About SWIFT

SWIFT Specialist Family Services is an established integrated service delivered in partnership between East Sussex County Council Children’s Services and Sussex Partnership CAMHS. The wider service provides comprehensive assessment and intervention where challenges such as parental mental health, substance misuse or domestic abuse are affecting parenting and family life.

Within SWIFT CAT, you’ll work alongside skilled multidisciplinary colleagues providing specialist mental health expertise for children and families experiencing particularly complex circumstances. The work extends beyond the individual child, considering their family, relationships, risks and the wider systems surrounding them.

What we’re looking for

You’ll be an HCPC-registered Practitioner Psychologist, with applications welcomed from Clinical Psychologists. You’ll need:

• Doctoral-level training in applied psychology approved by the HCPC
• Experience working with children and families
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment
• Experience in risk assessment and management
• Strong formulation skills and the ability to contribute psychological perspectives within multidisciplinary care
• Experience of representing psychology within multidisciplinary settings
• Skills in teaching, training and/or supervision
• Knowledge of relevant national and local guidance, legislation and mental health frameworks
• High-level proficiency in specialist psychological therapies
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists
• Evidence of continuing professional development in line with HCPC requirements

We’d particularly welcome

• Experience or expertise in:
  • Working with child protection and safeguarding concerns
  • Working within fast-paced social care environments
  • Post-qualification work at Band 8a or equivalent level
  • Working across organisational and professional boundaries
  • Applying psychology within different cultural contexts and a multicultural framework
  • Research methodology, service evaluation and improvement
  • Highly specialist psychological approaches for complex presentations
  • Working collaboratively with families and wider professional networks

Working across systems

A key strength of this post is the opportunity to work at the intersection of mental health, social care, safeguarding, neurodevelopment and family support. You’ll work closely with social workers and other professionals to understand complex presentations, strengthen formulations and support decisions around care and risk. You’ll need to be comfortable operating within a fast-paced social care environment, building effective relationships across professional and organisational boundaries while keeping the needs of children and families at the centre of the work.

Development and flexibility

As part of SWIFT, you’ll have access to:

• Ongoing professional development opportunities
• Research involvement
• Service improvement initiatives
• Multidisciplinary working across health and social care
• Opportunities to influence the continued development of the service
• Flexible working arrangements, including the possibility of hybrid home/office working

SWIFT has office bases in Eastbourne and Hastings, and access to your own transport for travel across East Sussex would be beneficial.

If you’re an experienced Clinical Psychologist looking for a senior role combining CAMHS, safeguarding, complex formulation, consultation and truly integrated work with Children’s Services, we’d love to hear from you.