Assistant Psychologist - Aspiring Clinical Psychologist SchemeNHS

Job summary

Are you psychology graduate living in Coventry or Warwickshire? Do you experience barriers to gaining work experience within the psychological professions?

This Assistant Psychologist post is a paid work experience opportunity funded by NHS England's Aspiring Clinical Psychologist Scheme aiming to increase access to careers in the psychological professions for underrepresented groups.

To be eligible for this funded opportunity applicants must meet the following criteria and clearly demonstrate in the supporting information how they:

1) Have been at a disadvantage of gaining work experience as a result of one or more of the following: financial hardship, having a disability, having caring responsibilities, and or having experience of the care system.

2) Have not had previous paid or unpaid experience as an assistant psychologist role. This opportunity is for applicants who have not yet been able to gain experience

3) Have obtained a second upper class (2:1) honours psychology degree or masters conversion degree accredited by the British Psychological Society within the last 18 months.

4) Have unrestricted rights to work in the UK or is a current employee on a work permit. This post would not attract a Certificate of Sponsorship

5) Live within Coventry or Warwickshire

Please review the accompanying information for the full eligibility criteria.

Main duties of the job

Please ensure you have read the supporting information to assist with your application.

This post will be hosted within our Staff Psychological Wellbeing Services and will involve working alongside a team of psychological professionals. The successful candidate will contribute to service improvement projects and supporting the clinical activity of the service. There will also be opportunities for shadowing across teams.

The funding for this fixed-term post provides 0.6 WTE (3 days a week) up until March 2026. There is the opportunity to negotiate the working hours and days depending on the needs of the successful applicant.

Please note: We are unable to accept applications from candidates who:

Have held salaried positions relating to a psychology role

Are enrolled as postgraduate trainees/ students within university based or psychological professions training programmes.

Have previously held a paid Assistant Psychologist or Research Assistant role.

Hold or are studying for a masters degree (with the exception of the conversion course)

Non-psychology graduates without a conversion degree

Have not described in their application how they have experienced disadvantage in gaining work experience.

Job description

For more information on this role please see the attached support information. This will give you a better overview of the job role and requirements.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Degree level qualification in Psychology 2:1
• Eligibility for graduate basis for registration (GBR) with the British Psychological Society

Skills

Ability to effectively use computer equipment including the use of Microsoft Office applications.

Ability to demonstrate ethical values and attitudes within a culture of equality and diversity.

Appropriate understanding of confidentiality in a mental health context

An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people experiencing distress and mental health problems

Ability to communicate effectively at both written and speaking level, including sensitive information to service users, their families, carers and a wide range of people within and outside the NHS

Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients, and good working relationships.

Ability to learn to offer psychological therapy / psychoeducation to suitable clients in a manner consistent with the service.

Participate and undertake audit, evaluation and research.

Experience

Experience in a health or care setting

Communicating with people in distress

Working and liaising with other professional groups

Working as a member of a team or team environment

Experience of service evaluation / audit or research

Personal Attributes

High level of enthusiasm, motivation, and commitment

Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships

Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively.

Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.

Other

Have access to means of transport where required for work purposes

Enhanced DBS disclosure

About us

At Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust (CWPT), we deliver a wide range of physical, mental health, learning disability and autism services, and are proud to serve communities across Coventry, Warwickshire and beyond.

We put 'people at our heart'; this ethos is at the centre of everything we do and how we do it. We care for our staff and colleagues as much as they care for others and offer a wide range of benefits and development opportunities.

• generous annual leave entitlement which increases during your time with us
• excellent learning and development opportunities, including apprenticeship frameworks, distance learning, internal training, coaching and mentoring, and much more
• salary sacrifice schemes for lease car/ vehicle, Cycle to Work, home and electronics, gym membership and more
• discounts with a range of retailers, restaurants and entertainment venues through our Employee Assistance Programme and NHS discount schemes
• wellbeing support, including an in-house counselling service, external helpline and more
• staff networks and support group

We're always on the lookout for people who share our passion for improving the lives and wellbeing of people in our community, as well as our values of compassion, collaboration, excellence, integrity and respect.