Senior Clinical Psychologist (Development Role)

at  Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Considering a new challenge for 2025? We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for a Clinical Psychologist with relevant neuropsychological assessment skills and experience to join the Younger People with Dementia (YPWD) Team which sits within our Older Peoples Service. The successful candidate will work with the YPWD team where our input is highly valued and critical to the diagnosis of dementia. The focus of the role will be providing neuropsychological assessment as well as supporting the service development of Psychosocial Interventions for this client group. The substantive post in the team is banded at 8b. This post offers the opportunity to join us in an 8a development role, and be supported to progress to the 8b banding by acquiring the necessary level of clinical and leadership skills. The developmental aspects of this post will be for a defined period, agreed on appointment and based on the successful candidate’s existing skills and experience. The offer includes funding, supervision and some protected study leave to gain a PG Dip in Clinical Neuropsychology (Knowledge & Practice Components) as well as development opportunities to progress leadership knowledge and experience. As the post holder will not be expected to fully meet the requirements of the 8b role, they will be recruited to the 8a job description and person specification.
Additional temporary hours may be available at band 8a within the MAS Pathway, with a focus on neuropsychological assessment.
People referred to the YPWD Team often have complex mental and physical health histories and as the Clinical Psychologist in the team, you will provide specialist assessment, psychological formulation and intervention, team consultation and training. You will also belong to a wider group of Clinical Psychologists and Psychological Therapists who work in different areas of OPS and have a shared passion for excellent standards of assessment and psychological interventions. Supervision will be offered within a peer group as well as 1:1 supervision for clinical cases. As a professional group we have strong links with the Leeds DClinPsy course and regularly offer trainee placements, with opportunities for training, supporting doctoral theses, and commissioning Service Evaluation projects.
We would strongly encourage anyone interested in the post to contact:
Dr. Louise Bergin, Consultant Clinical Psychologist & Service Lead, louise.bergin@nhs.net
Caroline Ispan, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, caroline.ispan@nhs.net
Dr Zumer Jawaid, Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry, zumerarif.jawaid@nhs.net
We are committed to robust professional leadership, equality, diversity and inclusion and supporting staff wellbeing and CPD. Our previous Psychological Professions Strategy was achieved and we are in the process of writing a new strategy.
The Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) is the main provider of Mental Health and Learning Disability services in Leeds. We also provide specialist inpatient services in York and some highly specialised services across the country. As a teaching trust with strong links to local universities, we are a centre of excellence for teaching, research and development.
There are many benefits of working for LYPFT including fantastic employee wellbeing support, 27 - 33 days annual leave, flexible working and remote working arrangements, the NHS Pension Scheme, coaching, support and opportunities for career development and training and education support alongside a range of exclusive discounts and payment schemes including for cars, extra leave days and more NHS Discount Offers.
We also have an incredible bank department, offering variety of roles in nursing, allied health professions, healthcare support worker and administration clerical. Permanent employees are automatically added to bank.
Applicants should be aware that for any individual who requires a visa to work in the UK, the Trust provides sponsorship for registered healthcare practitioner roles only. This is an essential requirement of the role, and the Trust is unable to offer you a role if you are unable to meet Trust requirements for sponsorship and Home Office requirements for a visa.

To contribute to the systematic provision of a high quality highly specialist clinical psychology service to Service Users within the Older People’s Service across all sectors of care, predominantly working within the Younger People with Dementia Team but across the cognitive impairment pathway as required. Where necessary this will extend to carrying out neuropsychological assessments within other areas within the Trust, such as Working Age Adult services.
To provide specialist psychological assessments of service users referred to the YPWD team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including self-report measures, psychological and neuropsychological tests.
To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a SU’s dementia and/or mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the SU’s problems.
To be responsible for providing advice, consultation, supervision and teaching.
To identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate to support and maintain clinical practice within the YPWD team. To provide a key role in psychological aspects of service development of the YPWD team.
To contribute to, and where appropriate lead on, the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice and to contribute and lead where appropriate to the development and articulation of best practice in psychological professions across the service.
To manage the workloads of assistant psychologists and trainee psychologists