CAMHS Practitioner Psychologist (N&S Vanguard)

Job overview

The Sout East London (SEL) Vanguard programme is a community multi-systems violence reduction programme, based on the Framework for Integrated Care – a Trauma-Informed, Formulation-driven, multi-systems approach to supporting young people and families in complex situations. The SEL Vanguard brings together mental health and voluntary sector providers and local authorities, with the aim to support vulnerable children and young people affected by community violence and exploitation.

We are seeking an enthusiastic and committed Practitioner Psychologist to join the SEL Vanguard programme. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a responsive and flexible community service for young people aged 10-21. The successful candidate will have opportunities to provide specialist consultation, supervision, assessment and intervention. The pilot phase of the programme ran from October 2022 till September 2025 and was successful in being recommissioned for a second three-year phase of delivery. This is a fixed term post, currently funded until September 2028, with possibility of extension.

Main duties of the job

• To work closely with all partner agencies on the continued development and delivery of the CMSVRP Vanguard for South East London 
• To provide direct clinical input for young people and families within the SEL Vanguard programme
• To deliver evidence-based assessment and intervention to young people affected by community violence and exploitation.
• To provide regular supervision, complex case formulation and reflective practice for case managers and other staff

Working for our organisation

About our locations:
Maudsley Hospital (headquarters) 
Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2) and is within walking distance from the beautiful green spaces of Ruskin Park and the vibrant high-street that offers great shopping opportunities and with a wide range restaurants. (Due to move to the Pears Maudsley Children and Young People (PMCYP) at the Maudsley Hospital in early 2026)

Flexible working:
As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. In this role you will be able to work flexibly, giving you the very best of good work life balance. This may include working early mornings, later evenings or Saturdays as part of the core working hours/working pattern for this post.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To provide a specialist psychology service to the Community Multi-Systems Violence Reduction Programme (CMSVRP; SEL Vanguard) including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
• To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate 
• To undertake service evaluation, audit and research.
• To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions with support of clinical supervisor

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level additional training) that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration. (A/I)

Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist. (A/I)

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in CAMHS and/or forensic services. (A/I)

Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience. (A/I)

Desirable criteria

Experience of delivering consultation to other professionals

Experience of diagnostic assessment of ADHD/autism/learning disability
Additional training and competencies in evidence-based therapies for PTSD and complex developmental trauma.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for psychological interventions for serious youth violence. (A/I/R)

To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources. (A/I/R)

Skills

Essential criteria

To be skilled in the administration of psychometric and neuropsychological tests, including those that require complex manipulation of test materials. (A/I/R)

Desirable criteria

Skills in using structured risk assessment tools