or arrange professional supervision and consultation for senior psychologists and psychological therapists, within available capacity and agreed governance arrangements.
- Support recruitment, induction, appraisal, continuing professional development and succession planning for psychology staff.
- Promote high-quality placements and learning opportunities for trainee and pre-qualified psychology staff where appropriate.
- Provide specialist teaching, consultation and workforce development to multidisciplinary colleagues and partner agencies.
- Build links with training providers, professional networks and academic partners where these support service objectives.
Research, Audit and Innovation
- Promote evidence-based practice and the application of psychological theory and research to perinatal service delivery.
- Lead, advise on or supervise research, audit and service evaluation proportionate to the role and agreed annual priorities.
- Disseminate learning through internal governance forums, professional networks, presentations and publications where appropriate.
- Encourage innovation while ensuring that new approaches are evaluated and implemented safely.
Partnership, Inclusion and Co-production
- Work collaboratively with women and birthing people, families, carers and experts by experience in service development and evaluation.
- Promote equity of access, experience and outcomes, with attention to protected characteristics, deprivation and underserved communities.
- Develop effective relationships with maternity, primary care, local authority, voluntary-sector and specialist mental health partners.
- Communicate complex and potentially contentious information clearly, sensitively and persuasively across professional and organisational boundaries.
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Information Governance and Resources
- Ensure that clinical and professional records are maintained in accordance with Trust policy, legislation and professional standards.
- Use information systems appropriately for clinical recording, activity monitoring, outcome measurement, audit, analysis and reporting.
- Contribute to the effective use of psychological resources, including workforce, assessment materials, digital resources and training capacity.
Working Arrangements for Post
- The post holder will work to an agreed annual job plan that identifies a small number of high-impact priorities and protects time for professional governance, leadership and escalation responsibilities.
- Routine operational management and day-to-day clinical decisions will remain with the relevant local managers and clinical leads unless explicitly delegated to this post.
- The post holder will agree clear cover, communication and escalation arrangements for periods when they are not working.
Person Specification
Education And Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Doctoral-level qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology, or equivalent recognised professional training.
- Current HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist.
- Evidence of continuing professional development and training in clinical supervision.
Desirable criteria
- Post-doctoral training in an additional specialist psychological approach
- Leadership, management, improvement or research qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Substantial post-qualification experience, including experience at a senior level in specialist mental health services
- Experience of professional leadership, clinical governance, supervision and multidisciplinary consultation.
- Experience of leading service development, audit, evaluation or quality improvement.
- Experience of managing complex clinical, professional and organisational issues.
- Understanding of inequalities affecting access, experience and outcomes.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of place-based care, integrated care pathways and perinatal service standards.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Highly developed knowledge of clinical psychology theory, evidence-based interventions, research methods and professional governance.
- Knowledge of legislation, safeguarding, risk management and policy relevant to mental health and perinatal services.
- Understanding of inequalities affecting access, experience and outcomes.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of place-based care, integrated care pathways and perinatal service standards.
Skills And Abilities
Essential criteria
- Advanced leadership, consultation, supervision and influencing skills.
- Ability to communicate highly complex and sensitive information clearly in writing and verbally.
- Ability to analyse complex information, establish priorities and deliver through others within limited allocated time.
- Ability to use data, outcomes and service-user feedback to support improvement
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of place-based care, integrated care pathways and perinatal service standards.
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